2709: [Part 1] Evening Routine For Stay-at-Home Moms by Cara Harvey of A Purpose Driven Mom on How to Reduce Parent Stress

[00:00:00] Hey, it's Justin from Optimal Living Daily. Before we start, I want to share a super powerful practice I use called NSDR or Non-Sleep Deep Rest. In just about 10 minutes or so, this Yoga Nidra practice leaves you feeling as refreshed as after a nap without actually sleeping. Experience it for yourself on our guided podcast. Search NSDR and look for the one from Optimal Living Daily.

[00:00:24] This is Optimal Relationships Daily, Evening Routine For Stay-at-Home Moms, Part 1 by Cara Harvey of A Purpose Driven Mom.com Stay-at-home moms need routines to help their homes run smoothly, and an evening routine is one of the most important ones. A lot of times we start with trying to fix and improve our morning routine, but I truly believe that your evening routine is even more vital.

[00:00:51] A good evening routine will set up your day for success. It allows you to wake up less stressed and frazzled, and actually achieve more in your morning routine. And I hear you. As a stay-at-home mom, once my kids are in bed, the last thing I want to do is another routine. Wash another dish or make a decision. As soon as my kids are tucked in bed, I truthfully plop, seriously, imagine a belly flop, onto my bed and scroll my Instagram for 15 minutes while I ask my husband for quiet.

[00:01:21] But, as soon as my 15-minute scroll timer goes off, I get myself up and start my evening routine, no matter how tired or worn out I am, because I know its value and importance. How to End Your Day as a Stay-at-Home Mom I recommend having a structure that splits your evening routine into three parts. Closing out today, prepping for tomorrow, and taking time for you. And as a stay-at-home mom, our job starts the second the kids are awake.

[00:01:50] And if they're like my early birds, that's 5.30 a.m. and goes way past their bedtime. Having a plan, checklist, or routine for the evening is going to be super helpful when you have decision fatigue and just want to put most of your tasks on autopilot. Closing out the day is the toughest part of the evening routine as a stay-at-home mom, because we just get burnt by the end of the day. We've cleaned up the same mess over and over, attempted to fold laundry all day, and just don't want to do it.

[00:02:18] But, it's super key, and needs to be done first to help you get your evening routine mojo flowing. I suggest putting on some uplifting music or a podcast and just getting started. I like to listen to podcasts while I do my routine because I find that it makes the time zoom by, and gets me motivated to keep going. I've shared a checklist in this post of suggested things you could do to close out the day, and I left some blanks for you to come up with the things that you know you need to get done.

[00:02:46] All of our homes are different, but when you're trying to come up with tasks to close out the day, think of one to four looming tasks you know you didn't complete or must get done. This is not the time to complete your entire to-do list, or berate yourself for not doing enough, or feel like a failure. This is the time when you get done what you know will decrease your stress and set you up for success tomorrow. And a quick note, you don't have to complete this entire checklist by yourself.

[00:03:15] Many nights, these tasks happen before the kids go to bed, and we do them as a family. I like to put them on my checklist because, for the crazy busy nights, or the ones where we are at church or sports, or I just want to direct people on how to help, it's helpful to have a reference. Remember, there is power in a checklist. I like to use my checklist as a data point for myself each week. If you've never done an evening routine, you can try it out for one week, and get a percentage of the tasks that you've completed.

[00:03:43] Then next week, you can aim to get one to two more tasks done than last week. This helps change the all-or-nothing mentality into a mentality of growth and grace. For me, my closing out today tasks include taking up the trash and recycling, loading the dishwasher, wiping down counters, putting away mail or loose papers in appropriate bins, a quick sweep of our main kitchen slash dining room floors, and a 15-minute pickup.

[00:04:11] Prepping for tomorrow as a stay-at-home mom. Once the closeout tasks are done, and I feel less overwhelmed by the craziness of that day, I'm ready to plan for tomorrow. As a stay-at-home mom, you want to create an evening routine that makes sense for your day and helps you run your home well. I am a firm believer in having routines, even though we're at home, and feel strongly that kids thrive off of them as well. To be continued.

[00:04:40] You just listened to part one of the post titled Evening Routine for Stay-at-Home Moms by Kara Harvey of APurposeDrivenMom.com And thanks a lot to Kara. Great start to this post. I really love the note we ended on, actually, about the adjustment of our routine. Routines are wonderful until we let them control us and get attached to the completion of the checklist, right? Even though routines are great for doing some of the thinking for us, or at least doing the thinking in advance

[00:05:10] so we can move about our days with more clarity, that doesn't mean we don't have to go back to the drawing board sometimes. Part of accommodating to life changes is altering our routines accordingly. So I thought it was great that Kara mentioned that and sort of cultivated a sense of flexibility in a post that otherwise might have felt very systematic. Not only does she talk about adjusting the routine itself, but also building into it and seeking to accomplish, like she said, one to two more tasks in the following weeks.

[00:05:38] To me, this feels like a great way of de-stressing for busy moms. It helps us to feel as though we're making progress, and it encourages a slow build into realistic goals. All wonderful things, and surely more great tips to come tomorrow. So be sure to come on back for that one, everybody. You don't want to stop now. Have a great rest of your night, and I will look forward to seeing you again for the continuation of this post where your optimal life awaits.