Thoughtfulness Thursday: Organizations PM and AM

I love this graphic on The Muse: https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-6-smartest-things-you-can-do-every-night-and-every-morning about the six smartest things you can do every night and every morning.

I'm a firm believer in being organized so that things function properly and efficiently. After you have a kid (or kids) things need to be even more organized for you to stay sane. On the days that I'm working, I have to stay super organized so that I can get to work on time (and in one piece).

PM
1. Lists. I am a BIG believer in lists...my lists have list (that say things like, "Refer to list A..."). If you make a list before bed, then you're less likely to wake up in the middle of the night thinking about what you need to do tomorrow. I just make lists all day long.

2. Clothes. I've been laying out my clothes the night before for probably 20 years...maybe longer than that. I like to know exactly what I'm going to wear the next day (including accessories and shoes). I also lay out all of my make-up and hair products on my counter so they are ready to go.

3. Forgiveness. I like that this is included on the list because you should always pray for your forgiveness and doing it before bed helps you to rest.

AM
1. Doing something for yourself. This is one thing my husband and I have always talked about. Running is something I do for myself. Junior League is something I do for myself. Spending time with my girlfriends is something I do for myself. I think so many moms get caught up in mom guilt of being away from their kids. Yes, I hate being away from E, but I would go insane if I were home all day, everyday without doing anything for myself...in fact, that's why I started running :)

2. Routine. I'm the queen of routine...that's one reason vacations exhaust me. I love routine...I thrive in routine and I live for routine. I want everything to fall into place and it doesn't always do that (especially with kids). I always try to have a routine (and keep E on a routine) but sometimes we are off by a little. I notice that if E takes a late nap that it throws our whole day off and he and I are pretty miserable.

3. Big v. small. You can either start with something BIG to start your day or something small. I like to start with small things (e-mails, social media, news)...mindless things that I can kind of push through. Around 9:00 I start thinking about the bigger things and then by the evening my brain is fried and it's back to the small things.

Hope this was as helpful to you as it was to me...I always think that the more organized you are, the healthier you are!

Xo,