Make Your Mornings More Productive With EXPO Placemat Checklists

For every family, there are two types of mornings: the kind where you wake up early, knock out everything on your list, and leave the house ready to seize the day – and the kind where nothing seems to get done and all you want to do is crawl back into bed. The best way to ensure your family has more “type 1” mornings? Use Markers to create simple, fun checklists, and make your mornings more productive than ever, so everyone in the family can start the day off right.

First, organize your family’s tasks.

Make a list of everything you’d like to get done in the mornings. Use these examples to get you started:

• The “Don’t Be Late For School” List: Essentials to get out the door
• The “Tidy House” List: List chores for every room

Think about which tasks are most important to you each morning, and include only the top 5-10 tasks. Including too many could overwhelm your kids and result in the big things not getting done, and including too few could result in them not paying attention to the lists at all.

Turn the to-do list into a fun placemat!

Simply print out your lists on a regular piece of paper, and laminate it to instantly turn your to-do list into a reusable placemat.

• Leave space to write fun or motivational messages at the top of the list each morning.
• Include blank clocks next to each task, and mark what time they completed each task to work on time management skills.

Use Markers to always be prepared to effectively communicate your message.

Make sure the whole family sees it.

Placemats are a great place to advertise what needs to get done, since one of the first stops for everyone in the morning is the kitchen. Breakfast is the perfect time for the kids to cross off things they’ve already accomplished in the morning, and to take note of what they need to focus on next.

Keep track of how successful everyone in the family is at completing their placemat checklists, and come up with a fun incentive each week to reward your most productive family members. Markers helps keep you and your family on track in the morning to have a great and productive day, every day.