Do your mornings leave you feeling frazzled before the day even begins? You’re not alone—most working women start their days already behind.
In this episode, Michelle breaks down the hidden habits that make mornings chaotic—from reaching for your phone too soon to making dozens of tiny decisions before 8 A.M. She shows you how a few small shifts can completely transform how your day begins, without adding more to your plate.
In this episode, you will learn:
- Learn the three most common mistakes that sabotage your mornings and how to fix them.
- Discover a calm, realistic way to start your day that doesn’t involve a 5 A.M. alarm or a 10-step routine.
- Find out how one 10-minute tweak can reset your nervous system and set the tone for a more peaceful, productive day.
Hit play to learn how to turn your rushed mornings into calm, intentional starts that make the whole day flow easier.
Featured on the podcast
Get Michelle's free 10-minute morning routine
Wondering why you're overwhelmed? Take my "why am I overwhelmed" quiz to find out the source of your overwhelm, and what to do about it.
Send Me a Message - Have a question, comment, or just want to say hi? Message me here, I'd love to chat!
Work With Me - Interested in working with me 1-on-1, taking a class, or joining one of my coaching groups? Message me here to get the scoop.
Want More? - If you love the content of this podcast, you'll love our Simple Sunday newsletter too. When you sign up, you’ll receive a simple dose of inspiration, practical tips, and a little fun—designed to help you start your week with simplicity and intention. Sign up here
Life can be overwhelming, but on this podcast, you'll discover practical strategies to overcome overwhelm, imposter syndrome, and negative self-talk, manage time effectively, set boundaries, and stay productive in high-stress jobs—all while learning how to say no and prioritize self-care on the Overwhelmed Worki...
Episode Transcript
If your mornings feel chaotic, rushed, or just off,
you are not alone.
You're listening to OverwhelmedWorking Woman, the podcast that
helps you be more calm and moreproductive by doing less.
I'm your host, MichelleGauthier, a former Overwhelmed
(00:21):
Working Woman and current lifecoach.
On this show, we unpack thestress and pressure that today's
working woman experiences.
And in each episode, you'll geta strategy to bring more calm,
ease, and relaxation to yourlife.
Hi, friend.
Thanks for joining today.
The goal of today's podcast isfor you to have a better morning
(00:43):
by highlighting three commonmorning mistakes that people
make.
And then of course, what to doinstead of those mistakes.
Let's imagine that your alarmgoes off at 6 30 in the morning
and you're tired.
So you hit snooze and think,I'm just gonna sleep for 10 more
minutes.
But five minutes later, it'snot your alarm waking you off,
it's your dog pawing at your bedor a kid standing two inches
(01:05):
from your face, whisper yelling,Mom, where are my shoes?
And you wake up, but you'resort of disoriented, irritated,
somehow still lying in bed.
Maybe you can hear the TV on inthe other room.
It's just wake up in the midstof chaos, but you're not ready
to deal with anybody yet.
So you reach for your phonejust to real quick check the
time, ear quotes, check thetime.
(01:26):
And next thing you know, you'redoom scrolling on Instagram.
You've read your Slack messagesthat spike your anxiety from
work.
You saw an email from your bosswith a subject line, quick
question, which is never quick.
And then you see a beautifulreel of someone's green smoothie
morning meditation.
So you feel already behind andyou haven't even gotten out of
(01:48):
bed yet.
Meanwhile, your whole house isawake, the dog's barking, the
kids are arguing, one of themcan't find their homework,
somehow there's milk spilled onthe floor, you finally get out
of bed in this reactive,frazzled state, and now it's go
time.
And you have to start thinkingabout all the things that need
to happen.
So, what am I wearing today?
What am I feeding these kidsfor breakfast?
Do I have time to shower?
Do I need to respond to thatemail?
(02:09):
Did I sign that form for thefield trip?
Can I even eat breakfast?
It's not even 7:30 in themorning and your brain is
already fried.
So by the time you either walkto your desk in your house or
drive to work and get to work,you're already kind of worn out
before the day has even begun.
If this sounds like yourmornings or even some part of
(02:30):
your mornings, then today'sepisode is going to help you
figure out three small thingsthat you can do to make your
morning much more smooth.
And you know, my approach isalways do the very smallest
thing that you can do to make achange.
So I'm going to give you threeexamples of three common
mistakes that you could stopmaking.
And if you choose just one ofthose to try even for one
(02:53):
morning this week and just seehow that goes.
So don't feel like you have tocompletely scrap how your
mornings are going, but just onesmall change can make a big
difference.
Okay, so here's mistake numberone: it's having zero buffer
zone between the time that youwake up and everybody else's
awake.
If someone else is waking youup, or if you're again dog or
(03:14):
cat or whatever is waking youup, you haven't made the choice
about the time that you want towake up and you just start off
your day by responding tosomeone else or something else's
needs instead of reallyresetting yourself.
And that's just a nervoussystem recipe for tension.
So instead of this, wake up,this is not like, okay, if
you're getting up at 6.30, youneed to wake up at 4 30 and do a
(03:37):
ton of morning routine stuff.
Just wake up 10 minutes earlierthan everyone else.
