couples

Why you're so tired before it's even 9am

If it feels like you’ve run a marathon by 9am each day, it’s because your morning routine actually is a marathon…of sorts. A new study says mums check off an average of 26 tasks before their kids go off to school each day.

The study, commissioned by eye awareness campaign Jul-Eye, via The Daily Mail, also says that moms run around finishing an of average of 12 other kid-related jobs over the course of the day, logging 6 hours and 45 minutes daily to keep their household running. And from the duh files: 80 percent of moms confessed they find it hard to keep track of it all, and 60 percent argue with their spouse because they feel the workload falls on their shoulders.

I can’t complain about that – my hubby is an actor and stay-at-home dad who shoulders his fair share of the load – but I can still definitely relate to the double-digit to-do list each morning. On an average day, after the alarm (and snooze alarm, and back-up snooze alarm) goes off, I nurse my toddler, get my 6-year-old breakfast, wake up my husband, get my toddler breakfast, clean up my toddler’s breakfast from the floor, shower, wake up my husband (again), jump on a work-related conference call, send out a few work-related emails, pack a lunch, find a clean school uniform, scramble to find money for a school excursion (it’s never a nice, even $5) and try to find an outfit for myself that doesn’t require ironing.

Studies show that most of the time the brain can only focus on one thing at a time, maybe two. When you add up little tasks like finding shoes, tackling that grape juice stain and making sure permission slips are signed, 26 actually sounds pretty conservative. Maybe “mum brain” isn't our fault after all.

Erika Rasmusson Janes is a mum of two and writer. You can follow her at Google + and Twitter.

PHOTO CREDIT: KYLE MONK/BLEND IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES

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