When you think of time management or task management, you might automatically assume it would be about an office or work situation. After all, employees are expected to manage their time in an efficient manner. What I am going to talk about today is task management in the home.

Our brains are so full of things we have to accomplish, that in most cases, we spend our days rushing from one forgotten task to another. Managing your time better at home can mean the difference between ending the day exhausted or ending the day feeling accomplished. I don’t know about you, but I would rather end my day feeling accomplished.

With this in mind, I recommend having a morning and an evening routine. When you stick with a routine, those tasks become routine – and that is key to being efficient with your time. Having a routine helps you make sure you are getting the tasks done for your family, for your home, for work, and most importantly, for your own self-care that need to be done so life runs smoothly. Having a routine helps you to stay focused and ensures that most mornings will have everyone leaving the home in a happy mindset to greet the day.

There are many benefits of establishing a morning routine. Maybe you are someone is slow-moving in the mornings. Once you have an established routine, you can almost sleepwalk through as you complete all the tasks that must be completed in the morning. Your sleepy mind isn’t bogged down trying to think of everything that needs to be done. You will move from task to task.

What does a morning routine look like? That depends on you. Are you a stay-at-home mom who needs to make sure the kids are on the bus and hubby is out the door at a certain time? Do you need to get a load of laundry started first thing? How about a few minutes of exercise? Are their backpacks in need of packing? Lunches to be assembled? Mornings carry a lot of stress and having a routine helps to make sure everyone begins the day with the tools they need to lead a happy and organized life.

Establishing a morning routine helps free up time because some decisions are already made for you. Creating a morning routine for children helps them grow in independence and releases you from the burden of micromanaging their tasks. With a glance, you can see if they’ve completed their routine. When everyone knows what is expected and needs to be accomplished each day, it eliminates stress and conflict. This is especially important for children. As they learn task and time management skills, they are better able to manage their lives and learning this young will help them as they get older and need to manage even more tasks in their lives. Routines also teach them the discipline they will need to become successful adults. By establishing routines, you are setting your children up for success in life.

How do you set up a routine? First, after observing the morning rush for a couple of days, gather a pen and paper and jot down the things that need to be done to get everyone out the door in the morning, from setting an alarm to leaving. You probably have some idea about the temperament and capabilities of each child. What can they realistically do each morning? Are they rolling out of bed exhausted and cranky? Would you like for them to make the bed before school? Do they shower in the morning? Eat breakfast? Do they make their own breakfast? When are backpacks packed, morning or night? Papers signed?

Here are a few tips for corralling the kids and getting them off to school without a load of tears and scrambling around looking for lost stuff. Some of the suggestions will also find their way into the evening routine as we discuss evening routines.

First, take baths and showers at night. Not only will it save valuable time in the morning, but the kids will sleep better. Bathing at night will also allow extra time for breakfast.

Secondly, set a specific time for rising in the morning. Consistency is key. Give the responsibility for setting the alarm to each child. If they share a room, take turns assigning the responsibility. This one simple task will allow the younger kids to feel more responsible for their day.

Thirdly, lay out clothes the night before. This is especially helpful if the children do not wear uniforms and for those who take forever to make up their mind. For those procrastinators, try setting up a “cute” area for them to lay out their clothes – a chair with a little basket for the bow or barrettes, brush, socks, belt, etc. Their little minds can rest easy knowing they are confident with their choices for the next day. You can set aside time in the evening for choosing the next day’s outfit. If it would work to organize the outfits for the week, go ahead and do so. There are many organizing solutions to help make this system work. This can easily be done over the weekend.

Fourth, set timers if need be so each child knows to complete tasks such as brushing their teeth and putting shoes on to keep on schedule.

Fifth, prep your lunches ahead of time. If you do your shopping on the weekend, have the kids help in making up little fruit bags or snack bags. Have a lunch prep station or basket where items will be readily available. Set up the lunch bags the night before so they will be ready to fill the next morning. Five minutes at night to choose a snack and to put it in the bag cuts down on chaos in the morning. If lunch consists of sandwiches, have a bin in the refrigerator to hold sandwich making supplies and fruit bags. Reaching for one bin and not an armload of items is time-saving. Simple organization is key.

Having the children decide on breakfast the night before will cut down on prep time in the morning. Bowls of cereal can be poured and a cover put on the bowl and the child only has to add milk in the morning. There are many breakfast sandwich ideas that can be made and frozen ahead of time, then reheated.

Sixth, one of the biggest distractions in a morning routine, for adults and children, is the television. It is the perfect time when everyone is gathered in the kitchen having breakfast and prepping lunch to have meaningful conversations about your child’s day. Television has a way of distracting and can quickly cause delays in a morning schedule.

One of the most important parts of determining a morning (and evening) routine is to involve everyone. Once you have a list of things that need to be done each morning, for each person, it’s time to make a chart and talk to each person about your expectations. A check-off chart for younger kids can be used as an incentive to keep them on track. They can stick a star on each task as they complete the task. For older kids, a list to gently remind them may be sufficient. The most important thing to convey is how organizing your mornings will create a peaceful and unrushed morning for everyone. As I mentioned before, consistency is key. If you set up a morning routine and stick to it, it will become second nature and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how smooth your mornings will go.

An example of a chart that you might consider using is below. When beginning a new routine, it helps to plan it out. It not only helps the child understand where time goes, but they will use time-telling skills to help stay on track. Once established and used, you may find you no longer need a list, but it’s nice to have one to fall back on.

 

Morning Routine for a child

Time	Task	Includes
6:30 am	Make bed	Pull covers up Put pillow on bed
6:35 am	Dress	Wash face Put clothes on Brush hair
6:45 am	Breakfast	Eat breakfast
6:55 am	Brush teeth
7:00 am	Organize to leave	Put backbag and lunch at door. (Coats,etc.)
7:05 am	Free time
7:20 am	Get ready to leave	Put coat on Grab backbag and lunch Head to bus or car

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