Create A Morning Routine

A morning routine may sound too ritualistic and, well, routine. However, creating a morning routine can help you to start off every day in the right way. There is no one size fits all here. We will explore some things to consider when creating a morning routine and I will give you some ideas about where to start.

Why A Morning Routine?

Recently, I wrote a post about decision fatigue and some ways to combat it. One way is to set up a morning routine. Routines are something so natural and regular that you will not even have to think about what you are going to do. This eliminates the need for making any decisions first thing in the morning.

Every person might have a different look to their routine depending on their needs. That being said, you will find common themes amongst successful people who have a morning routine. In her book “What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast,” Laura Vanderkam explores the lives of successful CEO’s and their morning routines. These routines are carefully crafted for a specific purpose.

Intention

What is your intention for the morning? This is a great place to start. What do you find yourself commonly lamenting about not getting done or not having time for? What things have you done that make you feel like the whole day was much more productive? These are some great questions to consider.

If you are always feeling rushed first thing in the morning, you might want to set up a morning routine so that things are more relaxed. If you wake up to a racing mind, then you may want to set up a routine that helps you center yourself and gives clarity for starting out the day.

You may be wanting me to tell you exactly what your morning routine should look like, but we don’t necessarily have the same morning goals. The customizability of this is one of the great things.

8 Things to Consider

1. Wake Up Time

You may not want to hear this, but the time that you wake up is something you will want to consider. Once you have determined your intention and what you want to include in your routine, you will need to decide how much time that will take. If you are working, you will want to work backwards from the time you need to leave the house. This will help determine the correct wake up time.

If you are currently rolling out of bed at 7:30 for an 8:00 leave time, you will probably need to make some adjustments. Let’s say that you estimate your morning routine will take 2 hours. That will mean getting up at 6:00. I would not recommend trying to get up at 6:00 right away if you are not used to it. This kind of drastic change will only leave you tired and wanting to throw in the towel on the morning routine.

Instead, try getting up an extra 15 minutes earlier. If you do this every few days, it will ease you into the new wake up time.

How You Wake Up

This is another sticky area. You will want to consider how you are waking up. When the alarm goes off, do you immediately hit snooze? Do you turn your alarm off and then start scrolling through social media only to wonder how you could have possible waster the last half hour and you still haven’t gotten out of bed?

If you answered yes to either of these questions, you may want to make some adjustments. The whole purpose of the morning routine is to use the time intentionally to set you up for a great day.

If you are having difficulties with the snooze button, you may want to find a new spot for your phone or alarm clock. Consider placing it across the room. This will force you to get out of bed to turn it off. Then you just have to discipline yourself not to get back in.

If you are having problems scrolling through your phone first thing, consider relocating or phone. If your phone is your alarm, the other thing you may want to consider is removing the social media apps from your phone altogether. This will save you from mindless scrolling both morning and night.

2. Journaling

Journaling has been a great way for me to clear my mind. Sometimes I will use this in the morning and sometimes I will use it before bed, depending on my needs.

If you find your mind is racing and you can’t seem to organize your thoughts, giving yourself 5-10 minutes of free write time can really help. Once your ideas are on the page, you can start to organize your ideas. Or, if you don’t need to do anything with them, you can just leave it all right there on the page.

Some people find it beneficial to use a journal prompt. Writing is a great way to express your ideas. If a free write isn’t for you, journal prompts can give you a topic that will help you to focus your writing. Having this quiet time with your thoughts can help you develop your reflective, thoughtful practice.

3. Gratitude

Expressing gratitude is an extremely important practice. This can, and should, be done throughout the day. However, I know from experience that there are times when I am lacking a grateful spirit. If I don’t set aside a specific time in my day to think about what I am grateful for, it could slip by the wayside.

When you wake up in a bad mood, nothing can turn it around more quickly than expressing gratitude. I like to do this through prayer and I also like to write down the things that I am thankful for. Having this list is super helpful when I am in a funk and can’t think of something. Reading through past things that I have expressed thankfulness for softens my heart and brings to mind new things that I should add to my list. You can keep this running list in any journal. I purchased this gratitude journal through Amazon and I have loved it. It is nice to just keep all the things I am thankful for in one location.

