It’s no secret that I enjoy my mornings. After making a few changes almost two years ago, I finally created the early morning habit I always wanted. Today I will share a few simple steps to help you create a morning routine that works for you. There are even a few worksheets to help you plan it out!
What would you include in your ideal morning?
Let’s first get an idea of what your ideal morning would include. As you approach this, remember that this ideal morning is just your starting point to plan your mornings and figure out what changes you need to make to reset your mornings. Grace and flexibility in your schedule may be necessary, but we do need to start somewhere with our ideal schedule.
Start by thinking of the activities you would do during your ideal morning. List everything below. There is no need to be realistic with this list. Do not think of your schedule and time constraints. List it all!
Here are a few ideas:
•Exercise
•Start a load of laundry or another chore around the home
•Read your morning devotion
•Shower
•Prepare and eat breakfast
•Tidy your home for 15 minutes
•Read a book
•Work on your side business or write for your blog
•Write a list of 3 things you are grateful for
•Spend 30 minutes working toward one of your goals
•Write something or journal
•Listen to a podcast
•7 Habits to Add to Your Morning Routine
List what you would include in your ideal morning. (Sign up to get the worksheets below!)
Then go through and star your top priorities.
Plan your ideal morning routine
You need to decide how much time you could have each morning for your ideal morning activities. (Even a few minutes can help you be refreshed and ready for your day!)
When do you need to be available for your children? When do you need to get out the door for work? When do the requests and demands of others start to come in? I will call this time the END time of your ideal morning.
Based on the time the requests start and the amount of time you want each morning, decide what time you need to get out bed each day for your ideal morning. This is the BEGINNING time of your ideal morning. Once you have your set times, focus on staying consistent. One of the keys to waking up easier is to have a reasonable and consistent bedtime and wake time.
Write down your starred top priorities from the list above. Next to each priority, write down the time it will take each morning.
Make a schedule for your morning
Now that you have your beginning time, end time, and priority list, let’s put together a sample of your ideal morning. It’s not enough to give yourself an hour and plan to get your top 5 priorities in every morning. It’s important to look at the realistic amount of time for each priority and allow for extra or transition time.
I find it most helpful to write out a schedule for the morning. Once habits are in place, this may not be necessary. When initially making big changes and resetting your morning, it’s key to write this down.
Based on your priorities and the time you want for each, create a morning schedule to get started.
First list your daily habits, which are part of your daily routine. Then list your specific goals and priorities for the morning. This second list is more of a to-do list for the tasks that may change from day-to-day. After your lists are made, put the tasks into your schedule.
Grab your worksheets to help you plan your morning routine! I hope your new morning plan makes you refreshed and ready for the day!
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Valerie says
LOVE THIS! I’ve been dealing with anxiety lately and my counselor is encouraging me to develop a better daily routine to help keep me focused and less anxious. Definitely will be using some of your tips as well as the printable to help get me started.
Emily says
Yes, creating routines can be so helpful. I hope that the printables are useful for you!
Jen says
Love the ideas listed here. A good morning always makes my day go more smoothly! Thank you for sharing!
Julie @ Running in a Skirt says
Mornings are my time of day too! I’m so much more with it. Love these printables though to re-address what I’m actually doing!
Tanya @ Mom's Small Victories says
We were on vacation the last two weeks so I’m still trying to get back into my morning routine. Your printables are always fantastic! Thanks for sharing with Small Victories Sunday Linkup and I hope you linked up with our Pintastic Pinterest Party too. Pinning to our linkup board and hope you found some great posts to visit this week!
Emily says
Thanks so much, Tanya!
Margaret @approachingfood says
Great ideas! Schedules are so important in getting things done! As are lists. Otherwise one sort of drifts from task to task and forgets all sorts of other things. So, yes! Schedules and lists!
Emily says
Yep. I am with you on the lists! Making a short morning list right before I go to bed is so helpful.
Deborah says
This is a great idea, I am not a morning person and not very motivated. Thank You
Kendall Patton says
I seem to constantly be working on my morning routine. Sometimes I include exercise for myself and sometimes just sitting for a few minutes. Always, I work in the morning! I intentionally get up pretty early and use those hours to work on my blog/business before the boys get up. That way, I know that even if I can’t/don’t work any other time of the day, I’ve gotten some important tasks done! :)
Emily says
Yes, morning routines are often constantly changing! I am expecting a baby this fall, so any routine may be going out the window. :)
I’m sure if feels nice to get your work/blog time done as soon as you wake up.
Kendall Patton says
A baby! That’s always a game changer, in so so many ways. And then, I find, that it takes me a little while to really get a decent routine down. Our second is just 9 months and it’s only over the last couple of months that I really feel like an actual routine has been established, since he’s awake for longer and nurses not as frequently.
Well wishes, Congrats, and Good Health sent your way! :)
Emily says
Thank you, Kendall!
Kim says
You read my mind today. I have let my morning routine go during the summer. I am ready to get it back up and going. These printables look great!
Emily says
Thanks Kim!
Amira Azimi says
Some great suggestions here. Routine and predictability can mean the difference between a good and a bad day around here:-)
Brittany says
Great ideas! Thanks for sharing!
Amaris says
Great read!
