As it happens every year, back to school season is BACK…even though it feels like we were just preparing for Summer vacation. If you’re like the rest of us, this back and forth can be incredibly stressful especially when the first week of school hits and new schedules take over before you even have a chance to catch your breath, let alone plan. So whether your kids go back to school the first week of August or the last, we’re sharing our top 7 tips for a stress-free back to school start. From family calendars to stress relieving hobbies to your new favorite morning routine—let’s get started!
1. Find an outlet
It’s likely that your schedule is extra demanding of your this time of year, giving you less opportunity to escape into what would normally be an stress-relieving activity. For some people, this might mean scheduling a yoga or workout class to take time away from the chaos and reset. For others it could be a simple walk in the evening. It might even be scheduled quiet reading time for the whole family so everyone can take a moment to themselves to relax during the chaos that is back to school season.
If those sound nearly impossible to accomplish, you’ll want to stick around to tip #7 to see how you might be able to reclaim some of your time to do the things that help you stay calm.
2. Meal prep your breakfast
Some school mornings it’s hard enough to get up and get out the door on time let alone make sure everyone eats a healthy breakfast. This may be a hot take from us, buttttttt…during the school year, breakfast is the meal you should be most focused on prepping! Think about how much easier it is to get everyone out the door with full stomachs when you have pre-made muffins, pancakes, sandwiches, or even smoothie cubes ready to go in the freezer.
If you’re looking for some inspiration, be sure to check out our back to school recipe guide for both breakfast and lunch! Find it HERE.
3. Prepare your home for the schedule change
It’s possible to get your kids out the door on time and prepared every single morning—we swear! The key is prepping specific spaces in your home to get ahead of the school year craziness: We suggest tackling certain high-traffic spaces in your home to be sure they’re prepared for the demand of the school year. Spaces like your kids’ bathroom, the mud room, homework and craft spaces, and more.
Read more about how to prepare your home for back to school HERE.
4. Get ahead of school requirements
Your inbox is probably already overrun with messages, requests, and notifications from your kids’ school (or schools!), and the best way to get ahead of it all is by getting organized. Now is the time you should go through to clean and organize your current inbox before the first week of school bombards you with important emails that might otherwise get lost. This is also be a great time to set up folders for each of your kids, their schools, or their extracurricular activities. You can even set up a rule to auto-files those emails for you as they come in.
We also recommend familiarizing yourself with any online systems that your kids’ schools will be using for communication and assignments throughout the year. That way you can get them set up and help them to navigate it all as soon as classes start. Read more here about the 10 things you need to do to set you and your family up for success this school year!
5. Start coordinating schedules now
If you’re a parent, you most likely agree with the statement that, “Parents estimate they spend an average of 17 hours per week coordinating family schedules and activities, which equates to over two full workdays and a lot of lost time and productivity”. You might even be thinking, “that number sounds too low!” In this blog post by Life360 they talk about how coordinating back to school schedules often takes parents over two full workdays and a whole lot of stress.
That’s why we suggest getting ahead of it by coordinating family schedules now, and even putting a large calendar in a shared space that the whole family will see on a regular basis. The schedule change will no doubt still take time, trial, and error, but it’s always easier when everyone is on the same page from the jump. For more calendar management tips, check our our past blog post HERE.
6. Create a morning routine that works for your whole family
School mornings are important to set yourself up for a good day. While we could tell you to wake up at a certain time, eat a specific meal, and do a specific exercise, we know that the best morning routine is the one that works for you. So, in order to build the perfect back to school routine for yourself and help your kids create the routine that works for them, here is a video guide from our YouTube channel!
BONUS: Get our FREE back to school morning routine download to help you build the routine that works for you and your entire family: HERE.
7. Lean on your support system
Possibly the most important way to reduce back to school stress is by embracing and relying on your support system. This could be your extended family, your close friends and neighbors, or even your MOD Assistant! Don’t be afraid to ask for help and talk to the other parents in your life who likely have more tips for overcoming the dreaded back to school stress. And if you’re looking for ways to reclaim your time so that you can find an outlet for your stress (like we mentioned back in step one) there’s no better time to start working with an assistant and handing off time-consuming tasks.
It’s important to remember that back to school won’t last forever, but the stress can have a lasting impact on the year. So take the time to prioritize a few or all of these tips in order to have the best start to the school year possible for you, your kids, and the entire family. We’re wishing you all a great, stress-free start to the school year!