4. Exercise

Moving your body is essential! A full-blown workout doesn’t have to be part of your morning routine. If it fits better somewhere else in your schedule, do it then. However, I know two things for myself. If I don’t do my workout in the morning, I will find excuses to not do it later in the day. Part of this comes back to the fear of failure discussion we had previously. I shouldn’t be so hard on myself.

It isn’t always that I find an excuse. Sometimes things just come up throughout the course of the day and then my best laid plans do not come to fruition. The second thing I know about myself is that my body feels a bit sluggish when I wake up and it is important that I start moving it in some way.

So, if you can do your workout routine in the morning, great! If not, consider doing some stretches or foam rolling in order to warm up your muscles and let your body know it is time to wake up. Just make sure that if you choose this option, you have purposefully scheduled in time later in the day for the workout.

5. Prayer or Meditation

Incorporating prayer and meditation into your morning routine is a game changer. Again, you can, and should, do this throughout the day. However, as a Christian, it is important that I have that intentional morning check in time.

Reading the scripture, meditating on it, and praying are an important part of connecting to God early in the day. This can help give you the strength you need to make it through the tough parts of the day and keep your focus on what’s important.

Even if you don’t consider yourself a religious person, meditation can still take place. Taking some time to be still and quiet can help center your mind before the business of the day begins. Research shows that meditation can stimulate positive thoughts and can calm your body, thus reducing stress. Who doesn’t want to start the day feeling calmer?

6. Reading

Reading can help stimulate your mind and can enhance personal growth. You don’t have to set aside hours here. You may only read for 5 minutes or you may want to read for 30 minutes. They amount of time is up to you.

So, what should you read? The book you select will largely depend on your intention for this time. I find this is a great time for some daily Bible reading. I have also seen some recommendations for books like “The Daily Stoic” by Ryan Holiday. This has short daily readings that provide interesting thoughts to think on. “Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action“ by Simon Sinek also looks like a good option. Sinek studied great influential leaders and compiled what caused them to be inspirational to others.

7. Intentional Family Time

Morning family time is going to look different depending on the nature and make-up of the family. For me, it looks like talking with my mom on the phone every morning. It could be sending a quick text to check in on a family member.

If you have children, it might mean slowing down to spend 10 minutes eating breakfast with them before everyone is out the door. Life is short. We don’t know what will happen throughout the day. Don’t leave something unsaid or let a moment pass by that can’t be regained.

8. Breakfast

I know there are multiple philosophies on whether or not breakfast is important. With that being said, the idea here is once again to be intentional. If you know that your body runs better with fuel, other than coffee, first thing, have breakfast. If you know that intermittent fasting makes you feel better and is helping you reach your goals, don’t have breakfast.

Either way, be intentional about what you are going to eat during your morning routine or how you will break your fast later. I can’t tell you how many times I failed to plan and ended up grabbing a muffin with my coffee. While it was delicious, it was not the breakfast of champions. This set me up to make other poor food choices later in the day. Partially due to decision fatigue and partially due to feeling like I already started the day with a not so good choice, so what difference did it make.

My Morning Routine

This is still a work in progress for me. It looks different during the summer than it does during the school year. I have currently been waking up around 6:00. During the school year, it is better if I get up at 5:00. Since we are about a month away from getting going, I am starting the transition to getting up earlier.

If you have read any of my other articles, you know that I love my essential oils. I guess scents just set the mood for me. I like to make my cup of coffee, put on my essential oil diffuser with either the Purify or Balance blend, and go through my reading, gratitude, and prayer routine. This puts me in a good headspace. I follow this up by taking my dog for a walk.

During my walk, I can either reflect on what I read that morning, or listen to a podcast. My walk if followed by getting cleaned up and having breakfast. Somewhere in there, I will also talk to my mom and make sure everything is going well with my parents.

It is really important to me that I work on my routine so that I do not have to make a bunch of decisions about it while I am trying to get ready for school. So, in the next couple of weeks, I will work on getting up earlier and fine tuning the routine. I need to be able to complete it in 2.5 hours. That will include the time I need to get ready for work.

It is important to know that I might not be able to do all of the things I want to do during that time. However, if I know my purpose for the morning routine, I can intentionally select those things that will best accomplish the purpose.

Conclusion

It is my hope that you will be able to use some of these eight ideas to set your morning routine and reduce decision fatigue. They way that you start your morning really does impact the rest of your day. You’ve got this!