It’s Gilmore Girlz Szn

Man oh man do I love being a basic fall bish.

Pumpkin spice! 🎃
Fall candles! 🍎
Mums! 🏵️
Cardigans!🧥

I love fall and what it represents ✨

The energy of back to school and finishing the year out strong yet innately starting to power down as summer fades 📚✏️

Yet, there's also a feeling of pressure we place on ourselves to always be performing and making the most of every moment 😟

In this vain, have the past few weeks of back to school been a blur of aiming to establish an organized routine yet letting the mornings get away from you?🌄

If so, try adopting a few of these routines and let me know if they aid in relieving some of the back to school pressure stress 😌

Morning Routine

• Prep the Night Before: Set a nighttime alarm and lay out clothes, pack bags, and prepare lunch/snacks the night before to reduce morning stress
• Meal Prep Healthy Breakfasts: Pick a day of the week to make batch balanced breakfasts with a combo of protein, fiber, and healthy fats to maintain energy, focus and avoid that 11am crash

Homework and Study/Work Schedule

• Dedicated Study Time: Whether you have school aged kids or you have extra work from your day to complete, set aside a regular time each day with a time limit for homework and or work
• Create a Decidated Study/Work Space: Whether it’s an office, desk or just a small sliver of your couch, designate a clutter-free, quiet area for studying or working with all necessary supplies easily accessible
• Use a Planner or Digital Calendar: Track assignments, appointments, and important school/work events per a color coded system to quickly and easily see what area need the most focus day or day or week to week 

After-School/Work Routine

• Snack and Unwind: Take 15–30 minutes after school/work to decompress, breath, have a healthy snack, and relax before diving into clearing out your bag, prepping for bedtime routines and the next day.  Allow yourself to transition from work/commuting mode to home mode
• Chores and Free Time: Try combining one small household task with a relaxing activity per night.  You’ll begin to associate completing a chore with the reward of your relaxing activity.  You can also try to theme days like dusting & reading on Tuesdays, vacuuming and drawing on Wednesdays, etc

Sleep Schedule

• Set a Bedtime Prompt: Set a reminder on your phone to begin to wind down 1-2 hours before you’d like to be in bed. Establish a calming bedtime routine that does not include your phone and do activities that calm your nervous system like deep breathes, light stretching, journaling or meditating
• Tech-Free Zone: Limit screen time before bed. Turn off devices at least 30 minutes before sleep to avoid overstimulation and blue light over exposure

Weekend Routine

• Catch Up and Plan: Review the week's accomplishments and set goals for the upcoming week. Prepare materials for the next week (projects, supplies, meals, etc.)
• Reward, Relax and Recharge: You made it through another week!  Balance downtime and any school/work-related tasks, so weekends are restorative but productive

Organization Tools

• Checklists: Daily, weekly and monthly to-do lists can help prioritize tasks and keep track of progress
• Color-Coding System: Use different colors for subjects in notebooks, planners, and folders to stay organized per the different responsibilities of your life
• Organize Backpack and Workspace: Declutter daily. Keep the workspace clean and maintain a well-organized backpack/purse/workspace to avoid losing materials & overwhelm

Have any questions about how to create and or maintain a schedule? I’d be happy to help!  Reach out to me here with any questions.

‍