What do your mornings look like? Do you wake up with the sun peaking over the horizon or pull the covers over your head and wait for the voice of a small child asking for breakfast?
I have never been a morning person.
I like to stay up late and sleep the first part of the morning away.
After having my first child I could still feasibly continue this routine. I would still be awake when she needed a night feeding and she always took a long morning nap. I could take a morning nap with her! Well, when baby number two came along my sleep turned into dreams. Really- I just day dreamed about sleep 😛
(This post contains affiliate links. See my disclosure policy here.)
During this time of little sleep I thought it would be a great time to start training with my sister-in-law for a half marathon. I’m not sure what I was thinking. My second born son was around five months old and I was going to train for a race. This was when somewhat of a morning routine began to develop for me.
At 5:00 am my alarm would go off and I would wake up to pump milk for my son. A bottle would be ready in the off chance that he would wake up hungry. Then my husband would be able to feed him while I went out for a morning run.
It was during this time of morning runs that I noticed how refreshed I felt when returning home. I wasn’t as sleepy and groggy during the day as I had been previously. I accounted all my sleepiness to a newborn baby and toddler. I discovered that by starting my day before my kids I actually had more energy and a better demeanor throughout the day.
Fast forward to having my third child. This is when I lost what I had of a morning routine. Homeschooling two younger children with a newborn was about all I could muster myself to get done. The house was a mess, dinner happened when friends brought it and laundry was a monster growing in the hamper.
This was a season I was ready to get out of. I wanted to enjoy everyday living and not just be stuck in survival mode.
Remembering back to my mornings of running reminded me how I felt better about my day. Starting my day before the kids woke up and having a little time to myself was a good idea. A morning routine needed to be put into practice to help me have a more joy filled day.
Action Plan:
1. Ask a friend to join me.
The first thing I did was reach out to a friend and ask if she would join me once a week for a morning run. This would give accountability for me to be up early and ready to start the day. It’s hard to stay in bed when you know a friend is on the way to meet you!
2. Lay out clothes the night before.
This one seems almost too simple to write down. But actually choosing my workout clothes or outfit the night before made the next morning smoother. It removed one more decision from my morning routine that didn’t need to be made.
3. Have the coffee pot ready to brew.
A fresh cup of brewed coffee has been a part of my morning routine for years. I think it’s like a comfort food for me, only a beverage 😛
These three action steps helped me begin accomplishing the start of a morning routine. I now have steps in place to get my day off to a great start.
My Current Morning Routine:
- Wake up about 5:30 am (depending on what time I went to bed the night before this time can fluctuate.)
- Go running or do a YouTube workout for 20-30 minutes
- Brew a cup of coffee
- Read my Bible and do devotions
- Work on blogging
- Shower and get ready for the day (most often this happens after all my kiddos are up and eating breakfast.)
Getting up early and going through my morning routine has helped me be a more stress free mom. It has changed my outlook on my day when I have taken the morning time to charge myself up and be ready to serve my family.
Are you ready to start a morning routine? Do you have some goals you would like to accomplish but can’t find the time to pursue them?
Crystal Paine from Money Saving Mom has helped me take my morning routine and use it to pursue some personal goals. Did you notice that blogging was part of my morning routine? Blogging was one of my personal goals and passions of creativity that I wanted to pursue. After going through Crystal’s online course Make Over Your Mornings I was able to create the time needed to pursue this goal.
Some of my favorite things about her online course:
- It includes short videos. I’m a visual learner and this helped reinforce what I was reading in the Make Over Your Mornings handbook.
- Each lesson only takes about 15 minutes to watch and complete! Totally doable!
- You will establish action steps to streamline your morning tasks (something I’m all about here at Miss Sue Living!)
- Get help with creating realistic, but stretching goals.
Are you ready to create your own morning routine? Change the outlook of your day to a joyful one! Click the image below and Make Over Your Mornings.
I look forward to my quiet mornings each day! Yes to the coffee! I’ve taken a break from running the past 6 months, but this makes me anxious to jump back in. Life is not just about surviving! Thanks for suggesting Crystal Paine’s course; she’s fantastic!