Not to hustle, but just topause.
One thing that makes a hugedifference to me, and this is so
small, is to just sit up in bedand drink a glass of water.
If you want to get up and makeyour coffee and drink coffee and
just sit there in silence andstare out the window and drink
(03:59):
your coffee, whatever it is, youjust need a buffer where you're
choosing to be awake beforeanyone needs anything from you
or even wants to talk to you.
Give it a try.
I even, because I don't reallycare about if my water is cold,
so I will literally put theglass water next to my bedside
and then I just wake up and Idrink it.
Okay, mistake number two isreaching for your phone before
(04:20):
your feet hit the floor.
I know we all use our phone asour alarm.
I could say get a real alarmclock, and you could totally do
that, but it's possible for youralarm to go off on your phone
and for you to turn off thealarm and then just set the
phone back down.
Just try it one day, one time,and see how different it can
make you feel.
Because if you pick up yourphone at first, even if you're
(04:43):
like, oh, I'm just gonna quickcheck text or something fun like
Instagram, the chances of yourbrain getting triggered before
you've even had a chance to getup out of bed and think clearly
are definitely there.
Or the other thing is, I justdid this the other day.
I woke up, I started looking atInstagram, and I ended up being
late to the class that I wasgoing to at the gym, even though
(05:04):
I got up in plenty of time toget myself there on time because
I was just messing around on myphone.
It's just a distraction that wedo not need.
It did not improve my life atall to look at Instagram for 10
minutes and make myself late formy class.
So a trick that works reallywell for me is I turn off my
alarm, turn my phone back upsidedown, drink that glass of
(05:26):
water, and then I get up and Igo into the kitchen and I just
don't bring my phone with me.
And there's, I'm sure you'rejust the same.
There are many things that I doin the morning.
I wake up both of my kids.
I usually empty the dishwasher,I make some coffee, I'm doing
all those things.
And just doing that without myphone anywhere nearby feels
surprisingly relaxing.
If that feels like too much toyou, then just try 10 minutes
(05:49):
before you check your phone oranything digital.
Go brush your teeth and makeyour coffee before you get your
phone.
Okay, and then the third mistakeis basically having decision
fatigue by the time you get toyour desk in the morning, in the
first hour that you're awake,are you making a ton of
decisions like, what am I gonnawear?
What am I gonna eat?
Should I respond to thatmessage?
Is there time to work out?
(06:09):
That is so frustrating to mewhen I do that.
If I haven't decided the nightbefore and I wake up and I lie
there and think, should I workout or could I maybe squeeze it
in at noon?
Or am I maybe gonna go thisevening or should I skip today?
Maybe I could just go for awalk instead.
I'm making all of thesedecisions that are completely
unnecessary.
So your brain just has alimited amount of energy for
(06:31):
decision making and cut out allthe little stuff that just
doesn't matter, or where you canjust automate it.
Decide before the night before.
Think about what am I gonnawear?
What am I doing for lunchtomorrow?
Do I need to pack something?
What's the top task?
Can I put out the kids'backpacks?
Just less decision makingequals more mental clarity and
(06:54):
more calm.
So just think about if this isthe one that you're gonna
implement, think about onedecision that you make every day
and see if you can make it thenight before.
See how that feels to you.
I don't know how you feel abouteating the same thing all the
time, but I can eat the samething for breakfast and lunch
for like months.
I mean, one thing for breakfastand one thing for lunch for
like months.
It doesn't bother me at all.
(07:15):
So if you're that kind ofperson and you can just say, you
know what, I am eating oatmealfor breakfast every day.
That's a great example of justmaking a decision so you don't
have to think about it.
Okay, so here are your options.
If you want to go crazy and tryall three, go ahead.
But usually that feelsoverwhelming if your morning
routine is chaotic.
So choose from creating abuffer, which you do by getting
(07:37):
up 10 minutes before everyone,delaying your phone by just not
using your phone when you firstwake up in the morning, just try
it and see how it feels.
Or the third option is topre-decide something, to cut out
the decisions that you have tomake in the morning.
None of those are a bigoverhaul, but if you just try
one tiny strategic shift thattell your nervous system, I'm in
(07:58):
charge here.
This day starts on my terms andI'm in charge of what's going
on here versus I'm reacting toeveryone.
If you have a desire to do anactual morning routine where you
do some mindfulness work, Ijust want to remind you that I
have a free one and we'll putthe link in the show notes.
So if you are already gettingup before your kids, or if you
(08:20):
are already getting up andmaking time for mindfulness in
the morning and you're not sureexactly what to do, I designed a
10-minute morning routine.
It's been downloaded by likethousands of people at this
point that you can do.
And it just really helps youget your mindset right for the
day so that you're in charge ofthe day instead of the day being
in charge of you.
Just want to remind you that Ihave that as a free resource.
(08:41):
Okay, have a great week and Iwill see you next week.
Thank you for listening to theOverwhelmed Working Woman
podcast.
If you want to learn more aboutmy work, head over to my
website at MichelleGauthier.com.
See you next week.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Burden
The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; “He paid me to do it.” David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a “live” investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was David’s claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, “broke” her.” The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run “Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the how… and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.