Mornings are anything but stress free. The frenzied pace of our morning routine starts with the mad rush of breakfast, getting the kids ready for school and much frenetic energy, and more often than not, stress!

In a perfect world, I would already have laid out the kids uniform the night before, had all sports bags and lunches packed and stacked in the entrance hall, and set the table for a good family breakfast, before going to bed for a solid 8 hours of sleep.

Did anyone else laugh out loud at my statement above? I jolly nearly did. The truth is, we do not live in a perfect world by any means, and yes, there is always room for improvement.

Two Tips for a Stress Free Morning

1. Trying to get at least two of the above things done in my “perfect” scenario listed above before collapsing into bed for an interrupted 5 hours of sleep (7 if I’m really lucky) and if not, then at least one.

2. Music

Yes, really. I put my iPhone on the music player in the kitchen dining area – and cue up the classical music.  This means either streaming Classic FM through my phone (amplified by the music player), or if it’s too heavy a selection, then I usually pick my current favourite playlist, which includes what may well be one of the most relaxing pieces ever composed.

Have you heard Elevazioni by Domenico Zipoli?

It sounds as though it could have been composed as the original score to a recent movie, and yet it’s more than 300 years old. It’s the perfect accompaniment to our morning routine, and definitely helps to keep us calm and focused and stress free.

Of course, on other mornings, some electronic trance music works equally well to wake everyone up and get us moving fast enough.  But hey, whatever works !

Vector Illustration by aleksandr-mansurov-ru from Photodune.net