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Mornings can be a time of intense pressure, stress, and hurry for moms. There are breakfasts and lunches to make, kids to get dressed, and places to be. The endless to-do list for the day is going on like a loop through your mind with things adding on and it can quickly become overwhelming.

While this is not the ideal morning, sometimes it’s just our reality as busy stay-at-home moms. We are the house manager, the chauffeur, the chef, and so much more. Amidst all of this chaos, I truly believe that mornings can be calm and routined, and you can feel ahead of the game. It does take a bit of prep and a lot of patience, but it can get better. The schedules and the needs are probably not going to change, but your mindset can, and that is such an important aspect of having a good morning and a good day.

Now, full disclosure, I’ve always been a morning person so I have that on my side. I love the morning. Even with two kids, I still love mornings. I love the fresh start to the day, the feeling of possibility and a new day to do better, seeing the sun for another day, etc. In addition, I enjoy getting ready for the day! I can be in sweats all day if they’re cute, but I can NOT be in pajamas all day, or even really a few hours after waking up. I’ve always been like this – but in motherhood it’s something that has continued to benefit my mental state. I’m going to explain how this helps and how you can implement this to help you have better days.

My process in the morning is very short and simple, but it has a huge impact on my day. I call this little block of time “taking ten”. It’s less than ten minutes, and I get myself situated for the day whether or not my kids are awake already, and I can move forward for the day with a full self-care cup. 

What Does it Mean to “Take Ten”?

I’ve talked about ways to improve your mornings in this post here, but I’m going to expand here on the getting ready portion.

When I wake up in the morning, it is sometimes before my kids are awake but other times they wake me up. For me, this doesn’t really matter – I love the days I get up earlier, but being woken up doesn’t change my routine.

Right when I wake up, I do what I call, “taking ten”. It’s just a quick ten-minute (or often less) period where I get myself situated before turning on “mom mode” for the day. I put my makeup on, do my hair, and change my clothes. Simple, but effective.

Put Makeup On

I am somewhat of a minimalist when it comes to my daily makeup routine. In the summertime, I usually just fill in my eyebrows and maybe put mascara on. In the winter I need a little more help to feel my best, so I’ll use concealer, fill in my eyebrows, and put mascara on. I like to put makeup on (even if we are just staying home for the day) because I feel ready for anything. If there are any last-minute changes of plans or if someone randomly comes to the door, I’m ready and I feel good! My confidence is higher and I’m in a better mood because of it.

You can find my favorite day-to-day makeup items here: concealer, eyebrow pencil, mascara.

Do My Hair

Just like my makeup, I am a minimalist when it comes to my hair, too (notice a pattern here?). I try to keep my showers to nighttime and then do my hair before bed so that when I wake up in the morning it’s clean and not much needs to be done. I’m not someone who curls my hair or straightens it each day. For the most part, I keep it natural and occasionally will throw a braid or heartless curl method in at night before bed if I want a change up. If my hair looks crazy after sleeping on it, I’ll throw a big claw clip in. You can find my favorite claw clips here. This is as far as my hair routine goes day to day and I really love it. I enjoy embracing my natural hair and I enjoy not having to spend an hour doing it. I really push anyone that is willing to try this for a month. Embrace your natural beauty and see how much easier life gets!

Change Clothes

Even if my outfit goes from pajamas to athleisure, getting into a clean set of clothes that I’m able to comfortably go out into the world in is so helpful for my daily mindset. My favorite outfits are versatile – something like a pair of leggings, cute sneakers, a sports bra, and a top that I can do anything in. Hang around, play with my kids, run errands, head to the park, cook, clean, work out… any of it can be done in my daily outfits and it keeps life so simple. 

Taking ten each morning has been so beneficial to my days. If you’re struggling with your mornings I highly suggest trying it! I’ve done this long enough now that my kids know my routine and they do very well letting me have those few minutes. Once I’m situated after taking ten, I’m “on” as mom. I start my day and we are ready to go.

Are there routines you do each day that help you with your mindset? Let me know in the comments below, I love hearing about what works for other people!