One of my favorites things to do every morning during my morning routine, is my thankful journal… along with my large cup of coffee, that’s the best way for me to start the day :)
Emily says
That sounds like a wonderful morning routine. Yes…always coffee. ;)
erica avery says
Love this. I like to wake up 40 minutes earlier than my son. So that I have time to myself since that is few and far between once he is up and going!
Emily says
I am with you…I love that time!
Lauren says
Yes! I am all about a morning routine! I recently got off track so I have been refocusing to get back to my early mornings!
Emily says
Good luck getting back into it!
Amy says
Ah, this is so helpful. I love mornings and feel so much more productive when I wake up early, but, sometimes it’s hard! My one year old isn’t the best sleeper, so it’s really challenging to start my day early when I’ve been up with her for several hours in the night! I’m excited to try the worksheets, though!
Emily says
It’s sooo hard when you don’t have good sleepers! I have had a few months where it has been almost impossible to get up before my girls.
I hope you enjoy trying out the worksheets!
GGMandy says
Hey thanks. I recently wrote about having a schedule for your day to help manage your chronic pain. I didn’t have a worksheet for them though. I’ve added your this post to my post.
Coming from Motivational Mondays. #27
Lauren | also known as mama says
Pinning and printing these now! Thanks for sharing!
Emily says
You are welcome! Thanks for pinning. :)
Darby says
I really enjoyed this post! I work until 1:00am Sunday-Thursday and have such a hard time in the morning. Sometimes it’s 1:00pm before I’m showered and out of my PJs and I find that those days are the days I am the most anxious. I think the combination of having a good morning schedule as well as a good night time schedule to prep for the morning is key to not losing your mind!
Emily says
The late nights must make it hard to have a morning routine!
Jacki says
My mornings would be nothing without a routine! Thanks for these awesome printables!!
Emily says
You are welcome! I hope you find them helpful.
Demelza Shaw says
Thanks, I struggle with mornings, being a bit of a night owl.. I need a few of these ideas in my life
Sharon Chen says
Very helpful for focusing our energy. And it’s best if it starts with the morning.
Justine Y @ Little Dove says
Love these! I think for me my priorities would be having a little blogging, chore, and exercise time. When I say that it sounds like a lot, like I’d have to wake up super early, but I bet I could figure it out if I just got organized and prioritized. Great worksheets, thanks!
Suzy @ In The Lyons Den says
I am a huge routine person and often when busy plan my morning backwards to work out my get out of bed time! So important to achieve what you want in the morning and that requires being organised. I always like a little bit of me time before the kids get up so that means getting up early, and now that I study at nights it is harder!
Krystal @ Little Light on a Hill says
OMG, I used to be SO good at my morning routine. I was a working mama and I had a really good morning flow going. I’ve recently quit my job to work part-time from home/be a stay-at-home mama, and I am struggling with finding a new morning routine that works well for me in this new season. Thanks for the great tips. I LOVE the printable.
Ginger Harrington says
A productive morning set’s the tone for the entire day. Looks like some great resources here. Linking with you from #RaRaLinkUp.
Angela says
A morning routine is so important! Thank you for sharing your tips!
Liz says
Such comprehensive advice! And beautiful products! What a generous gift! Mornings are so important to starting the whole day on the right foot!
`Alethea Awuku says
This is great! Really great tips! thank you!
Becky Hastings says
Great practical tips! Thanks for sharing! Visiting from Coffee For your Heart!
Melanie says
I used to get up early and exercise and now I have such a hard time getting up! This is definitely something that I have been wanting to do but have never really thought to make a list and focus on actually doing it! :) This is my new goal, thanks for sharing!
Camille says
Great ideas! It’s always nice to start the morning right.
Lynn Spencer says
As a fellow morning person, I really appreciate your guidance. While I do love the time when the whole house is mine, I find that sometimes I fritter away that time. Your printables will surely help me stay on task.
Emily says
Ha! Fritter the time away? I never do that… ;)
I hope you enjoy the printables!
lorrin sell says
great ideas! i am the worst in the morning!
Elissa says
This is very helpful, thanks for sharing.
Lee-Anne Weise says
Amazing post!! I am awful in the mornings and i tend to feel guilty but it never occurred to me to ad more organization and structure in order to achieve my goals. i am looking forward to trying this out
Sara parker says
Really amazing tips to get an awesome morning routine , and healthy one
Tara Berries says
I need to start on an early morning routine! Thank-you for the tips!
Suzanne Hines says
I love this! I am such a morning person…but I have struggled lately with the motivation to get myself out of bed. So, my one tip for a great morning routine is to actually get myself to bed on time the night before! That way I can wake up refreshed and ready to accomplish these things.
Rachel Lynn says
I love the idea of creating a tangible morning routine. I never used to be a morning person and although I still have some work to do, I love waking up early and getting things done in the morning. It makes me feel so accomplished!
Stacey says
Love this. If I don’t have a schedule or my day’s to do list made, then my day is so unproductive. I love routines!
Jennifer says
I love my mornings, too!! I would be a wreck without my morning time. It took me a couple of years (sadly) to finally realize if I wanted some good time to myself, I had to wake up very early to have my “me time”. I love that you created a worksheet to help other moms create a morning time routine. I wish I would have had this tool when I was trying to establish my morning time! Good post!
Tiffany @ Arrows & awe says
I’ve been waking up earlier to work on my blog. I want to get to the point where I wake up early enough to want to work out lol