As a working mother it is near impossible to fit in all the demands required from work and children. You are in a constant conundrum of ‘Have I done enough at work today?’ vs. ‘Did I spend enough time with the children?
At Mamo & Mono WE SEE YOU and understand the constant pressures of motherhood in this modern world.
We feel that having a solid evening routine not only helps to reduce the morning chaos, it will also help to reduce your mental load.
We do however appreciate that a routine cannot always be followed due to the unpredictable nature of life, but we hope that this article can help make your life a little bit more organised.
This article has been written not to be followed rigidly, but to hopefully inspire you enough to create your own personalised evening routine. NB – In this article we will be sticking to the ‘evening routine checklist for working mothers’, however, we have a sister article to this where we will be focusing on the ‘evening routine checklist for children’
Below are 8 essential tasks that we feel should be on your evening checklist as a working mother.
1. Check Work Emails
As a working mother you have to wear multiple hats, and at times this may lead you to become forgetful. By completing a last minute read of your recent work emails you can go to bed reassured that you have not missed anything urgent. However, if something has in fact slipped through the net, for example planning a work meeting or responding to an email, then this can be easily rectified. (Also, double check your junk mail just in case! Sometimes you can find a stray email lurking over there!)
2. Check your Diary
A last-minute diary check should be an evening essential. Similarly, to checking your most recent work emails, by glancing at your diary for the days/week to come, you will immediately be able to let out a sigh of relief just being aware of the upcoming events in the next few days.
3. Ask a Colleague/Work friend
Have you ever experienced that gut feeling that you have forgotten something? You have searched the depths of your brain and nothing. This is when you ask a colleague/work friend. By sending them a quick message or making a quick call they will be able to confirm your suspicions or reassure you that you haven’t missed anything important. And if there is anything that you should be doing to prepare for work then you just might have enough time to fix it before heading to bed.
4. Prepare Your Work Bag
Before leaving your home for work, you will require your essential items for the day. Often in the mornings we can easily get distracted by getting sucked into various events. By preparing your work bag the night before it reduces the chances that something important will be left behind.
Some items which may be classed as some of your essentials (and be packed the night before) include:
- Home keys
- Car keys
- Purse/wallet
- Money
- Bank cards
- Work ID card/badge
- Diary
- Pens
- Deodorant
- Perfume
- Makeup
This list can be personalised to meet your needs.
5. Prepare Clothes
This should include picking out what you want to wear, ironing it if necessary and having it either laying out or hanging in a place where it can be easily reached. Therefore, in the morning all you are doing is grabbing and going. Of course, since the pandemic many are working from home, however, if you still have a nursery drop, or school run or any video meetings then it might still be necessary to prepare in advance. Or if all else fails, you could sit at home wearing Christmas pyjamas!
6. Prepare Lunch
It may not be possible to pack the whole lunch the night before, however, simple things such as washing your lunch box or getting your water bottle ready will allow the process to be a lot faster and smoother in the morning.
7. Last Minute Check of Essentials
These are questions that you might ask yourself the night before. Such as, ‘Do I have enough supplies for breakfast?’ For example, milk/bread or ‘Do I have enough fuel to complete my morning journey?’. At least if this is thought about the evening before, then you can make a quick trip that evening to resolve any last-minute issues.
8. Evening Speed Clean
This is that last minute clean you can do before going to bed. It is likely that you had a tiring day, so this should be a very quick surface clean, (we are talking 10/15mins). The clean should include simple things such as putting toys away, loading a dishwasher or a quick sweep. There is nothing worse that starting the day with a messy house to add to an already hectic morning. Trust us, your future morning self will thank you!
By achieving these 8 essential tasks in the evening they will help you to feel empowered to take on the new morning with confidence. Of course, if you’ve had a busy day it may not be possible to complete these tasks (as you may just want to go to bed), however, even if you accomplish one or two, it will still help your morning to be a bit more manageable.
We hope that this article has helped as we know how tough it can be to be a working mother. You’re doing an amazing job!
Mamo & Mono xoxo
Share this post:
Array