Lazy Mom Tips to Make Your Mornings Easier

You can be the best mom in the world — but that doesn’t necessarily make you a morning person. What can you do when your rise-and-shine doesn’t get going until closer to noon, but your responsibilities can’t wait?

A little careful planning can keep you from whirling like a dervish, only to crash and burn in an exhausted heap the second the school bus departs. Lazy moms, here are eight tips you can use to make your morning easier.

1. Have Coffee First

Far too many products offer too much promise and too little delivery, but not so when it comes to coffee. The caffeinated version of this magical bean-water genuinely does get you ready for the day. Research shows that 250 milligrams of caffeine can make moderately sleepy folks feel more alert for three hours.

Another reason to have your coffee before you brush your teeth is that doing so afterward can help prevent stains. Tannins are bitter-tasting compounds that become trapped within your tooth enamel’s bonds and cause discoloration over time. If you can’t make it till noon without several cups at work, drink water in between to rinse your mouth.

2. Embrace Meal Prepping

Whoever declared that breakfast was the most important meal of the day wasn’t a lazy mom with hungry kids to feed. Who on earth invented the tradition of using the stove before 8 a.m.?

Save yourself the hassle of burnt scrambled eggs by embracing meal planning. Take a few hours one evening a week or a weekend morning to prepare healthy freezer grab-and-go breakfasts that your family can zap in seconds. You keep a clear conscience knowing that your loved ones are well-fed, but you don’t have to operate burners with bleary eyes.

3. Pack Backpacks the Night Before

Is there anything more maddening than your little one telling you that they forgot their book report in their bedroom — as the school bus rounds the corner? Spare yourself considerable aggravation by packing your child’s backpack the night before.

Make this activity a ritual. After your kids finish their homework, sit down and review their planner with them, ensuring everything is completed and adjusting time estimates for tasks accordingly. Place their bag by the front door. where it’s ready to grab in the morning.

4. Lay Out the Next Day’s Clothes

Another morning time-waster is standing in front of your closet, wondering what to wear. The problem multiples when your third and fourth-graders are doing the same thing.

Once you finish packing your backpack, lay out your clothes for the next day. Make it a game — after you select your wardrobe, you aren’t allowed to change your mind the next day. You’ll feel and look more polished when you aren’t searching for a clean shirt with moments to spare.

5. Combine Exercise With Necessity

You know you need to get about 150 minutes of moderate activity each week, but it’s challenging to hit the gym when working and raising a family. If you aren’t a morning person, the idea of an a.m. workout might sound off-putting — unless you make it a two-for-one deal.

If your children are too young to walk to school unaccompanied, strolling with them instead of driving counts as exercise. What if the big, yellow bus picks them up? Can you walk or ride your bike to work — or to run your morning errands if you now telecommute?

6. Teach Your Family Accountability

You might be supermom, but you are also human. You want to help your kids, but you also need to teach them accountability for their actions.

If your child forgets something like their lunch, you probably want to cut them some slack and drop it off. However, will one missing homework assignment mean a failing course grade, which keeps them out of their dream college, which prevents them from becoming future president? Probably not — reflect on that before you roll your eyes and grab your car keys. You’re not a bad parent for letting your child face the consequences.

7. Use High Tech to Streamline Chores

Thanks to the magic of technology, you don’t have to waste a minute of your morning vacuuming anymore. If you can afford a robotic vac, it will liberate you.

If the recent pandemic made you more cautious of germs, you don’t have to spend every minute with a sanitizing wipe in hand anymore. Invest in an ultraviolet disinfection lamp and keep your countertops and appliances free from salmonella and other nasties.

8. Hit the Most Important Step and Call It Good

Even if everything else in your morning goes crazy, you are a winning mom if you remember the most important step. Always tell your children that you love them before you part ways for the day.

Life is uncertain, and in the end, the folks you love make it all worthwhile. If you send your kids and partner off feeling loved, you win the World’s Best Mom title.

Lazy Moms, Make Your Mornings Easier With These Tips

Mornings are never fun, and having a family makes it even more hectic. Lazy moms, ease your a.m. burdens with the above tips.