Resetting Your Morning Routine

I’ve written before about how having a morning routine can get your day off to a smooth start. But what happens when that morning routine you have just isn’t working for you any more?

It’s time to take a hard look at what you do in the mornings. Perhaps you’re trying to do too much and are driving yourself (and others?) insane trying to get everything done. Or maybe you just don’t do parts of your routine and then feel guilty the rest of the day. Let’s be realistic with ourselves. Me, I like sleep. There are some days that sleep is more important for my health and well-being (and that of those around me) than, say, making the bed. We know. And we know when we really need to be taking a look at how our evenings are affecting our mornings, too – more on that later.

Enter the three versions of your morning routine. We have the ‘Have to Do’ list, the ‘Want to Do’ list, and the ‘Would Like to Do’ list. Which version of the morning routine you do depends on the day, your time, and your energy level. Take a look at your current morning routine and see which tasks fit into which category. Admittedly, we can get attached to the idea of doing something, even if it’s not realistic, and we end up again with a 4-hour list we’re trying to smoosh into 2 hours or less. Which defeats the purpose. And, sometimes it’s just easier to start from scratch than to try and figure out what to eliminate. So let’s get started.

1. Make a list of the “have to dos” for your morning. This list should be just the bare minimum things that you need to do in the morning to be up and a (semi?)functioning member of your household/society. Forget the stuff you want to do, should do, or wish you could do. Again, this is the bare minimum. For me, this looks like:
   Get out of bed. (Hey, it’s an easy win, and some days this is an accomplishment in and of itself!)
   Let dogs out.
   Get dressed.
   Do something my hair. (Something simple when I’m working the bare minimum list – brush so it’s not standing on end and clip back, usually.)
   There. That is the bare minimum that I would need to do in the morning. I could even venture out of the house with just those four things and not feel too bad about myself. Honestly, this is what my weekends tend to look like when I have nothing going on.
2. Now for the additions to make the second version of your routine. Make a list of the “want to dos” for your morning. This is the normal routine that you find yourself doing on a normal morning. Be honest – some of the things you should be doing but really don’t have to do might try to sneak into this part of the list. For me, in addition to the above list this looks like:
   Make breakfast.
   God/quiet time.
   Shower/dress/makeup.
   The things in the above two lists are what my normal routine looks like (albeit a bit out of order). The items on the “want to do” list are things that are optional for me on the weekends. If I’ve overslept on a weekday, some of these things also start to become optional or are moved to the end of the day.
3. Finally, make a list of the “would like to dos” for your morning. These are the parts that make up your ideal routine, should you have enough time. They’re also the first to go on the crazy mornings. You can add in here the habits you are trying to establish as well. For me, these added things might look like:
   Empty dishwasher. (before breakfast)
   Breakfast dishes. (after breakfast)
   Wipe down bathroom. (on my previous list, but I’m going to remove it)
   Make bed.
   Grab lunch from fridge.You can see these are pretty much house-related items that make my evenings a little bit better. But again, if I don’t do these in the morning, it’s not going to have the same effect on my day that, say, going to work in my pajamas might have.

So here is my revised ideal routine, in order and in all its shining glory:

• Get up.
• Empty dishwasher.
• Make breakfast and coffee.
• Let dogs out. (yes, one usually appears about this time just after breakfast is ready)
• God/quiet time.
• Breakfast dishes.
• Shower/dress/hair/makeup.
• Make bed (if hubby isn’t still in it).
• Grab lunch from fridge (if leftovers are to be had from last night).

I am not a morning person, so I tend to ease into the day. If I’m not sidetracked by Facebook in the mornings (which happens often since I lead an online Bible study with an a.m. check in through HelloMornings), this can take me about 2 1/2 hours or so. With Facebook, it’s probably closer to 3 hours.

—

What do your mornings look like? What do you have on your three versions of your morning routine?

31 Days 2016 - Reset Your Home

This post is a part of the series 31 Days to Reset Your Home, part of the 31 Days challenge. Please join me during the month of October. Each day I’ll be posting what I’m working on, challenges so you can join in, and update my progress (and hopefully hear about yours!). The 31 Days challenge is a writing challenge to pick a topic and write a post on it every day in October.

• 31 Days to Reset Your Home
• Resetting Your Morning Routine
• Resetting Your Evening Routine
• Resetting your Weekly Routine
• Declutter Week: Paper
• Declutter Week: The Left Behinds
• Declutter Week: The On Purpose
• Declutter Week: The Kitchen Pantry
• Declutter Week: Your Schedule
• Lovely Links – Oct 10
• In Other News – Kitchen Renovation Progress
• Deep Cleaning: Master Bedroom
• Deep Cleaning: Bathrooms
• Deep Cleaning: Living Room
• Deep Cleaning: The Kitchen
• After the Deep Clean
• A Good Sleep
• Another Kitchen Update
• Maintaining – How to Create a Habit
• The Art of Stress Free Productivity
• Resetting Your Email