Morning Routines: Building the Morning You Deserve

I think it’s time we talk about morning routines. A little over a year ago, I committed to waking up at 5 AM instead of 6 AM, and it made a huge difference in my life. So much so that, somewhere along the way, 5 AM became 4:30, and as I type today…I wake up at 4 AM Monday through Friday. I wake up at 4:30 AM on weekends.

Now, before you call me crazy and quit reading this post, you need to know: Waking up early is one of the best ways a mom can prepare for the daily craziness that is motherhood.

Listen, I get it…4 AM is super early and is probably not for everyone. But what if you started out waking up just a little earlier than you currently do? What if you traded in waking up when your kids were screaming at you for waking up to the silence and solace of your dark, cozy, quiet home? 

Want to try it? 

1.Slowly get up earlier. 

I think a good “goal” is to get up an hour before your kids. Once you decide if that’s your goal too, you can take baby steps to get there. Start waking up 15 minutes earlier per week until you are waking up at your new wake up time. That means it’ll take you a month to wake up an hour earlier. Why do I recommend going so slow? I think it sticks better! If tomorrow you tell yourself you’re going to start waking up at 5 AM and you currently wake up at 6 or 7, well…you’ll probably only last a day or two before you give up. #realtalk

2. Map out your mornings. 

What do you want to use your time for? A workout? Devotional and prayer time? Work? Coffee in complete and utter silence? Decide what you really want out of your morning routine and that will help shape where you go as you build up those 15 minute increments. 

3. Prepare for your mornings.

Once you know what your morning routine will eventually look like, you’ll want to start preparing. That means if your morning routine includes working out, set out (or sleep in!) your workout clothes for the next morning. If your quiet mornings will be spent with God, gather your Bible, a pen, a prayer journal, a devotional…whatever you need, and put it in one place for the next day. Coffee without kids (aka hot coffee)…grind your beans and set out your coffee cup. The more you prepare, the more invested you’ll be when the morning arrives and you don’t feel like getting out of bed. 

4. Don’t let one late wake up derail you. 

You’re going to have mornings you hit the snooze a few too many times. You’re going to have times you flat out won’t get up early. Accept that things will come up, babies won’t sleep, and sometimes, you will need more rest. That’s okay. Just don’t use it as an excuse to never get up early again.

I’m going to share my early morning routine with you so you can see how I’ve built mine.

4AM: Alarm goes off–up out of bed between 4 and 4:10.

4:10: Shower + start hair

4:30: Devotional, prayer, and gratitude journal

5:00: Start blog or podcast work til Maverick calls me (I hope for 5:30 or 5:45…usually a little earlier than that). 

5:30: Mav is up and the rest of the morning starts!

Why bother waking up so early?

• More time to yourself

Waking up before your kids means you have time to start your day by doing what YOU want.

• Less stress and anxiety

When you wake up early, you start your day off peacefully (no kids, remember?!). You also can use a little of the time to prep for your day, further reducing your stress level.

• You might be more productive

I think that sometimes, I’m able to get more done between 4 and 5:30 AM than I could accomplish in 4 hours at any other time of the day. With no distractions and disruptions, I can really focus on my me-time first, and then work second.

So start thinking about what your perfect morning would look like. Start thinking about all the things you tell everyone you just “don’t have the time for.” Combine those two things to come up with a morning routine that makes sense for you. 

Things you might want to add:

• Exercise
• Prayer/Devotional/Bible Study
• A hot shower 
• A hot cup of coffee
• Drink a full cup of water
• Gratitude journal, affirmations
• Journaling
• Working 
• Meditating
• Preparing for the day (keep this at the end so you can enjoy your first moments quietly, not running around your house!)

Obviously, you’ll need to pick and choose here. An hour is a lot of time for a couple things…it’s not nearly enough for 5-10 things!! And if your routine is going to be 15 minutes, then you might find out you just have time for one thing. No matter how you build your morning, once you set up the habits, you’ll feel ready to take on your days.

Start your day off on the right foot–whatever that looks like for you.