4 ways to deal with morning stress

I have been really stressed out lately.  This weather has totally messed up my mornings.  Is it hot, cold? If cold...which it is slowly starting to cool down means putting on all those layers to get out the door. Buses are late, oh, and now we have a dog to walk!  Oye.  I have been late to work and those that know me know how much this just ruins my whole day.  I hold myself to high standards, and it drives me nuts when things like the weather, which I have zero control over, impact my day.  So, rather than ruining everyone else's lives, I have been trying to manage my stress.  Here is what I am doing....

1. I am coming to terms with being late.  It sucks, and I hate it, but acknowledging that it is going to happen has made me relax.  A lot.  I have let go of the worry.  Poof.  It's gone. 

2. I have stopped yelling (well, for the most part.....) Yelling at my kids to hurry up is not going to make them move any faster.  In fact it slows us down even more because they get upset and stop getting ready because of that.  Then I feel bad.  Then I have to apologize and we have to hug it out.  And now I have just added 3-5 minutes to our already late arrival time.  So, I just take a deep breath and help them get those winter boots on and look for that missing mitten (again!). 

3. I am making sure I have my breakfast.  Even though it is adding time to my already hectic morning, I am way more grumpier if I am hungry, so skipping breakfast to save time just doesn't work for me.

4. To try and anticipate the lateness of my morning, I am waking up earlier.  This gives me extra time to myself, which is nice.  I can get ready in silence and do as much prepping and packing before the kids get up.

As much as I love the winter season, this winter has been a tough one.  I hope we can all take it easy on ourselves as we wait for warmer days.  

   

Post by Erica