For years now I’ve been trying to create a morning routine that I will actually stick to.
Over the past year I’ve experimented with a variety of morning routines to see what will work best for me and my family.
The thing is life with kids means things are always changing.
I now have a two-year-old son. I went from breast-feeding every morning first thing to being able to take him on my walks to him not wanting to sit still that long. My husband worked out of the house for six months and I was able to get up and work out well he looked after him before he got to work.
So I’m saying that things change, they’re always changing, and we need to create an morning routine that works for us and whatever is currently going on in our lives.
Here are some suggestions.
- Write out your dream morning. In as much detail as you can. I found as a mom that I need to do two, one assuming my son is home, another as if he was not. (Helped me get clear on what I truly wanted and realistic on when I would need to get up).
- Create a list of must haves for your morning. This is things that you need, want or must do every morning.
- Then experiment and try out a variety things to see what fits and works for you.
I recently read The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod. I love his concept of the six steps you should do each morning to set yourself up for your best day and life.
Here is my current morning routine.
- Night before - I set my phone across the room so I have to get out of bed turn the alarm off.
- Wake up at 5;30am - so early!
- I make myself brush my teeth and drink water to help me wake up.
- I read several affirmations I wrote for myself.
- I spend five minutes stepping into my higher self and visualizing the future I want.
- I get a workout.
- I spend 10 minutes meditating. (I use the Headspace app). It is suggested to meditate first, however I found that if I did that I would just fall asleep, ha.
- Spend 10 minutes reading
- Write down 3 things I am grateful for and 3 things I want to accomplish that day.
- Then if I’m lucky I will have a cup of tea and watch some morning news before my son wakes up.
- At some point during the morning I like to put on a morning playlist, with some theme songs and dance around with my son.
- We usually do breakfast within 30 minutes of him waking up.
- Every other morning I take my dog for a walk.
My musts are working out, tea, and music/dancing with my son.
As I continue to do this morning routine I hope to find and add more must haves to my list.
I will be honest not every morning goes smoothly. Some days my son wakes up early, and occasionally I let myself go back to bed (trying to stop doing that though). However every morning I get in my must haves, even if it does not happen until 11am. Do what you need for yourself to create the best day and attitude to build the life you want and deserve.
What is your morning routine?
Start the Right Business!
Grab your FREE copy of my 6 questions to help you design your dream business.
Hi Charlotte – You basically just described me perfectly! I’ve been wanting to wake up before my daughter for some “me time” for YEARS. I finally started doing it several months ago and it’s absolutely amazing. It literally transforms my day, making me more patient and present. My must dos for each morning are mediate, journal, and read something uplifting. Waking up at 5am is the best decision I’ve made for myself in a LONG time. So glad you’re bringing this up and talking about it…I’m sure you will help many other women make similar changes for the better!
I love this Dina. Like you I wanted to do it, but took time to commit. It is the number one thing I suggest to moms, even if it is only 10 minutes to yourself in the morning. It has made such an amazing difference to me.
Love this Charlotte! I’m impressed but how much you fit into your mornings 🙂 I had a pretty good routine going before my son was born, but now I’m needing to readjust. He often sleeps on me in the AM, so my best mornings are when I wake up before him and read while the rest of my family sleeps. Then my daughter comes in when she wakes up for some snuggles, breakfast, etc. Not much, but the reading helps me start my day off on a mellow foot!
I need to do this! My problem is that I back-load the day and go to sleep super late, having a beer with the hubs and watching Orange is the New Black and call it bonding. So waking up early feels like the devil. I just listened to the Rick Rubin episode of the Tim Ferriss podcast and he was talking about adjusting your circadian rhythm by getting sun exposure the first 20 minutes immediately after waking, and I’m going to try it to see if I can change my night-owl habits once and for all. Bonding be damned! Just kidding – I really do think my husband and I would have more actual conversations early in the morning than we do after a long, depleting day.
I have been working on my morning routine. I need to get up earlier. That’s so tough! I’m working on it though. I must have tea every morning and I need to get my workouts going in the morning again.