Planning My Day for Success

Hey, y'all! What's up with your Thursday? I have my windows open enjoying a breath of fall before the dog days of summer come back to haunt us. I hope it's beautiful where you are, too, though I know many of you are battling the smoke of nearby fires and all the worry, danger, and heartache that goes with that. My heart is with you!

Just a quick check-in today. I am SO far behind in my day and I have nothing earth-shattering to share with you. We have a gloriously empty calendar tonight, so I would like to get all my things done to welcome all home with dinner (which is going to be a "clean out the fridge" type concoction) at the ready so that we don't fritter our bare evening cooking or cleaning.

I don't know why, but I did NOT sleep well last night. Since having my running partner, I tend to wake up about an hour before my alarm, worried that I will miss hearing it. That's annoying, since my alarm goes off at 4:45 a.m. I usually doze pretty well for the next hour.

Last night, after having a lot of trouble falling asleep I was WIDE AWAKE, tried and tried to go back to sleep, finally caved and looked: 12:55. D'OH! Are you kidding me?? Deep breathing, relaxation, {stomach growling -- SHH!}, dozing... now 3:01. Text running partner. "Not today." Snack (Nilla Wafers!), water, bed, real sleep, alarm too soon. Stagger.

Thankfully, I did something last night that I always THINK ABOUT doing, but figure it can wait until the next day. As someone who is currently in "job-limbo", it's easy to let my day get away from me without getting to all the things I need to do. Whether it be home things, job-hunt things, writing deadline things, etc. I used to be able to wake up in the morning and make myself a to-do list, but even with running and waking up, I just can't quite get my brain in gear in the mornings any more.

My kids have to be at school at two different times by HOURS (6:30 and 9) so I do things in fits and starts and short bursts and do lots of wandering before I remember that I'm even supposed to make myself a list.

Last night I spent 5 minutes planning today. What needed to get done, what  could possibly get done, and what I want to do. Sadly, because I skipped some things and went back to bed after the 6:30 kid got to school, I may not get to what I want to do. But I was able to wake up, walk into the kitchen, see my list, and immediately start in on what needs to get done, which is a far cry from what would usually happen after a night like last night.

I know you're supposed to do that before you leave work every night, but if this is my work right now... it stands to reason. I wonder if I can add: "plan tomorrow" to my nightly routine? Should probably add it to my list right now!

What do you do to make your mornings go smoothly?