I have been following a morning routine for 3 months now since I completed Crystal Paine a.k.a. Money Saving Mom’s Make Over Your Mornings course. (Just as an aside, I love everything Crystal creates. All her courses are packed with good information, affordable and practical.)
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Having a morning routine has turned me from running around like a chicken with my head cut off to doing a handful of things that start my day off on a peaceful, purposeful note.
When creating your morning routine, Crystal recommends asking yourself these questions:
- How do you want your day to start?
With an energetic, loud toddler in the house, I need my day to start off with quiet reflection. I also like to listen to some type of uplifting message to get myself in a good frame-of-mind for the day ahead. - What do you need to tackle in the evening to make your morning less stressful?
This is key. Setting out our clothes out and planning our agenda the night before makes a huge difference in how our day begins. - What is most important for you to do that day?
Yaas! Instead of getting bombarded with chores, emails and social media first thing in the morning, the night before I have already chosen the three most important things I will focus on first thing in the morning after breakfast. - Include something enjoyable in your routine.
If you aren’t a morning person, having a part of your routine that you look forward to may be the thing that helps you get out of bed. That may be a cup of your favorite coffee, time to read a good book or WHAT. - Include some type of accountability.
Again, if you aren’t already used to getting up early, it may be difficult at first to choose your morning routine over a few extra minutes of sleep. That’s where accountability comes in. Enlist your hubby or friend, post your wakeup time or use a habit tracker to help you stay motivated. - Make it visual.Whether it’s an index card or cute printable like this one from Sunny Sweet Days, keep a visual of your morning routine in a place where you will see it first thing in the morning as a reminder of what to do when you are too sleepy to think straight.
- Test it out.
Take at least three weeks to test your morning routine. You may need to add something you haven’t though of, or you might find that something on your list just isn’t that helpful.
These were just a few of the lessons in Crystal Paine’s course; there were 14 lessons total. To check out the course, visit Crystal’s site to learn more. For just $17, you can gain from Crystal’s wisdom as much as I did in only 15 minutes a day.*
And if you are wondering what my morning routine looks like, I keep it simple and limit it to only 4 things:
- Read my devotional.
- Drink 8 oz. of water before breakfast.
- Do some stretches for flexibility.
- Listen to at least 15 minutes of personal development content.
Other ideas for tasks to add to your morning routine might be exercise, make the bed, read or make breakfast. I don’t recommend adding things you are already going to do like put on clothes or drink coffee, unless those particular things are a challenge for you. 😉
I’d love to hear from you. Do you have an intentional morning routine? What do you do each day?