How to Stop Your Bad Day Before It Starts

5 MIN READ

A Typical Morning

5:15 am – You hit snooze… You tell yourself, “I’ve got 30 minutes until I have to get up. Make it count. Now sleep!”

5:30 am – You hit snooze again… “Agggh, why can’t I sleep? Did the kids really study for that test? I need to make a doctor’s appointment. What time is my first meeting? NO! I’m sleepy! I’ve got a few more minutes … use them!”

5:45 am – Alarm Blaring… “Oh God, I’m so tired. What if I call in sick? Being this tired has GOT to be an illness. Ok, ok, God, I’ll get up in 10! Just a few more minutes.”

6:15 am – Thinking… Dreaming… “Sleeping this good has got to be wrong.” 

You shoot up! “Oh, Crap! I overslept and there’s so much to do!”

You then proceed to do a drive-by wake up for your kids and check your phone! Another 20 min (or more) – gone!

And now it’s official… you’re day is shot and it will only get worse! Well, not really, but in your mind, that’s what you believe. Too many working moms wake up to this kind of morning – tired, worried, frustrated, ragged, rushing…

Are you tired of it yet? Because I am.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT CONCEPT:

Build relationships with Subject Matter Experts (SME) to help navigate problems and get projects back on track

So, on the 2nd day of the new year, of a new decade, I decided this would stop! This Project Manager needed a better plan for her day, but my planner of choice wasn’t Franklin Covey, Google Calendar, nor a Productivity app on my phone. My choice, instead, was to reference His Word.

I was going through an extremely rough start to the new year and just needed to do something totally different because what I’d been doing WAS NOT working. So, I placed a priority on my spiritual, mental, and physical well being. Then I promised myself I would follow through on changing it. After that, I took these steps to stop my bad day before it could even get started.

Step 1 – Wake 30 min earlier. Meditate. Talk to God.

I mean literally have a conversation with God, the ultimate Subject Matter Expert, for 15-20 min. He can guide you through any problem. Tell him your hopes, dreams, and most importantly your fears and doubts. Those things that have been dwelling in your mind and get to you first thing in the morning – SPILL IT! This is crucial.

See it’s at this point, first thing in the morning, that seeds of doubt, anxiety, anger, jealousy, etc. can be planted in the mind and then go to work wrecking your day! By voicing these concerns to God, He will give you a word to change negative thoughts and your point of view. His Word will speak louder than the thoughts in your mind and give you the strength to move on to Step 2.

Step 2 – Workout 10-15 min before your day starts

With a redirected, positive, and healthy mindset in place, you’re now in a “Can-Do” mood. You can now convince yourself that YOU REALLY CAN do a 10-15 min workout. I mean you waste that much time trying to figure out what you’re going to wear to work.

So hop on the treadmill, take a quick walk/run, or my personal favorite, use an exercise app like ToneItUp, to tone that wonderful temple God gave you. Something HI INTENSITY (HIIT)!! I know it sounds scary, but it’s not as hard as you think. At any point during the workout, you can pause it and breathe for a few seconds longer. Just be sure to complete 10-15 min.

The burn will be just enough to rev up that metabolism and give your body a boost, but not too much to sweat out your blow out 😉. It will be exactly the elixir to soothe away those doubts and fears and embed the words from God into your mind for the day! Plus, it makes getting those last 15-20 of exercise/ day a whole lot easier to achieve.

With your mind set for greatness and your body well on it’s way to that same goal, you can NOW tackle the 1st challenge of the day that can instantly make any day go sideways… waking your children!

Step 3 – Share Morning joy and gladness with others

… STARTING WITH YOUR KIDS!  For you have the power to either taint their morning with your bad attitude or brighten their new beginning with love, fun, and productivity. Instead of the annoyed holler that you shout from room to room, wake them with a funny joke, a reminder of a special event of the day, or even a little friendly competition.

Tell them how much you’ve already accomplished since you’ve been up. That you’re going to beat them downstairs for breakfast. Sharing these morning accomplishments with your kids will both motivate and inspire them. They will set their minds for a day of accomplishments, just like Mommy. Especially if they see you with a smile in place, workout clothes on, and a little sheen of sweat to boot.

BETTER YET, A MORNING PLAYLIST!

Keep that good mood flowing so that you can get wrapped up in it!

I remember when I was growing up, every Sunday morning my mother would wake us to the gospel song “Order My Steps” blaring from our den. You could hear it throughout the whole house. The only thing louder was her singing at the top of her lungs! Now, as an adult, as a mom, as a wife, I can’t help but wonder if she needed her own theme song for whatever she was going through at the time? Maybe we were unknowingly privy to her morning metamorphosis. The change from a woman with the world on her shoulders to a mom who would wake us with joy, silliness, and love!

So load that playlist with every “feel good” song you can think of. Have fun with it! One morning list all your favorites from high school, the next morning, listen to your inspirational set, and on the next, have a mix that may even convince you to drop it like it’s hot before you put on your work clothes.

With that vibe flowing through you, everything that hits you will be tackled with the patience, thoughtfulness, and the confidence that you can handle it all! And when it gets a little tough, His words from the morning will come back to you.

Now and only now, can you check your phone.

You’re prayed up, svelte, and happy! YOU CAN TAKE ON ANYTHING when you think, look, and feel GOOD!

So if you can commit to starting your day just a little bit earlier, you’ll be off to the right start. After a quick conversation with God, getting out of the bed isn’t so hard. And you’ll actually start to become excited about the workout because it’s time spent on bettering you. The exercise will improve your mood. A smile and a good mood will be the only infectious thing that you won’t mind spreading around your home. You’ll find that with a great “feel-good” song in your head, your mood can’t help but stay for the day.

And there you have it! Your bad day has been conquered and it’s not even 8 am yet! Now you can finally look forward to mornings. I mean, with the good Word in your head first thing in the morning, your battle will be fought before you even get to it. So look forward to your great morning!!