Ive never really been much of a morning person. But when you have kids, they kind of force you to be one. When I first became a mom, I dreaded the mornings. It was hard for me to look at my day with excitement because all I really wanted to do was go back to sleep. Not only was I sleep deprived but I was making things worse for myself from habits that I created. Here are the three habits that were WRECKING my mornings.
1. Scrolling on Social Media
I know that I am not the only person who does this. Im pretty sure 95% of people start their day this way. If it’s not social media, it’s doing something else on their phone. As soon as my eyes opened, I would reach for my phone to check the time and then open instagram and start scrolling. Before I knew it, 30-45 minutes of my morning were gone.
Not only was I wasting time but I noticed that it was effecting my mindset and overall mood. I would watch stories/reels of moms that seemed to have it all together. I would end up comparing myself to them and would quickly be head first in a downward spiral of negative thoughts and never ending comparisons and the thoughts of not being good enough. Who wants to start their day that way?
2. Drinking Coffee before any water/food
Anyone who knows me, knows my love and obsession with coffee. I would drink 2-3, even 4 cups of coffee before I had any food or water in my system.
All this did was create more anxiety on top of the anxiety I already had, effecting my mood even more. Coffee was my enemy and I didn’t even realize it.
3. Turning on the TV
I would make breakfast for my boys and then take my coffee, sit on the couch, and turn the tv on to my favorite shows. I would tell myself that I would only watch an episode but usually ended up watching several. Please tell me II’m not the only one guilty of this? By the time I would finally summon the will power to turn the tv off, my morning was over.
Even though I knew it was my own fault, I would feel frustrated with myself and anxious that half of my day was gone.
Not only was I making things harder for myself in the morning, I was starting my day off in a negative way which, in the end, was effecting my entire day. It was a vicious cycle.
I am not perfect and I still have days that I fall into these habits. But, I am more mindful of it and find ways to turn days like that around. So if you, like me, are stuck in a cycle of bad habits in the morning, just know that you are still a good mom. We are human and perfection is not reality. Experiment with different things until you find something that works for you and helps you get rid of these habits that are ruining your morning!
Check out my other blog post on the 4 habits to start your day off right.
