Motivational Monday: 5 Things to Help Me Get-Up-And-Go {5 Days of Homeschool Encouragement}

Today’s theme is Motivational Monday. When I think of Motivation, I think of what makes you “get up and go”. As a homeschool mom as well as a wife, I must admit, my get-up-and-go most mornings is…gone. So what do I do on those mornings when I open my eyes and just want to close them again and pull the covers up over my head? The mornings when I need to do school, but my body or mind says “I don’t wanna!”? The mornings where it seems everyone woke up on the wrong side of the bed? How do I make the day end up being a productive day when I just want to crawl back in the bed and pull the covers over my head? Let me share with you Five Things to Help You Get-Up-And-Go to get things done!


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1. Prayer

I won’t lie. I forget this step far too many mornings. And you know what? My mornings usually crash—my whole DAY crashes without it. Praying to God, even for a short amount of time sets my day on the right course. And the days I don’t want to pray the most (because I am honest and will admit these days exist), are the days I go hit my knees no matter what. I will spend my time in praise and gratefulness to God. I will go through a list of everything from basic to detailed to thank God or praise God about. As I get going, the list continues to grow. Next I will pray for those of my friends, family, and church brethren who I know might need prayer, or maybe are just in my heart that morning. And in the last stage, I will share with God my feelings of exhaustion or anxiety, or whatever is preventing me from getting going that day. And I will simply ask that He help me move forward.

Yes, this is my top recommended thing I do to get motivated in the morning.

2. Morning/Journal/Bible Study Time

I have also learned the value of morning time, or journaling time. So what does this look like? Well, for me this is the time before the boys get up—or the time I take BEFORE I make them breakfast or interact with them. I have only really been able to have my morning time since they both became older, so I know this is something a mom with younger kids might not be able to do. Let me give you a run through of how my morning time works. My alarm goes off and after hitting snooze 2(3, 4, 5…) times, I roll out of bed and get ready. That means just get dressed in normal daily wear, brush my hair and ponytail it, and go. Now I head in and make either my coffee or hot tea depending on the need. While it’s getting ready, I wipe a counter or sweep. Once my cup is ready, I grab my headphones and head to the couch with my phone. Now, I either start a podcast for a sermon, or put on my soft piano music favorites. I grab either my current crochet project, or my journal, and give myself 15-20 minutes of relaxed time to ease into the day. Sometimes I write out my prayers in my journal, other times I just journal my thoughts. I also have this writing prompt journal I really enjoy. I may also work through a Bible lesson. If I am listening to a sermon, I just simply crochet as I listen. If the boys wake up, they know not to disturb me and just play quietly until I’m done or ready. Sometimes they are just sitting on the other side of the couch waiting for me to finish. LOL!

I’m telling you. When you pair this 15-20 minutes of mental preparation for yourself with then taking time to pray, it’s a most marvelous way to mentally prepare yourself to get-up-and-go!

3. Snuggles

At this point, it’s time to greet the day with the boys. And after getting them up (if they haven’t already), they join me on the couch where we spend time snuggling. If we do NOT snuggle, we have serious issues throughout the day. My boys desperately need this time of physical touch and attention to get started themselves. And with ZERO distractions--so leave your phones or other devices elsewhere so you can give full attention to them! Fill their tanks for the day and you won't regret it!

We sit, my youngest on my lap, with my oldest next to me. We talk about random stuff. We talk about the day. Then they switch and my big boy lays across my lap for his “baby lovin’s” as he calls it. Then after much love and kisses, they get tickled and then they get going with their chores as I head in to get breakfast going.

I would say our snuggle time lasts 10-20 minutes depending on how early I and they got up. It is worth every single minute and sets the tone for the day.

4. Breakfast (Smoothie)

Breakfast. Guys if you are like me, there are some days where you have enough creativity or energy to make the kids breakfast—and that’s about it. Some days I don’t even want to eat breakfast myself, but I know that for my own sanity and mental preparation and for that ENERGY I desperately need, I have got to do something! That’s why I am so thankful I have my amazing Ninja so I can make my morning smoothies. It has an individual travel cup attachment which is so amazing for these mornings. I can simply through fruits, leafy greens, liquids, protein powder—throw them all in, hit blend and BAM. Breakfast for mama. And I can drink it as I move throughout the house. I wrote a post already about my favorite smoothie ingredients you can check out for ways I have maximized the nutrition in my smoothies.

At this point, if I have done these four things—I am usually able to find my mojo and get going for the day! It’s when I leave one of them out (Especially #1) that we have issues…

BUT…what if it isn’t enough?
Let me introduce you to Plan B.

5. Exploration Morning/Day

There are always going to be days when no matter WHAT you do, it’s just not happening for you.
THAT IS OKAY!

I’ve been there. Others have been there. It’s totally fine and totally normal!
But what do you do for school?

Exploration Day.
Take a morning, or even a WHOLE day and let your kids EXPLORE. Pull out puzzles, games, art supplies, microscopes, drawing pages, nature books, LEGOS, Train sets, blocks, beads…Send them outside with bags and have them collect nature things. Then have them tell you about what made them collect them. Give them paper to draw, have them write about it, tell a story about it. Find nature shows on Netflix or You Tube and let them watch them and then have them draw a picture about something they thought was interesting. Magic School Bus rocks for this too—and now there are two versions you can use! Pull out chapter books to read. Go to the library. Put on music and let them dance. Pull out sheets and boxes and let them make forts. PlayDough can be your friend.
Seriously. This is NOT a wasted day. For exploration is natural learning at its finest. And this day will give you the much needed mental and physical break you need. And you know what? They probably will do better for it too. These exploration days work no matter how young or old your children are. So don’t think they aren’t useful for your family.

I have found time and time again, that no matter whether it was just a morning to explore while I got myself squared away, or even a whole DAY to explore…It was MUCH easier to find my get-up-and-go either later that afternoon, or the next morning.

So I hope these five suggestions for finding your get-up-and-go will help you the next time you wake up and just can’t.

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I am happy to share that this week is a great week! It's the annual Back to School blog hop! This year, the theme is 5 Days of Homeschool Encouragement and I'm itching to share my posts with you! I have a very busy week, so if they don't show up in the morning, make sure you check back for them later in the day! And as always, you can follow me over on Facebook and never miss new post!
Want to visit some other bloggers participating this week?

Lori @ At Home: where life happens

Margaret @ Creative Madness Mama 

Marla @ Jump Into Genius

Meredith @ Powerline Productions: Being World Changers/Raising World Changers 

Michele @ Family, Faith and Fridays

Missica @ Through The Open Window

Monique @ Mountain of Grace Homeschooling

Do you have something to share for Motivational Monday? Feel free to link up!