Today’s blog post is sponsored by Pure Protein. All thoughts, experiences, and opinions are my own.
It’s hard to believe that students are returning to school already! Everyone is gearing up for back to school! Yesterday my Facebook feed was full of first day of school photos, which was hard to believe given it was August 10th. Did school always start this early? Whether you’re going back to school yourself, getting your kids ready to go back to school, preparing for students to come back to school, or none of the above, the start of the school year impacts everyone.
Back to school season impacts my daily routine in a number of ways, especially due to my career in higher education, but over the years I’ve created a mental list of things I can do to ease back into the school year.
Go to bed earlier! I really struggle with this, regardless of whether or not it’s back to school season. Over the summer months I can deal with going to bed late as I don’t have to get up as early, but with the craziness the school year brings, I know I have to get to bed earlier.
Pack your bags the night before. After having Magnolia, I realized how much easier mornings are when I pack the night before. Whether I’m packing lunches, packing my work bag, or even laying out my clothes, those evening habits really do help my morning routine.
Set up your DVR. If you’re anything like me, I have a pretty good list of shows I like to watch during the academic year. Since staying up until 11PM isn’t always wise, I try to set up our DVR, that way I can watch shows over the weekend when I have more time to relax instead of staying up late on a school night.
Have protein packed snacks on hand. I just restocked my office snack drawer and the bag of snacks I keep in my car. I’ve learned that I have to options on hand in order to stay on track, whether in the office or during my commute. I have really hectic days where I just can’t get a lunch in, so having foods to grab on the go is important to me. Whether it’s oatmeal, yogurt, granola bar, Pure Protein bar or Crunch pack, or single serving packs of almonds. I’ve learned that I have to have filling snacks on hand, ideally snacks with lots of protein.
Pure Protein just introduced their new Pure Protein Plus bars, which have 20g of protein and only 2g of sugar per bar. I really love the cookies and cream flavor, which is one of their 4 new flavors (chocolate mocha, apple pie, and chocolate chip cookie dough). I’ve enjoyed having them on hand at work, especially on busy meeting days!
Continue working out. When life gets busy or stressful, it’s easy to let go of habits that take up time in your day. Whether it’s working out, meeting up with friend regularly, getting your hair cut, you name it, don’t give up routine that adds to your total wellness. I personally have scheduled out my workouts through October, that way they’re set and scheduled. No reason to miss a workout!
Leave earlier! By the time August rolls around, I’ve forgotten how bad the school year traffic is. Once school starts back up and vacation season comes to an end, it just takes more time to get anywhere. Maybe it’s just me, but I can easily add 20 minutes to my commute if I get stuck behind a school bus on a country road. It usually takes me a few weeks to adjust, but every August I have to get back into the habit of leaving the house earlier. Instead of being able to leave at 7:20AM, I know I have to get out of the house no later than 7:10AM each morning.
Enjoy family dinners. This is something I want to get better at. We’re really bad about eating at different times and eating different things. As our daughter gets older, I want family dinners to be a time for us to reconnect as a family and to break bread. Life and work will always be busy, but I want my evenings with family to be solid. Some of my fondest memories from my childhood are from around the dinner table and I hope my kids can have the same experience.
Ready or not, it’s back to school season! I hope everyone has a great transition back into the school year and creates a system and lifestyle that works best for you and your family!
What are some of the ways you prepare for the upcoming school year? What snacks do you like to keep on hand?
