My Morning Routine
I don’t know that I can remember a time in the past when I had a solid and consistent morning routine. I’ve always been drawn to the idea of a morning routine complete with a full skin care regimen, putting on makeup and doing my hair, stretching while focusing on a relaxing meditation, drinking a delicious cup of hot tea, journaling all my emotions out, making my bed, and having an amazing quiet time with the Lord.
I’d even say that I’m a morning person in general. I love seeing the sky come alive with color as the sun rises over the horizon. I love the coolness and stillness of the morning. I love hearing the birds sing in the early morning hours. But a morning routine? Somehow managing that has been a challenge in the past.
BUT the past doesn’t determine the present or future, and I have been implementing an actual morning routine recently that seems to be working well…
In my opinion, a good morning routine starts by preparing for a successful morning the night BEFORE. If I spend a few minutes before bed getting everything ready for the following morning, my morning tends to go much smoother.
So before I go to bed each night, I set my alarm for 4:45 AM (and 4:50 AM, 5:00 AM, 5:10 AM, & 5:15 AM just in case. We’ve all been there). For a long time, I kept my phone near my bed for convenience. But guess how well that worked? Yep. You guessed it. NOT WELL! I finally started putting my phone across the room so that I had to physically get out of bed in order to turn it off. Since implementing the alarm-across-the-room technique, I haven’t really needed to rely on multiple alarms going off one right after the other in the morning to get up. I just get up and start my morning!
Other things I do before I go to bed to prepare for a good morning are filling up my 40oz Stanley Cup with water and putting it in my room, deciding on and setting out my workout clothes, checking my phone reminders for the next day and adding anything that I forgot, making sure to have my journal and other books all in one spot, thinking about the type of workout I want to do in the morning, and putting any workout equipment out that I need. All of this takes me maybe a few minutes before I get in bed, and it really does make a difference!
After getting out of bed to turn off my alarm, I head straight to the bathroom. I know this may be somewhat unpopular, but I have gotten into the habit of weighing myself first thing every morning. This is a practice I started towards the beginning of my intermittent fasting journey just to have a method of regular data collection. It isn’t a perfect or complete measure by any means. But at this point in my life, getting on the scale is non-emotional or triggering for me, so I figured it’s an easy thing to do to track my progress. I also take body measurements and progress pictures one time per week. But the only daily data I collect is my weight. So before I get dressed for the day, I hop on the scale which is synced to an app on my phone so that I can chart my weight patterns.
As soon as I’m done using the bathroom and weighing myself, I put on my workout clothes that I set aside the night before and put my hair up. I then roll out my exercise mat and turn on a 45 minute YouTube workout. There are a few channels I’m really loving right now, and I just quickly pick a workout from one of those. I really try not to spend too much time deciding on a workout because this cuts into the other things I want to do during the early morning.
After I complete my workout, I drink some of my water, roll up my mat, and take out my journal and Bible. Even if I just write a sentence or two, I make sure to spend some time journaling at the start of each day. During this 75 Hard Challenge I’m doing, I have been writing down what day of the challenge I’m on, how I’m feeling, the goals I have for the day, and anything else that comes to mind. I’ll also journal any Bible reflections or other important thoughts that come up during my writing.
I then open my Bible to read the chapters from my reading plan. I’ve been following the M’Cheyne Bible reading plan for a while now, and I really enjoy it. With this plan, you read through the Old Testament one time annually and the New Testament and Psalms two times annually. It’s about four to five chapters of reading per day, but it offers lots of variety in your daily Bible reading practice.
By the time I’m done with my Bible reading, my kids are usually up and ready to have breakfast. If for some reason they sleep a little later than usual, I pull out my laptop and begin working on my daily blog post. Even if I can’t finish before my kids get up, I can at least get something accomplished early on in the day.
There isn’t much more to my morning routine as of right now. As a mom of three little boys who almost never sleep past 6:30 AM, my time is limited pretty much at every point of the day. But that doesn’t mean I can’t try to incorporate some form of routine for myself in the mornings!
I find that if I start my day intentionally and with a little self-care, the rest of my day feels less stressful and rushed. I’m more mentally prepared for whatever the day may bring because I’ve taken the time to do healthy things for my mind, spirit, and body.
There are a few things I’d love to add to my morning routine in the future. I’d love to go for sunrise walks or hikes to get that early morning sun in. But with my husband currently working from 5:30 AM to 1:30 PM, it’s not the right season for me to get out and about that early. And I’m NOT waking my kids up earlier than I have to to take them on a walk with me. They’d be miserable, and they’d probably make me miserable too.
I’d also love to get back into a skin care routine at some point. I’ve historically been quite inconsistent with that, so I can’t really say that taking care of my skin has ever been a routine in the past. I’m good about washing my face in the shower currently, but I typically shower either midday or before bed, and I know it’s good to wash your face and moisturize in the morning. Maybe I need to recommit to a skin care regimen and get it done right after my morning workout!
Another thing I’d like to consider adding to my routine is actually putting on some makeup and doing my hair in the morning. I’m constantly debating with myself about whether or not I want to be a natural looking girl or a put together looking girl. I love both versions of myself, so how can I decide between getting a little fancier each day or rocking my makeup-less face and wild hair?
I’d love to hear what your morning routine looks like! Do you put on makeup every morning? Do you get up early for a workout or other activity? Are you a skin care girl? Share with the group so we can all be inspired…
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