Mornings can be pretty hectic, there is usually so much to do and so little time. If you have a good morning, you are prone to have a good day. The opposite is usually also true…
The main question is – how can I have a good, productive morning each day? Although I can’t guarantee a good morning for every day of the year, I can assist you in creating an awesome morning schedule to help you in the right direction. So let’s get to it…
// CREATING YOUR PERFECT MORNING ROUTINE //
Before you start, click on the image below, to get your free The Perfect Morning Routine printable.
/ STEP 1 – MAKE A MORNING TO-DO LIST /
Think about your current morning routine and the essentials that go along with it – like taking a shower, eating breakfast, getting ready for work, etc. Take your printable worksheet and write down everything you would like to achieve in the morning before you leave for work.
Most of us already have a “sort-of” morning routine, but the main purpose of making this list is to write down everything you would actually like to achieve in the mornings, along with your regular obligations.
/ STEP 2 – ALLOCATE A TIME TO EACH ACTIVITY /
Now that you have your list of activities you would like to do before leaving for work, allocate an approximate time to each activity on your list. For example, a light Yoga Routine might be 10 minutes, whilst making your bed might only take 5 minutes.
/ STEP 3 – ADD UP YOUR TIME & MAKE CRITICAL DECISIONS /
Time management is critical in everyday life. It is critical that you try and maximize your time to fit in with your lifestyle and family. In this step, add up all your allocated times and get a grand total.
You now have a grand total, so it’s important to ask yourself, “do I really have x amount of minutes in the morning to perform all the activities that I want to?”. If your answer is YES, you can move to step 4. If your answer is NO, read on…
If you are reading this, your answer is no, which means you do not have enough time in the morning to perform all the tasks you want to perform. To get the most out of your day, read through the following four solutions and decide how you can implement them to make your schedule work.
- Reduce the time of certain activities. If you allocated 30 minutes to meditate each morning, consider reducing it to 15 minutes.
- Move some activities to later in the day. If you know you can squeeze in a training session before picking up the kids from school, do it. Don’t try and cram things into your morning routine, if it’s not viable. Make the necessary changes in your schedule.
- Wake up earlier. I won’t lie in saying I am not a morning person, so this one is definitely not for me, but if you feel that waking up a few minutes earlier will help you in achieving your perfect morning routine, GO FOR IT.
- Just decide not to do it. I know this sounds strange, but think about it – if making bacon and eggs every morning is a tall order, DON’T do it. Opt for something quicker and easier, like cereal with fruit.
By using a combination of the above-mentioned strategies, you could really slim down your morning routine to get the best out of it. Get those creative juices flowing and make it fun for yourself. It will be much easier to get into your morning rhythm if it is something you are excited about.
/ STEP 4 – SET A DAILY WAKE-UP TIME /
This is probably the most crucial step and the one that might be the most challenging. In order to get yourself into a routine, you need to wake up at the same time each day. Most of us know what time we have to be out of the door, in order to get to work on time. To make it easy, do this equation…
The time I must be out of the door – my total morning routine = my WAKE-UP time!
08:00 (Time to Leave) – 1:45 (Total Time of Morning Routine) = 06:15 (MY Wake-Up Time)
Easy as Pie!!
/ STEP 5 – WRITE YOUR ACTIVITIES IN A SPECIFIC ORDER /
You have your final list of activities, which is essential for your perfect morning routine. Go to page two of the Perfect Morning Routine Worksheet and re-write all the activities in the order in which they will be performed. This will help your body to get into a natural rhythm and if you keep following the same routine, in a sense you will start to do these activities automatically without much effort at all.
/ STEP 6 – IMPLEMENT YOUR MORNING ROUTINE DAILY /
Starting from tonight, set your alarm to your specific wake-up time, keep your morning routine page on your bedside table so that it’s nearby when you wake up, and get a good night’s rest.
Upon waking, take your list and go through each activity step-by-step. Whilst performing your routine, remember to keep track of the time your take to do your entire routine, to see if you have under or over-allocated time for any activities.
If you are a SNOOZER like me, it might be better to set your alarm 20 minutes before you have to wake up in order for your body to adjust, at my second snooze I know I must get up, otherwise I will be late.
/ STEP 7 – EVALUATE YOUR MORNING ROUTINE /
After your first few mornings getting into your new perfect morning routine, ask yourself – “Are there any changes I would like to make?” “What can I do differently?” “What is taking too much of time?” and then adjust your routine accordingly.
Congratulations, you have made it, my biggest hope is that you will find your perfect morning routine and work it like one of Jane Fonda’s exercise routines.
/ MY MORNING ROUTINE /
I added my own routine, just to give you an idea of what my mornings look like…
06:30 – Wake-Up & Get Straight Out Of Bed
06:35-07:00 – Shower, Dress, Make Myself Pretty
07:00-07:20 – Quiet Time & Intention Setting for the Day
07:20-07:35 – Tidy Room, Make Bed & Make Breakfast (usually something super easy)
07:35-08:00 – Wake-Up Daughter & Get Ready for School
08:00-08:30 – Drive to School & Back + Start Working
I am sure your routine would look way different than mine, but it’s just a guideline to help you get on track. I usually exercise later in the day, so that’s not part of my morning routine. I guess I would get more done in a day if I woke up earlier, but for now, that is what works for me. Hopefully, this will change in the future (#iamnotamorningperson)!!
REMEMBER – consistency is the key. Your body will naturally start adjusting to your new routine if you practice it every day. After a while, you will start doing these things automatically. When I started implementing a morning routine, my days just seem so much more organized, productive and well-planned. Don’t delay, start implementing your perfect morning routine, now!
What does your morning routine look like? What time do you get up? I would love to hear from you, so feel free to comment below.
Hello Loné, thank you so much for this article. I will definitely go through all the steps to create my morning routine. Me neither I am not a morning person and I’m late at work almost every single day. I’m sure this will help me to improve my mornings and start the day in peace and not stressed. Xoxo from France. Christelle
Hello Christelle. Hope you are very well. I am so glad that you find the worksheet helpful and that you will now be able to have the best mornings ever :) Good luck with all those late nights…
I think this is just the push I needed to finally start my day off right, or at least start trying. Thank you so much for this article! The visuals are awesome btw :)
Hi Nakita. Thank you very much for the compliment. I trust that this worksheet will help you become the best morning person that you can be. To many more successful mornings… :)
I love how detailed this plan is! So helpful! I have things in my head that I want to do every morning, but haven’t actually written it down. Thanks!