018- Perimenopause Micro-Habit Challenge 4: School Morning Stress Management

Stress-Proof Your School Mornings: A Perimenopause Micro Habit Challenge

Kickstart your school year with less stress and more productivity. This episode offers practical tips and strategies to streamline your mornings and create a calmer, more enjoyable start to your day.

Key Takeaways:

1. Plan Ahead for Smooth Mornings
2. Mindful Movement Matters
3. Create a Supportive Environment

Amazon links to items mentioned in this episode (affiliate links)
Over the door 5-days of outfits: https://amzn.to/3YX9HEw
Peel-n-Stick Whiteboard: https://amzn.to/3MmfAUa
Pyraminx Speed Cube:https://amzn.to/3T0eXU4
Gear Cube:https://amzn.to/3Z67syC
Star Cube: https://amzn.to/3X7Ugae

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Disclaimer:  I am not a medical doctor. The information and recommendations provided during our coaching sessions are intended to support your overall health and wellness and are not a substitute for professional medical diagnosis or treatment. Always consult with your physician before making any changes to your medication, treatment plan, or if you have any concerns about your health. 

Transcript

School Morning Stress Management Tips

Speaker 1 2:28

As my business coach says, sometimes you have to slow down in order to speed up. So I thought how fitting this would be for August. So here we are on week four, the last week of our August Microtopic series. This week's microtopic is stress management, but more specifically, tips for a less stressful school morning as the summer finishes out and with the impending shifts in routines and schedules. For those with kids still in school, august feels like the quick rush, rush, hurry up and wait month Getting those last minute vacations or weekend getaways in school, shopping, organizing, cleaning and prepping, or sitting there thinking of all the things that you need to happen amongst the scheduled items on your calendar, and you've become frozen. So over the month of August, we have been focusing on one micro habit a week diving in and getting granular, not biting off more than you can chew and not letting yourself sit around and tell yourself you'll wait until after school starts or after labor day, or fill in the blank happens, whatever the thing is, because you spent so many years pushing yourself to the bottom of the list. It's time to ignite some micro habits that are going to light a fire towards you feeling more like yourself, more human, more important, more empowered and more energized to tackle planned and unplanned things that come up in your life. You got this One micro habit at a time. Last week's micro topic was protein and breakfast. If you missed it, I encourage you to go back and listen. So welcome back to the Smash the Crash Microhabit Challenge. Last week we focused on protein and breakfast and this week we're turning our attention to stress management. As you may know, perimenopause can be a stressful time, marked by hormonal fluctuations, physical changes and emotional ups and downs. Chronic stress can exacerbate menopausal and perimenopausal symptoms, leading to sleep disturbances, mood swings and low energy levels. So here we are talking some stress management techniques for school mornings. So here are some easy to implement stress management techniques that I have implemented in my house to ease the school morning chaos and Amazon has become my super sidekick for practically all the things, so listen in for some Amazon picks that may also help you get organized for your school mornings. All right.

Speaker 1 5:14

So organization tip number one have the kids pick out clothes for the whole week in advance on the weekend, and I'm talking down to the socks and undies for each school day that week. I have found an over-the-door five five pocket mesh holder. My kids use this for their five days of school clothes. So when they check out their, pick out their outfits, they're putting in each day's outfit in each one of those pockets and we are good to go for the week. So check out the show notes for the links to this one.

Speaker 1 5:48

Tip number two look at the school lunch menu for the week on the weekend. So I write down what the school lunch options are for each day of the school week and I let my kids mark which ones they plan to buy on the days of the week. So my little hack for this is I found a peel and stick them whiteboard roll on Amazon and I've used it in a few different places in my house. Because you can actually cut it to size, I'll link this one in the show notes as well. The other place I've put this whiteboard paper is upstairs in our hallway, in between two Jord jams right outside the hall bathroom it's about four inches wide and 10 inches long and wrote a list of all the morning chores that need to happen to be completed to get ready, aka get dressed, brush your teeth, eat breakfast, put your shoes on. I know it seems a little ridiculous, but I'm sure you understand the go-get-dressed directive Only define that that child, 10 minutes later, is upstairs dancing around or rolling around on the floor playing with toys still not dressed.

