Morning Routine
If you’re like me, you have a love/hate relationship with the kids-in-school routine. I look forward to it each September and can hardly wait to lose it by summertime. However, I’ve discovered there are huge benefits to having a good morning routine–such as less stress and more of the things what we really need like joy, peace and patience.
A morning routine can be so much bigger than something to get through the school year.
What if you found a morning routine that could fuel you first thing, enabling you to approach your day feeling more peaceful, patient and joyful? If you’re ready for a morning makeover, I’ve outlined my routine below. Take as much as you need and join me in more joy-filled, peaceful and purpose-filled days.
Fuel yourself first thing by filling up your spirit, mind and body with a morning routine.
Spirit
Our Spirit is what guides our mind, heart and thoughts and so I believe taking care of my Spirit is the most important part of my day. In order to make time for this I set my alarm for one hour before my kids wake up, make myself a cup of tea—for you coffee lovers out there make a good cup of coffee—and then I pray. I don’t pray for the whole hour, don’t worry, but it’s the way I start. That time with God is quiet; I find it a calm centring way to wake up.
Sometimes my prayers are written and sometimes they’re spoken. When I’m struggling to find my own words I pray the words of the Bible, it has words for almost anything I think or feel if I look. I then spend time reading the Bible, its truth is “new every morning” so there is always something great I can take for my day.
When my kids were in the baby/preschooler stage, I used to do this during naptime. I will say that first thing in the morning is still best, since its sets your mind in the right place so you can be patient and joyful in dealing with those wonderful, but needy littles. But a scheduled time during the day is way better than no time at all. I encourage you to do what you need to do to carve this time out for yourself.
Mind
Now it’s time to fuel my mind and take some stress out of the day to come. I start with looking over my schedule for the day. I plan out my week and meals ahead of time so this is more like a quick glance and then maybe a tweak or two. I take this time to add in any extra to-do items like getting groceries, cleaning the kitchen or a coffee date. Everything goes into my schedule!
Looking over my day and my to-do list, I ask God to direct my steps and help me accomplish the most important things on that list.
I’ve learned in order to do everything I need and want to do in this entrepreneurial life (and do it well), I need to start my day focusing in on my schedule rather than clicking through social media–as tempting as that is! It requires some self-control, but I find spending time on social first thing in the morning takes away from those precious quiet moments and can even add to my stress. Instead, once I feel confident about my schedule for the day, I get myself ready for the gym and my kids up and ready for school. If I don’t take the time to focus my mind on the day ahead, it often results in a stressed and cranky mama trying to rush the kids out the door. That is no fun for anyone.
Body
The last part of my morning routine is where I fuel my body. I look at what I eat and how I exercise as a way to optimize myself to function at my fullest potential. For more on healthy eating, see my post Healthy Tips for a Happy Home. When I take care of my body, I feel more confident, more energized, and less stressed. Without my health I won’t be able to enjoy life to the fullest.
I’ve learned that by taking care of my body I’m also taking care of my mind and spirit. If you already have a good workout routine, you know what I mean by this. Just like when our bodies are hungry, we can get “hangry” when our bodies aren’t exercised properly. For me a “hangry” mind and body looks like lower self-confidence, a higher level of stress, and a lack of mental clarity.
Do I love working out? I love how it makes me feel and that is a strong motivator. I know I need a minimum of three good workouts a week to feel at my best so I put it in my schedule and make it a priority.
I’ve also learned to adapt my schedule to the season I’m in. Currently, with my kids in school full time, I go to the gym right after I drop them off. When my kids were young, I took them to the gym with me and enrolled in classes or programs at the local recreation centre. Sometimes I had to leave early due to a crying little and on those days we took a stroller power walk instead. I encourage you to find an exercise routine that will work with your schedule, season and budget.
In this unpredictable entrepreneur life, I know schedules and morning routines are tough to stick to but they’re necessary. Just like a day at the company would be fully planned and accounted for to attain our personal and organizational goals, our days at home need to be purposed that way too.
Maybe you aren’t in a place where you can have a consistent quiet hour each morning—but is there one thing you can change or add to the start of your day to help you have a healthy spirit, mind or body? Start there and make incremental changes as you can. Once you experience the positive results of increased peace, joy and reduced stress it will become easier to prioritize a morning routine.
Let’s show the world that entrepreneurs have equally amazing, joy filled, purpose-driven partners.