Managing the Chaos
In a time of so much uncertainty, we want to talk a little bit about, managing the chaos.
We have to tell you, we’re not pros at it. But, we do have a little bit of experience when it comes to managing life from home, establishing routines, and we want to share some of our strategies, for what’s working for us right now.
The one thing that we have had conversations about over and over again is just the fact that the events that are going on around us right now can just kind of do one of two things, right? They can paralyze us, and we see people out their kind of who are just fearful and anxious, overwhelmed, shutting down, but then we also see people that are out there saying, “Okay, how can I turn the current situation while it’s not really a great situation, but how can I create an opportunity? And that is something that Katy and I feel strongly about here at Chic, is everyday you get a choice of how you want to approach the day from an emotional standpoint from a behavioral standpoint, from a business standpoint, and we are going to share with you what is working for each of our families.
If you have followed either of us on Instagram, for any amount of time, you know that this isn’t something new. We have always had a morning routine. But maybe for the first time in your life, you’re at home, or maybe even the doors to your business are shut, and you’re kind of in this season of unknowing, and the one thing that morning routine has given both Melanie and I, is just kind of this normal. A routine establishes a little bit of predictability in a very unpredictable sort of day.
Katy’s Morning Routine
So my morning routine, lately I wake up, I put on my workout clothes, and I sneak downstairs, and I go into my office, and I take a seat on the floor in front of my window, and I sit and I first start my morning with prayer, and then I write statements of gratitude, and mine is very much rooted in just Lord, thank you. So I will write down these few statements, and what I naturally find myself doing is smiling, because I am focused on first, gratitude. After that, I open up an app called “first five,” and it allows me to take the readings that I do from the bible and interpret them.
My morning consists of prayer, gratitude, affirmation, and writing, because that’s something that gives me a lot of joy. From there, I go downstairs to my basement, and I give myself a good 30-minute to 1-hour workout depending on my schedule. Whatever your morning routine is, make sure you just allow yourself some time for physical activity, so that you can clear your head. Mel, why don’t you talk a little bit about your morning?
One thing that I want you guys to take away from the morning routine, is that there is no right or wrong way to do a morning routine. We cannot step into parenting, or being a business owner, or even an employee, or a spouse if we aren’t first taking care of ourselves.
Melanie’s Morning Routine
Having a morning routine definitely helps me to manage the chaos. First, I go into my kitchen, and I grab my pre-workout and I sit in my chair. I encourage you not to turn on social media at this time. Simple Habit is that app that I use to do a 5-minute meditation. I say to myself, every time a thought comes in, I will acknowledge it, but I will not think about it. I will breathe, I will center myself, and that usually calms my heart rate down. And then, and I always start my day with three things that I am grateful for. I write down three things that I would feel good about accomplishing for the day. And then, I write my “I am” statements.
From there, I will read ten minutes of a book. Whatever you sort of need right now is what you should dive into. Then, I go to my basement. I firmly believe, whether it’s a walk in the neighborhood, a dance with your kids, a backyard wiffle ball game, moving your body every day first thing in the morning is so important. After that 30 minute workout, my whole outlook on life had changed. I come up, I get in the shower, I get dressed, I put makeup on, I do my hair, and I have my cup of coffee, and it’s usually done by the time my kids get up in the morning, and I feel ready.
I’m not leaving the house, but I know when I’m dressed for the day, that positions me in a way to just be more productive. That may not be you, but just try getting dressed for the day, and see if that changes your outlook. So for me, that is a consistent routine that helps me stay centered and focused through the rest of this chaos.
If you haven’t established some type of normalcy in your morning, we really challenge you this week to start implementing some sort of morning routine.
Establishing A Routine For Your Children to Manage The Chaos
The second thing that is working for me and Melanie as moms is establishing a routine for our children. Now, for me, that routine changes day by day. Kids need normalcy, they need a routine. I create a daily schedule focused on what these small hours are going to look like. The first thing my boys look to in the morning is what’s our schedule for the day? It’s actually something they look forward to seeing.
They also can see from the schedule when mom is working. You might have to tweak the schedule a little bit, based on the age of your children. My kids know from 10-12 mom is unavailable, and so that means there is no device play. 12 o’clock, school is in session. We have a schedule, and my kids are going to bed and waking up at the same time that they do during the school week. They are working too.
In the Mitro house, it’s all about consistency as much as possible. Both of Melanie’s boys are very much routine kids. I had originally started with a weekly schedule and it didn’t work. So I just make a list in the morning of 10 things that they can do in any order. They have to do all of those things before they get on Xbox. Some of them are physical, some of them are educational, some of them are chore related. Now they come down and are like “Where’s my list?” I’ve given them reigns when they want to do it, but I’ve also given them structure.
Communication With Your Spouse to Manage The Chaos
I said to Matt while we were taking a walk, “Are you ok? Are you really ok?”. I said, “you are the stay at home parent, you’re taking the brunt of all of this, and you are not a teacher.”. He is not a patient man, and he is an extrovert. He loves to be around people, and so he now is… his choices are cut, he has to be dad. He has to learn patience to do school work with the boys.
And so instead of me being business as usual, I was like, how is this affecting you? Do I need to change something, are you okay? He turned to me and said “I’m thankful we have a business that’s thriving, because right now, we could not”. Then we just had a discussion about how we were going to give him some of his flexibility and freedom too. Have you had a conversation with your spouse about how it’s really going? Communication now is so incredibly important especially with your spouse.
Mike and I (Katy) have also had that conversation. When I battled cancer a few years ago, Mike and I say this is just a little thing compared to just some of the things we’ve been through in life. But it doesn’t mean that this doesn’t come with challenges. I haven’t been working at night, I’ve been spending time with my husband, just being us. Maybe it’s better to create just a schedule for your spouse and you.
IT’S BUSINESS WITH A TWIST
When we realized that there was going to be this season of unknown, we had a plan in place for Chic Influencer. Meaning right now in this season, we are going to lead very boldly with serving, and that has worked very well for us. But the interesting piece is, we are also seeing momentum. We are seeing that people are hungry for learning, they are hungry for something that isn’t going to be negative. If you can help people with that with whatever your gifts are, do more of that with purpose.
You have two options, get swept up by everything going on around you, or choose to be that consistent voice. Months from now, people are going to remember the people that showed up during the hard times, the people that did the pivot, and the twist, and served. You want to come out on the other end of this with momentum, perspective, and an authentic following, and you do that now by leaning in.
Ask yourself: Are you actually leaning in and serving your audience right now?
Want to learn even more about managing the chaos in a time of uncertainty? Be sure to listen to Episode 54: Managing the Choas In A Time Of Uncertainty.
