Today I’m talking about how creating a morning routine will help you start the day off right. Whether you are a morning person or a bonafide night owl, creating a morning routine will help you get your heart and home in order.
30 Days of Intentional Homemaking: Day 6
Before I became a mom I most definitely considered myself a night person. Mornings were not my favorite. As a teen I would stay up as late as possible – especially on weekends and during the summer! I loved to read and I would read books late into the night. In fact, I hated to turn off the light until the book was finished.
The problem with staying up late is that unless I have nothing to do the following day, I’m going to wake up tired. Tired is not a good way to start my day.
Okay, I’ll be honest. I still wake up tired a lot. But I’m even more tired if I don’t go to bed by 11:00 pm – for me 10:00 would be ideal but it never happens. My point is, I always enjoyed the relaxing fun of night time. Mornings were for people who had to do stuff.
Well, I’m a mom and I’m one of those people that needs to do stuff. Creating a morning routine is one of the most effective ways to simplify your life and organize your day.
Note: I want you to understand that I’ve raised five kids, homeschooled five kids, and have a big crazy family who often comes to my house. When my kids were younger I had four elderly family members that I helped care for everyday. I work from home too and my house is over 4000 square feet of space that needs cleaning way too much. Plus, I travel a lot – I am typically gone from home overnight for half the month. I understand what it means to be busy! So, when I share these tips with you, I’m totally sharing from my own experience here!
Creating a Morning Routine
Here’s the thing about routines – I can make suggestions, but every family is different. So take my advice and tweak it to fit your lifestyle. For instance, several days a week I have to wake up at 3:30 or 4:00 in the morning and rush to get out the door for early morning figure skating lessons. Most of you won’t be joining me that early!
So, my daily routines will look different than yours, but I can offer a best practice for morning routines and you take my ideas and make them work for you in the best way possible. If you are a new mom with a baby who still wakes up in the middle of the night, give yourself some grace and remember that this time will last only a short while.
Wake Up Early
I promise you, early mornings are a mama’s friend. You may not think so, but they really are! So let’s talk about how to create a morning routine that works for you.
When my children were younger and I still had five kids at home who homeschooled, I typically woke up at 6:00 am. This allowed me ample time to get my morning routine done. I would say that for the average busy mom 5:00 or 6:00 wake up is a good place to start. I would not recommend sleeping in past 7:00 on most days.
Motherhood is full of seasons. Life changes. Schedules change. Routines change. Bedtimes and wake up times change. What really matters is that your morning routine works for your family and that you’re able to do what you need to get done each day.
Now that I only have two teens at home who homeschool, I usually wake up around 7:00 on days when we are not going to the ice rink. My girls are a big help to me when we’re home and I don’t have to do as much for the since they are older. Young children require more hands on time and you need the extra time in the mornings to get things in order for the day. I’m giving you my best advice – this is what worked for me.
related: How to Wake Up Without Waking the Kids
If you are able to wake up a little before your family, you will find that with practice, those early mornings are a great benefit to your sanity. But, waking up early isn’t easy right off the bat if you are not used to the practice. So, make it your goal to wake up 15 minutes earlier each week until you are waking up at the time you desire. Set your alarm and put it across the room if you need the extra motivation to get out of the bed.
Waking up earlier means that you will feel less stressed and less rushed to get your day started. I hate feeling stressed trying to get out the door because I overslept. Or feeling like I haven’t accomplished everything I wanted to get done because I slept the morning away. Waking up early will give you that extra time you need in the morning to get more done and feel good about your day.
Spend a Few Minutes in Quiet Time
When you first wake up, go ahead and find your favorite place to pray and study and open up the Word of God. If you need some tea or coffee to help you wake up, you can sip this while you read.
Having a quiet time helps set the tone for the day, gives you peace and joy that will help sustain you for all that you need to accomplish during the day.
related: Manna in the Morning
Yes, you can have quiet time later during the day. But spending a few minutes praying over your day means that your off to a good start. It’s also very easy to let worship time to get away from you… like the manna that was collected early in the morning. If the Israelite’s didn’t gather the manna in time, it would disappear!
Plan Your Day
After you have spent time in prayer, pull out your planner if you use one or make a list of things you hope to accomplish. Choose three things that are your top priorities and then add a few more to the list if you want, but don’t try to do too much or you’ll set yourself up for failure before you even get started!
If you have young children, planning to do more than one thing an hour can be nearly impossible. Give yourself grace and realize you can’t do it all and do it all well.
You can purchase my Purpose 31 Planner and print it out here. The Purpose 31 Planner has everything you need to keep yourself organized through the day! Or, for $12.00 {this week only} you can join my Purpose 31 Homemaker’s Circle and find all of the printables, courses, and organizational tools you need!
What a Good Morning Routine Looks Like
To figure out what your morning routine would ideally look like, make a list of the things you’d like to accomplish. Then, make an approximate note of how long each activity will probably take you to complete.
These are the tasks that I recommend you do every morning to keep your home neat and your heart filled.
I promise if you start the habit of a good morning routine, like the one below, you’ll find over time that your household is running smoother and staying neater – and you won’t feel so overwhelmed!
- morning devotion {30 – 45 minutes}
- start a load of laundry {5 minutes}
- morning walk {30 minutes}
- shower and get dressed {30 minutes}
- cook breakfast {20 minutes}
- eat breakfast with the family {20 minutes}
- family worship around the breakfast table {15 minutes}
- tidy kitchen after breakfast {15 minutes}
Factor in probable interruptions. Give your morning routine grace for the unexpected. And then decide what time you’d like to wake up in the morning. Decide which activities you can or are willing to do with your children present. And then make a schedule.
Schedules and routines are not your master. Just because you think it’d be nice to have two quiet hours to yourself in the morning doesn’t mean your day is ruined if that’s not the way it works out. Life – especially with kids – can be chaotic at times. That’s okay!
Just remember that Jesus offers us grace each day and His mercies are new every morning! So if things don’t go as planned today, give yourself grace and look forward to tomorrow.
I hope these tips have helped you learn more about creating a morning routine that works for you. Let me know if you have any questions!
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