A Peek Inside My Daily Morning Routine

I struggled with my daily morning routine for years, until I discovered that if even you’re not a morning person, you can still be productive and successful without waking up at 5am!

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I've always struggled to find the perfect daily morning routine, and I hated the wake up early crowd that would make me feel bad if I wasn't up and productive by 5am! This girl totally gets me... and she's rocking it! I learned from her video that it's all about the routine, and not about the time. Totally going to be buying the Make Over Your Mornings course she talks about in the video as well! #morningroutine #makeoveryourmorning #productiveroutine #dailymorningroutine

Over the past few months, I struggled getting out of bed. Probably because my mornings used to look a lot like this:

My phone chirps it’s happy-go-lucky tune around 7:30am, but instead of embracing the day like a responsible adult, I set it for another 10-minute interval and bury my head under the covers like a teen who stayed up too late the night before.

When I finally force my eyelids open {after yet another 10 minute snooze fest}, my hand immediately grabs my phone and I spend the next 20 minutes catching up on all the Facebook gossip, scrolling through pretty Instagram photos, and checking my email at least twice.

By the time I eat breakfast, I might as well scroll through my phone again, because news changes in a matter of seconds…oh, and I suffer from a case of FOMO.

I respond to a couple emails, then head to my home office to update social media, work on a new blog post, and maybe create a few graphics, but every few minutes I get distracted by the bazillion browser tabs I left open.

And by noon? I’m still in my PJ’s, feeling like I got nothing accomplished. 

I know what my problem is.

Well, besides checking my phone way too often! It’s simple, really—I have no strategy for when my alarm goes off. This lack of a strategy turns the first few hours of my day into a jumbled mess no one would ever be inspired by.

What I needed was a daily morning routine.

The Pivotal Ingredient to a Successful Daily Morning Routine

A routine gives you a “map” to follow so you know exactly what to do the moment you get out of bed. If you choose soul-filling activities that refuel your tank, you’ll tackle the rest of the day with an extra boost of energy and get more done than you ever thought possible.

However, simply telling yourself to get up at a certain time or to do certain tasks in the morning won’t work {unless you are extremely disciplined and looove waking up in the morning}.

I don’t, which is why I always refer back to Crystal Paine’s Make Over Your Mornings system to get my butt back in gear!

I’ve gone through this course three different times, and each time I always come away with something new to implement. Her system has been a huge factor in helping me create a daily morning routine {and stick with it}, especially when it comes to different seasons of life.

When I say “seasons,” I don’t necessarily mean seasons like Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter, although those certainly play a part in the rhythms of our lives. Instead, I mean that my routine changes based on seasons of life, including:

  • What projects I have going on with this blog
  • How busy we are in terms of church ministries
  • and whether or not I need to step back and take a season of rest

Every time my life season changes, I give myself the grace to switch up my routine and go through Make Over Your Mornings as a refresher. Which is exactly what I did after my productivity levels fell flat after the Holiday season.

Now, after a few weeks of experimenting and changing things around, I’m thrilled with what my daily morning routine looks like right now!

If you’re not able to watch the video, this quick overview gives you an idea of what I do:

With this morning routine, I don’t:

  • Feel behind the moment my feet hit the floor.
  • Feel rushed throughout the day.
  • Feel guilty over not digging into my Bible and having a quiet time…because now I’ve carved out time to do it on MY schedule.
  • Feel like I must wake up bright and early in the morning {and that’s perfectly okay!!}

3 Quick tips to Morning Routine Success:

If you’re ready to create a customized morning routine that works for you, here are my best tips on how to get started:

1. Don’t force yourself to wake up super early for the sake of a “morning” routine. Your routine can start whenever you want! In fact, based on your biological clock, starting later might even make you more productive than if you woke up early.

2. Keep your daily morning routine simple. Don’t cram twenty different activities into your morning just because, otherwise you’ll be exhausted before the day even starts! Limit yourself to 1-2 top priorities, and make sure they are ones that set YOU up for a successful day.

Need some ideas? Here are 21 of the Best Morning Routine Ideas You Need to Try!

3. Lastly, don’t hesitate to try the Make Over Your Mornings course from Crystal Paine. If you constantly feel behind in the morning, Crystal offers a one-size-fits-you daily morning routine that gives you more space to breathe, and dramatically improves the focus of your entire day.

Here’s a sneak peak of what you’ll learn:

  • How to develop a daily morning routine (and evening routine!) that actually works.
  • Quick tricks to streamline your morning tasks so the biggest priorities are accomplished first.
  • The strategy to make to-do lists that support your day, instead of strangle your life.
  • How to create realistic, but stretching goals and then follow through with them!
  • Where to find time to refuel your tank and make space for things you love.

The program is only 14-days long, and comes with super encouraging videos from Crystal. You’ll also get links to a ton of great resources, and a printable workbook to help you work through the assignments—which take just 10 minutes a piece.

I hope I’ve encouraged you to be intentional about how you spend the first 2 hours {no matter when it starts}. Because in the end it’s WORTH IT. You will experience much more focus, organization, and clarity in your daily life, and most of all, you’ll easily take back control of your entire day, rather than let it control you.

In other words, no more endless phone scrolling!

Let’s chat about morning routines:

Have you tried to implement a morning routine, but get stuck somewhere along the way? Talk to me in the comments and we can swap ideas to push through those tough spots!

Disclosure: Some of the links in the post above are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Rest assured, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. Read my full disclosure policy here.

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12 Comments

      1. I have a morning routine that helps me during the week, but find it hard to keep on the weekends. Do you do anything different for Saturdays and Sundays? Thinking I need a different plan for those days?

        1. Hi Cathy, yes, weekends are a lot more relaxed! I usually wake up and do a little fiction reading before I start my day, (instead of the non-fiction I usually start with on weekdays). If I work out on the weekends, I also do that later in the day rather than first thing.

  1. Oh, how I need to makeover my mornings! I feel like I’m just floundering as a SAHM whom homeschools an 11 year old son and almost 3 year old daughter. 😕 I know I waste time. Thank you for the encouragement!

    1. I hope the class has been helpful for you! I’ve just been reviewing some of the course this month as I found myself falling into some old bad morning habits!

  2. I use an app Keep Notes and posted my am routine which I retrieve every am. It really does help to keep me focused. Since developing RA I have trouble with stiffness and fogginess in the am and it keeps me on track. I can change it up readily or start over. PS. Add a pm routine also. You can change up the backgrounds so the fun colors help start the day right.

  3. This post is so timely. I’m feeling that hankering to get my morning routine groove back. Juniper’s arrival last year threw EVERYTHING off…and her routines trumped mine. But now that the “new parent” haze is starting to lift, I’m excited to hone in on a routine that will be as life-giving, centering, and inspiring as yours is. Thanks for sharing all this inspiration for us!

    I absolutely loved the video and how you and Joseph welcomed us into your home and showed us what your morning routine looks like. As a visual learner, this is JUST what I needed to give me the nudge not just to dream about a new morning routine, but execute.

    Also, I echo your praise of Crystal’s program! Girl knows her stuff and shares her practical wisdom in such encouraging ways (like someone else I know…hint hint, nudge nudge).

    1. A morning routine really does make a big difference! I was chatting with my sister-in-law {mom of four} about routines and she passed on some advice that is genius when you crave routine, but still need a flexible schedule with little ones.. She mentioned that it’s much easier to do a morning routine when she views it as a list of tasks, rather than tasks that should be done at a specific time every day. I think that can really help us perfectionists who love schedules and feel like a failure if we get thrown off.

      Thank you for your comment, Lauren, and the lovely feedback about the video!! <3

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