Every morning I have a schedule I do my best to follow. Ideally it starts before any of the little kids in the family wakes up. This helps me get my day off to a good start. If I’m efficient and accomplish important things (at least to me) first thing in the morning then the rest of the day goes much more smoothly for myself and for my family. My morning routine is part of my Rule of Life that I’ve developed to help me with my daily, weekly, and lifetime goals.
Why is it important to have a schedule?
When you have goals you want to accomplish it takes time, energy, and focus to get them completed. In the mornings everything is quiet, including your mind. This is when I find it easiest to really concentrate and focus on whatever it is that I’m doing. I’m going to give you my routine and explain why I do what I do.
Everyone is different so this may not work for you but it will give you another mom’s morning routine. I’ve always found this helpful for myself to see if another mom’s routine ideas would help me out with my schedule!
My Morning Routine
5:30 Alarm
5:40 Bible Reading, Journaling
6:00 Blog post writing, working on my individual goals, laundry load transfer
7:00 Tell kids what’s for breakfast so they can start working on it and eating while I finish up any last minute items.
7:20 Shower, dress, make bed – I plan on getting on the treadmill at this time eventually but for right now we’ve been skating and walking in the afternoons.
First Priority – My Bible Reading
I like getting up early because (usually) no one else is up, except maybe two of my older girls. This keeps it quiet so I can focus on reading my Bible without any interruptions. This is important because my mind wanders so much that every time I’m interrupted with anything I have to basically start over. I call it Pregnancy Brain, although I’m not currently pregnant! For example, while writing this one paragraph I have been interrupted three times. I’ve had to re-read it three times to remember what thought I was working on! Embarrassing, but there you have it…
My Gratitude Journals
After I read my Bible I like to write in my journals. I just bought both of the journals I use and I love them!! I have recently found myself having a negative outlook on things so when I found these two journals I bought them the same day, with the hopes that they will help me fix this problem I have. They were both written by another blogger, Crystal Paine of www.moneysavingmom.com. They are called “Choosing Gratitude” and “Choosing Love“. Not only do I like that it’s helping me change my outlook on life but it is also helping me record my good memories.
After journaling (takes just minutes) I usually try to do a laundry load transfer. Being early in the morning no one is using the shower so I know that now would be a good time to use the hot water. I don’t always remember to do this but when I do it is a huge help.
Goals List
Next I try to focus on my goals list and blogging I want to get done for the day. It’s helpful if no one else is up as I’m pretty scatter brained and need to have absolute quiet in order to focus. If I try to just focus on one thing on my list and not multi-task then I get more accomplished. I try to focus on one thing for at least 15 minutes with no distractions (early morning is about the only time I can even remotely accomplish that!) and I am able to get a lot more done!
I make a paper list of all the individual items I want to get done that will help me accomplish my long term goals. I look this list over each day and choose a few items to work on each day. Ideally, I have most of my list completed by the end of the week. In real life there is always carryover to the next week.
Time To Get Up!!
Then, it’s time for the children to get up and get moving. This step is usually the hardest for me if the house is quiet. I’m able to get so much done in the morning that I have to force myself to wake up the little ones! It’s not that I don’t want them around but I’m getting so much accomplished that I tend to put this step off! Naughty, I know, but I’m being honest.
Last, but not least…
Ideally I try to jump into the shower at around 7:20-7:30. Depending on how much I’m getting done determines my showering time. If I’m in the middle of something my showering is sometimes delayed to 8. Ideally I’d like to shower first thing but when I do this more people tend to be up when I get out of the shower. This means I’m less likely to get my spiritual reading finished. So, for now, I wait to shower.
Well, there you have it. My morning routine. I’d be interested in hearing about everyone else’s morning routine. I’m always looking to improve my schedule so if you have any of your morning schedule’s you’d like to share I’d love to hear them!
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