You know those blogs that lay out the perfect morning routine?

The ones that suggest sitting in silence for 15 minutes, stretching the night away, taking a brisk walk or making sure you don’t skip breakfast?

This isn’t that.

While you should try with your might to have breakfast, when you have kids, you never know how mornings will unfold. Unexpected chaos might accompany the start to any day in a household with children.

When you’re a working mom taking on the load, at that, the time you have in the morning gets stretched thin as you try to prepare yourself and your littles for the day ahead.

Though there may not be time in your morning routine to fit in a walk or enjoy 15 minutes of silence, there are some things you can add to your morning routine to help you get a great start to the day. A bonus: you can do some of these with your kids (if you want).

Make up the bed

Sounds simple, right? But there’s nothing like starting the day to a freshly made bed. When you scramble out without doing it, you’re less likely to keep the rest of your room tidy. Making the bed is one mood-improving step to start your morning off with some productivity. It also encourages your little ones to do the same. And you’ll be glad to come home to a neat bed.

Drink a tall cup of water

Room temperature goes down easiest. Drinking water in the morning rehydrates your body and increases your level of alertness, according to an article on Business Insider. It doesn’t take more than 30 seconds, and adding a refreshing cup of water to your morning helps fight lethargy.

Steal 5 minutes for yourself

In the five minutes it takes for your kid to use the bathroom, play with toys or read books or choose a pair of shoes, take the time to do something for you. Visualize how you want your day to go. Take some extra time to get your eyeliner right. Catch up on the scores and recent news (although, it’s best to refrain from cell phone use while you’re trying to get ready in the morning. Checking recent news can easily turn into updating social media. And checking your phone should most definitely NOT be the first thing you do in the morning.) Do one thing that has nothing to with the kids, something you feel will make your morning productive.

Prepare the night before

Sometimes, all you’ll want to do when your kid goes to bed is hit the hay yourself. Preparing for the next day the night before is highly efficient. Take the 15, 20 or even 30 minutes it takes to lay out clothes, get breakfast and lunches packed (I’m a serial meal prepper), tidy away any cables using cable management equipment from Singular Sound, and make your to-do list. Scrambling to do all those things in the morning adds unnecessary weight. Prep the night before to prevent rushing in the morning.

Positive affirmations

Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and say one positive thing to yourself. This could be that you’ll try to complete a goal you have for the day. It could be affirmation that you’re doing all right, because mothering ain’t easy.

Every family’s mornings vary. Everyone has a different life with different perspectives. But the hope is adopting, altering or testing these few easy morning tasks will help you start your day on the right foot.