Speaker 1 7:00

Number three pack the lunches the night before for you and for your kids. Just do it, stick it in the fridge and it's ready for grab and go in the morning. I know you just want to sit down and relax and say you'll do it in the morning, but believe me, the extra five to ten minutes will come in handy, especially if you have a child dancing around needing multiple reminders of what tasks come next to get ready in the morning. And number four set out your exercise clothes for the morning. Get to bed on time, or even a little early, and plan to get up and have some alone time to yourself. To get some morning movement in Amp your day up with some steps before the rest of your family gets up. In Amp your day up with some steps before the rest of your family gets up and if you think you may need a little extra effort, you wear your exercise clothes to bed.

Empowering Back-to-School Mental Health Tips

Speaker 1 7:50

I've done it. I've done it many times. It's really hard to tell yourself, not today, when you already have all the attire on, minus the shoes. I have a very special guest sitting here with me during the recording of this episode my almost 13-year-old son, tyler. Hey Ty, hey, mom. So you heard my thoughts on stress management for moms, especially with the start of school and to ease the burden or the stress of the school mornings. Did any of these sound familiar?

Speaker 2 8:26

Yes, these sound familiar because you make me do these. Is it helpful, though?

Speaker 1 8:34

Yes, and I wanted to ask you, from your perspective, what are some things that we do or that you do in advance or in preparation for school, to feel less stressed in the morning and that day? So what are some other thoughts that you might have to help ease the stress of getting ready in the morning for school to be on time?

Speaker 2 9:05

First of all I set two alarms, so like one for like I have to be like ready to go at seven, so I could I kind of set two alarms, one for six and one for 630. That way I kind of wake up, I get a bit more time to rest, and then I can get up at the second alarm.

Speaker 1 9:28

Okay, and is that second alarm really just if you happen to turn the first one off without really realizing it? Yes, perfect, I know how that goes, because I'm like that too. All right, and what do you find helpful during the day for you in school if you're feeling overwhelmed? So not necessarily something that we do here at home, but something that you do at school if you're starting to feel stressed or overwhelmed.

Speaker 2 9:58

Well, first of all, you should bring a lot of Rubik's Cubes.

Speaker 1 10:03

My wife just solved it, and so TyTy has a love of Rubik's Cubes by the way, just solved it, and so TyTy has a love of Rubik's Cubes. Rubik's.

Speaker 2 10:08

Cubes you saw me solve. If you guys, when you guys are watching this, you guys would have saw me solve this PeerRanks, this GearCube and this 3x3. And those are all new. Love to play with the cubes, Amazing, so fidgets.

Speaker 1 10:26

So what you're saying is fidgets in school? Yes, help it when, help you when you're feeling a little overwhelmed or stressed. Yes, our episode to encourage them during the start of school, like the start of the school year and the shuffle of routines Anything that you could say to make moms feel a little bit better about this change in routine?

Speaker 2 10:54

Well, when kids start to get unfocused, they also get to go unruly. So, in my opinion, we should have a bit more fidgets, like this star cube fidget spinner and a Rolex cube. We need more fidgets.

Speaker 1 11:14

All right, so the kids need more fidgets. And then, what other words do you have that would maybe be helpful for a mom to hear You're doing amazing. I love the words of encouragement, ty Ty. Okay, and just so everyone knows, this was not pre-scripted, so his answers are his answers. Everyone tag me in your Instagram stories at it's Melissa Himman, and let me know how you are making out with the start of this school year. Just imagine you, along with hundreds of other women committing to planning ahead, stressing less, focusing on more quality sleep, getting in more movement, eating more protein and feeling more energized. Woo, that's empowering. Have a coworker, a friend or a family member who's always saying they feel like they're running on fumes. Share this episode with them and get them in on this challenge, because smash the crash is dedicated to helping at least 100 women. Smash that crash feeling with powerful micro habit changes by the end of 2024. Thanks, ty ty.