5 Motherhood Hacks

A common question I get asked is 'do you ever sleep?' The answer is, yes, but I don't really require 8 hours like some do. I actually function worse on too much sleep, weird, I know. Don't get me wrong, there are days where I desperately need that 8 hours but 90% of the time I'm good on 5-6 hours a night and pretty peppy in the morning too! However, try hanging out with me past 10 pm and I can barely make it, especially if the lights are off and a movie is involved!

While I may not require a ton of sleep to get through the day, I have come up with a few little tricks, habits, or hacks, whatever you want to call them, to make motherhood easier in hopes to gain back some free time for myself! You may already do some of these things but if you've found something new to try, you're welcome!

BEDTIME/ ALONE SHOWER TIME // Putting Tracen to bed is a routine but one I have down pat. However, sometimes there are nights where I don't want to wait till he falls asleep to take a shower because that cuts into my time I want to spend with Jerek. So about once a week I'm completely selfish and I let Trace watch a show on my phone in bed. Yup, guilty "bad mom" move.  I then race off to the bathroom and take a quick 5-10 minute shower. I will also whiten my teeth and sometimes even self tan if I can squeeze it in before his 25 minute show is up. I don't do this every night and sometimes I don't do it every week but it saves me a good 30 minutes and I can go straight downstairs and snuggle up with Jerek and our beloved Netflix!

NETFLIX + EDITING // How do I manage to squeeze in watching shows on Netflix, Blogging AND editing for YouTube?! I literally do it all at once. I'm currently writing this post while watching Breaking Bad as well as uploading footage to edit for a video I filmed today after work. BOOM. Just like that, I'm one bad ass multitasking betch!

BLOG + YOUTUBE TIME // Similar to the above, I multi task while at work. I won't lie and say I don't do any other things at work, other than work! I mean who doesn't pay their bills and do personal things while at their 9-5! My usual routine is I come in, go to a few meetings and get a few hours of work in before I then take my 15 minute 'smoke' break. While those losers are killing their lungs, I'm working on some blog posts, editing some photos or even catching up on YouTube videos. This helps break up my days and gives my mind a rest from everything I'm stressing about. If I'm really busy or in meetings all day, then I save the personal stuff for lunch or at home. [Sorry if I called you a loser but seriously people, PUT DOWN THE WHITE STICKS, as Tracen would say!]

PLANNER // I'm old school when it comes to calendar and to-do organization. Occasionally I use the notes section in my phone to write things down when in a pinch but I don't rely on the calendar app, I use my good old paper planner! Next week I'll have a whole video on how I stay organized with kids, work and wedding planning so keep your eyes open for that!

WORKOUTS // I believe I've mentioned this before but my 'go to the gym' schedule is Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I then try and do something active the other days IE: bike rides, walks or an at home workout. How I have it worked out is I go on Tuesday's and Thursday's usually at 745/8 pm while the boys are unwinding and watching shows with Jerek. I am then home right at 9 to start Tracen on his bedtime routine. Saturday's I usually sneak out by 8 am, if not earlier, while everyone is just waking up and watching cartoons in bed. I've tried many other days and times and this is what has worked SO SO well for us!

Hope you got a little glimpse into how I manage to squeeze in my fun stuff among the everyday mom stuff! But remember, I'm not super mom, I don't have 10 hands or more hours in a day than anyone else, I just try and use my time wisely. Know that there are weeks where I'm "barely" on social media, I forget to respond to emails or miss out on opportunities because I'm busy being a mom and fiancé. I'm not a full-time blogger. I blog and do YouTube for fun. Like all hobbies or things we do for ourselves, I've tried to figure out a routine that works well to make sure that my family is first before anything else.