I think most of us mums will agree that if there is one thing that would make our collective lives a little easier, it is a couple of extra hours a day.
You know, just do get everything done. I know I always struggled with feeling like I was always chasing my tails, never getting to the bottom of that day’s to-do list before a new day arrived and the circus started all over again.
And then I started doing this one little thing, and believe me when I say it has completely changed everything in my house.
What is it, I bet you’re wondering?
I set my alarm to get up ONE hour earlier than when I need to get up.
This might seem like a little thing, but believe me, it will make a difference to how on top of your day you feel.
And yes, I do at first feel a little tired when my alarm first goes off just before 6 am (5.45 to be exact), but I also love that once I do get up, I have a glorious hour where, despite it being mid-week and I am a full-time working mum of two, I have no rush.
This is my me-hour. My time to just sit in silence and drink a cup of green tea, do whatever little bits of tidying that needs doing, have a shower, curl my hair, write out the shopping list, what-flipping-ever, the point being that it is my hour (actually, nearly hour and a half, as I don’t tend to wake the children until just after 7 am) and I can do with it as I wish.
It makes me feel, cliché as it may sound, that I am running my day instead of it running me.
And while you can argue that this me-time is also something you can always squeeze in later in the day, I, for one, just find that during the day, there is no time for that. And if I wait until the kids are in bed (and asleep), it’s already after 8 pm and I am not really fit for much else than putting out clothes and lunch-boxes for the next day before sinking into the sofa and resting my eyes on Netflix or the TV for a little bit before falling asleep.
This morning hour, it has saved my sanity a little. And, I think, made me a better mum. I feel less stressed, even in those frantic morning hours, which can only be a good thing for the kids, as well as for me. Win-win.
I am not alone in discovering this hack, though. Author Samantha Ettus, herself a mum of three, talks about this hour being the solution all time-stretched mothers need in their lives.
In her book, The Pie Life: A Guilt-Free Recipe For Success And Satisfaction, Ettus explains how getting up just an hour earlier can change your relationship with your partner, your children and your work.
“Make the most of this magic hour. That time is yours to read the paper, catch up on emails, have a shower, practice the piano. ”
Amen.
Will you be trying this life-hack? Or would you not sacrifice an hour in bed for anything? Let us know in the comments or tweet us at @Herfamilydotie
