Welcome! Are you looking for a little extra time in your day?
- A time to get ahead on a list of to-dos?
- A time to get in an intense workout or relaxing yoga session?
- A time to study His Word?
- A time to get ahead before your children are underfoot?
- A time to work on your blog or home business?
- A time to just be quiet and refresh?!?
- Or a time to just get outside and enjoy the spring mornings!
You may desire to fit one (or more!) of the things above into your day, but where do you find the time? I had the desire to fit in a daily devotion and some time to work on my blog over two years ago. I couldn’t find the time in my day to work on my blog and I was pushing off my daily devotion more than I should, so I realized I just had to use the morning hours before my children woke up.
Today I will share a few simple steps to help create a morning routine that works for you. This routine may be in the early hours before your children wake up or it may be a routine that works alongside your children.
There are even a few worksheets to help you plan it out!
1 – What would you include in your ideal morning?
Start by getting an idea of what your ideal morning would include. 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 on the printable worksheets. 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 a morning devotion
•Tidy your home for 15 minutes
•Write or journal
•Shower
•Read a book
•Work on your side business or blog
•Write a list of 3 things you are grateful for
•Spend 30 minutes working toward one of your goals
•Prepare and eat breakfast
•Listen to a podcast
•7 Habits to Add to Your Morning Routine
List what you would include in your ideal morning. (Print off the worksheets here!)
Go through and star your top priorities.
2 – 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? This is 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.
3 – Make a schedule for your morning
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.
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.
Based on your priorities and the time you want for each, create a morning schedule to get started. (You will find a sample morning on the worksheets.)
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. (This will make the most sense if you have the worksheets in front of you.)
Grab your worksheets to help you plan your morning routine! Once you have created your routine, try to follow the morning schedule for the week. Be consistent for a few days before you make drastic changes.
I hope your new morning plan helps you feel refreshed and ready for the day!
