Back to School Routine - How is it going for you?
Funny to say but it’s true: today, in the middle of March, was the first day that my boys went back to “school”, into the school building, after one year of distance learning.
And you know what? As prepared as I was, our morning did not go well, and I ended up scrambling and running around like I did not plan ahead. Me, the planner! Who plans everything by the minute.
My boys were just fine, besides the butterflies, enjoying their breakfast, while I am running around the kitchen trying to do five things at the same time. Good thing I took the day of! Well, I took the day off to work on some projects, which by the way did not happen, but that is another story.
Back to my kitchen. Finally, I put all lunches, snacks, water bottles together, fixing last-minute shoelace situations… and when I glanced back, the kitchen looked like a tornado swept through. Good thing I took the day off, right?
After cleaning the disaster up, I sat down with my tea and I was wondering, how did this happen? I had everything planned out, we should have had plenty of time, and I should not have been a stress ball.
I realized that:
1. I used to have my morning routine down to the minute, but that was a year ago. We have not left the house for a year; we have been taking it easy in our sweatpants and just go to our rooms to “work” or to “school”.
2. Creating a well-oiled routine takes time. We used to do this for 11 years before we stopped going out of the house.
3. I was disorganized (me!!) trying to put breakfast, lunch, and snacks together. (Of course, my boy’s breakfast and lunch menu are totally different, but I am picking my battles: if it’s somewhat healthy, I am happy)
4. I felt like I was busy being stressed out over preparing food, while I should have provided calm support to my boys, who had butterflies. I mean, they have not seen their classmates and teachers in person for a year now.
5. I did not turn my diffuser on!
Next times:
I like to come up with ideas on how to do things better next time. Not just in disastrous events, like this morning was, but even when I feel like I nailed it, there is always room to make things better, faster, simpler, more engaging, more interesting... you get the idea.
So here are my next times:
#1 I need to create a new routine. What used to work before, does not work now. We all changed; we need to create new processes for a better flow. (and for less stress)
#2 Practice. Practice. Practice. We will have to practice to know exactly what time each person is in the bathroom and when to start tying those shoelaces. Repetition will help us create efficient processes.
#3 I need to plan and prepare ahead. We need to figure out the night before exactly what they will eat, so I do not have to look frantically at what to serve from our, just fully stocked, fridge. And I just remembered: my kiddos are perfectly capable of (and used to) gathering their own snacks!
#4 I need to get up earlier so I can get everything ready before my boys show up, so I can actually enjoy the breakfast time with them, chatting away as we used to.
#5 I will not forget to turn the diffuser on with lemon or lemongrass essential oils to boost mental energy and wake us up.
Self-reflection gives me confidence.
It is my daily practice to look back at things that did not go quite well, and even the ones that went well during the day. It allows me to see what I felt good about and what are the things I would like to do differently next time. Just like above.
Here is how you can self-reflect. Super easy:
· Write down some memorable events of your day.
· What went well? Why?
· What did not go well? Why do you think it happened that way?
· What can you do differently next time?
· How can you avoid the same mistake next time?
· How can you make it better next time?
Think about it. Rehearse it. Those
AHA MOMENTS WILL LEAD TO GREATER CONFIDENCE.
When you are confident – you can improve your life and achieve your goals faster. Even if it’s just creating a somewhat working, less stressful morning to get to school.
How was your first or tenth day of getting ready for school? How did it go for you?
