Mornings can be stressful, and the best way to get your day off a to a slower and a less stressful start is to have a morning routine.
It can be simple, but it will make such a difference to your stress levels and feeling like you do have everything in control after all.
How we wake up and what sort of start we have in the morning does tend to set the tone for the rest of our day.
(TIP: A bit of movement can usually turn this around!)
Our morning routine can be broken down into two parts, I think we need a bit of time to focus on ourselves and then we have the other half of the morning routine where we need to do all the things that allow our homes and lives to run smoothly.
This blog post is mainly focused on the self care side of things, but watch this space for a morning routine that will help your home run smoother.
Your morning starts the night before
The most important step in having a good morning routine, is to have a good evening routine.
There are so many things to think about and need to be done in the morning, thinking ahead and getting some things done the night before is going to make your morning so much less stressful.
One of the worst feelings is waking up and feeling like you are already behind.
Think about what needs to be done in the morning and then make a list of those things that don’t have to be done in the morning.
Things like:
- getting clothes ready the night before
- packing bags or school bags
- making packed lunches (just add fresh bits in the morning)
- making a todo list for the next day
I’ve got a blog post all about making an evening routine here if you want to read more.
Wake before your kids
This is a mountain I will die on – you will feel so much better for having even just 10 minutes of peace to wake up and drink a cup of tea before the rest of the house wakes.
Waking early through choice might not be the most appealing option for some of you, but it is life changing if you give it a chance.
A peaceful ten minutes at the start of your day is going to start your day off in a much calmer way.
Your morning routine should be all about filling your cup before you start pouring into everyone else’s.
Just a side note here – if you feel like there is absolultely no way you can wake even 10 minutes before everyone else – that is completely fine. No guilt allowed here.
What time should I wake up?
First we need to make a plan of what we want to do and work backwards.
If all you are planning on doing is just waking up ten minutes early so that you can have a cup of tea in peace, then all you need is to plan to wake 10-15 minutes earlier.
If you have plans for a more structured morning routine, maybe a workout or some reading or a few different things – maybe allow half hour to an hour.
Work out what you want to do, work out how long each thing will take and then set your alarm for that earlier time.
Plan your morning routine
I strongly believe that your morning routine should be all about you and doing the things that make you feel good.
That is going to look different for all of us.
It’s also important to remember that some seasons you are going to feel like you need slower and gentler morning routines where maybe you curl up with your book and a cup of tea and just read in peace.
Some seasons you are going to be more energetic and maybe want to get a workout in before everyone wakes.
Maybe you are in a season of you are not able to get much done during the day at all, maybe you have children home all the time with you for whatever reason that may be and you use that time alone to get a couple of things that are stressing you out and on your mind all the time just crossed off your todo list.
There is no right or wrong morning routine – it’s whatever works for you.
If you are struggling to think about what you actually want to do with your morning routine maybe think about what do you get frustrated about by the end of the day if you haven’t got that thing done?
Maybe it’s exercise, or feeling like you haven’t got anything done, or feeling like you haven’t had any time to yourself.
Whatever that thing is, it’s probably a good idea to try and fit that into your morning routine so at least there is a better chance of it actually getting done!
Morning routine ideas
This is definitely not a do all these things list, it’s just a suggestion of things for you to brain storm what you want your morning routine to look like:
- Exercise
- Reading
- Getting a couple of things crossed off todo list
- Eat breakfast
- Do some work from home
- Enjoy the silence
- Start a blog or work on your blog
- Meditation
- Journalling
- Stretching
- Do a line a day journal
- Gratitude journal
- Spend some time working on a project or craft
The list is endless, you just have to find what works for you.
Put the phone away
Whatever it is that you decide you are going to be spending your morning routine doing – put your phone away.
Your phone can make you feel stressed out and overwhelmed, so for the first part of the day just ignore it.
Your morning will feel so much calmer.
One thing at a time
As tempting as it might be to start waking an hour earlier and doing some exercise and then some reading and then some of this and that – chances are it’s going to take a while for your morning routine to become a habit.
Waking early is going to be quite a hard habit to get into initially (but so worth it), but the more you do it the easier it’s going to get.
So I suggest starting in 10 minute intervals with waking early.
The first few days just wake up 10 minutes early and have a peaceful cup of tea.
Then the next few days wake up 15-20 minutes early and have a peaceful cup of tea and add something else.
And keep going until you have the morning routine that works for you.
If you already wake early then that’s half the battle fought already! Just think about what things will help you fill up your cup and go from there!
It’s going to take a bit of time to find the routine that works for you and sometimes we don’t know what works until we try it.
For example, exercising first thing in the morning would make perfect sense for me on paper because it’s something that I get frustrated if I don’t manage it, and I like to do it in peace and on my own.
But I hate exercising first thing in the morning for a few reasons and so I don’t do it.
And that is okay.
Remember – it is whatever works for you and the season that you are in.
This is your morning routine.
My morning routine at the moment is to wake early and do some work on this blog because I am not getting a change at the moment with Anest home in post surgery recovery and it’s the thing that frustrates me if I don’t get done.
Self care for your future self
Maybe loading and unloading the dishwasher or putting a load of laundry on isn’t high on your self care todo list – but they are self-care.
Just getting things done in the morning is helping reduce your stress load for the rest of the day.
Coming home to a chaotic kitchen and a hundred things to do is just stressful, and if you have had a nice day out of the house – that is the last thing you need.
Or coming home and realising you have taken nothing out of the freezer to defrost for dinner…it’s just not the one.
Your home should be your sanctuary not somewhere you want to escape from.
I will do a blog post about this soon, but some ideas to add in to your morning routine to allow your home to run smoothly are:
- make the beds
- Open curtains and open windows
- empty and re-load dishwasher
- reset kitchen and wipe worktops
- 15 minute reset
- laundry on
- Pull meat etc out of the freezer for dinner
- Feed pets
It might look like a long list, but once you get into the swing of doing them every morning, they actually don’t take that long.
Again, start small, do one thing at a time until it becomes a habitual part of your morning routine, and then add in a second habit.
Then keep going until your morning looks like what you want it to look like.
My advice is, always start with self care.
Fill your cup first, then you have what you need to pour into everyone else’s cups too.
If you are looking for some help on making the school morning routine run a little bit smoother – check out this blog post.
Beth x