My Morning Routine and Why Having One is so Important

[one_half padding=”0 2px 0 2px”][/one_half][one_half_last padding=”0 2px 0 2px”][/one_half_last]

Do you have a morning routine?

If you don’t… first of all, Why NOT! If you do… Do you love it? Is it serving you? Is it creating the perfect atmosphere for you to thrive and achieve your goals for the day? For me, a morning (and night) routine is KEY to me feeling like I’ve gotten the most out of my day! It helps to reduce anxious feelings as well as keeps stress and overwhelm at bay! It’s really the best thing you can do for yourself and it doesn’t have to be elaborate or hard! Simple is the name of the game here! The more complicated you make it the less likely you are to actually do it!

Here’s my Routine! Feel free to copy it, adopt it, implement it, or tweak it and make it your own!

My morning routine actually gets started the night before! I am a huge fan of the productivity journal and use it daily! It is great for writing out the top 3-5 things that you want to accomplish for that day. There is some science behind the number of things you should be committing yourself to and it’s all outlined in the planner if you’d like to know the details there, but the basic just of it is that you stick to 3-5 top priorities that if you were to accomplish those things in your day, you would feel as though you have had a successful day!

This may not seem like a big deal but if you’ve ever had a to do list with 28 things on it and that list follows you around like an annoying mosquito for days and weeks on end… then you know how overwhelming and stressful that can be. The productivity journal is all about helping you organize those 28 things into bitesize and attainable tasks that can be ticked off daily! It’s genius y’all!

Okay, so once I’m actually awake for the day the next thing I do is write in my 5 minute journal. If you’ve been following me for awhile then you know that I am a huge fan of journaling! If you are new to journaling then I highly recommend the 5 minute journal! It’s basically an intro to journaling and helps you get it done in 5 minutes per day! I usually find time to get a longer journaling session in some time later in the day, but I like to do this first so I can be sure that it gets done no matter what! It’s a great way to practice gratitude first thing!

The next thing I do is a make my bed. I know this sounds like a meaningless task to some but there is a ton of research that shows that this small task is one of the easiest and fastest things you can do, first thing in the morning, to feel an immediate sense of accomplishment early on in your day. And you know what? One little accomplishment leads to another and then another and so on so forth throughout your day!

Think of it like a game with points. The more meaningful things you accomplish in your day, the more points you’re getting towards your overall goal of going to bed tonight stress free, proud of yourself, and genuinely satisfied with your effort towards living your best life! Don’t believe me? Try it! I always feel great about making my bed!!

From here it’s all about a happy morning with my kiddos! I’ll be honest, some days are better than others, but I’ve really made a conscious effort in this department because my girls deserve that. I used to sleep in until the very last minute. I would hit the snooze button four to fives times until I knew if I waited a second longer, everyone would be late and stressed out.

Now, if this sounds like you, don’t beat yourself up about it. We all have our days and I know that for a lot of moms, the night time is your only peace and quiet. So, most moms tend to take this time for themselves, to relax, watch a little TV, or just hang out with their husbands.

Know that that is perfectly fine and great, but also know that if you’re staying up extremely late you’re not doing anyone in your house any favors. Including you. Getting enough sleep is paramount in having successful productive days. It’s one of those things that is easy to shove off when the time comes but you pay for it in the morning when it’s time to get up and do the things that you need to do.

Here are a few tips to help you get in bed earlier so that you can get up earlier and have a stress free morning!

1. Put your kids to bed early. If you have littles then a 7-9pm bedtime is totally doable. My girls are 8 and almost 10 and they still have a 8:30 bedtime. This is for them and for me. They need much more rest than adults do because they are growing! Having them in bed by 8:30 allows me an hour to myself for downtime!
2. If you’re an alarm clock snoozer, put your phone in another room where you can hear it but can’t reach it! You’ll have to get up to turn it off!
3. Set your coffee to brew at the time you want to wake up. The smell of the coffee will be a pleasant way to wake up!
4. Try to set intentions around all that you will get to accomplish in your day by following through on this one promise to yourself. The way you do one thing is the way you do all things. Breaking a simple promise to yourself, everyday, first thing in the morning will only lead to more and more broken promises and unfulfilled goals and dreams!

Alright, moving on! Once we’re out the door I’m in my car for the next hour to hour and a half driving my kiddos where they need to be. 90 minutes might not sound like much of an opportunity to take advantage of but it so is! Instead of listening to the radio, I listen to audio books or podcasts.

Guilty confession: I’m a serial hard copy book buyer as well as a serial hard copy book non finisher. But! I’ve found that I can get through entire books in a week or less if I listen to them on audio in my car! #score! I listen to a lot of things but always try to choose motivational material around life and business. I like to really take advantage of every opportunity I can to learn and grow in these areas!

Last but not least, when I get home from all of my mom duties, I workout. I know that I have to take care of my body and I make it a priority. I exercise daily in some form or fashion and I eat in a way that makes me proud of my body.

Those are my only two stipulations I put on myself in this department. There have been times in my life that I was much more strict in these areas because I had different goals in those times. But now, I am focused on being healthy and loving my body. For me, that means moving daily and being proud of my food choices. That’s it!