Sometimes it can be hard to get moving in the mornings, especially if you’re not a morning person. That’s why it’s best to stick to a simple morning routine.
Before getting intentional with my morning habits, I would stay in bed hitting the snooze button multiple times.
Finally, I would drag myself out of bed and then rush around trying to get myself ready for the day. Then I’d run out the door with seconds to spare.
It was a crazy routine that started my day very badly. After living like this for years, I finally decided enough was enough and got intentional with the way I spent my mornings.
Of course, I had to start small. Since I’m not a morning person I had to keep things really simple and stick to only the essential habits that would make the biggest impact on my day.
Keep your morning routine simple.
Wake up at a normal time.
Don’t try to wake up an hour earlier than you normally do. This will be too much of a drastic change and you’ll quickly burn out.
Either wake up at the same time you usually do or just 10 minutes earlier than normal.
Eventually you’ll be able to wake up 20 minutes earlier and so on as your body gets used to a new schedule.
Start 1 new habit at a time.
Don’t pack your new morning routine full of a bunch of new habits.
At first you may have a lot of new things you’d like to do. Maybe you want to exercise, clean the house, have a quiet time, and work.
But doing all of these things will become overwhelming and you’ll easily give up.
Instead, pick 1 simple habit to add to your morning routine. Make it a habit before you add anything else to your morning.
Simple Morning Routine
Now that my kids are a little older, I’m able to wake up before them and have a longer morning routine checklist I follow.
However, when they were younger and I wasn’t sleeping well at night, I stuck to a very simple morning routine. I also default to this routine whenever life gets super busy or I’m not feeling well.
- 6:30 Wake up and get in the shower
- 6:45 Get dressed and ready for the day
- 7:00 Eat breakfast and do a quick tidy up in the kitchen
- 7:15 Start a load of laundry
Essential Morning Habits
Stick to these essential habits if you have felt defeated in the past or don’t want to wake up incredibly early. These simple habits will start your day in the right direction and help you be more productive at home.
1. Get ready every day.
Don’t wait to take a shower until later in the day. Jump in the shower first thing and get it done. You’ll instantly feel better and have it done and out of the way.
Once you are out of the shower, put on real clothes. Real clothes is key. I always feel better when I wear real clothes instead of sweats and t-shirts.
If you wear makeup, you can do a quick 5 minute face of under eye concealer, BB cream, blush, mascara, and fill in your eyebrows.
I’ve learned that putting a least a little effort into my make up and hair makes me feel so much better about myself than if I do nothing.
2. Eat breakfast.
It’s easy to skip breakfast in the morning especially if you are in a hurry. But I encourage you to sit down and eat at least something small to start your day.
That way you’ll have the energy you need for the day and you won’t be snacking on high calorie food mid morning because you are starving.
We usually keep breakfast pretty simple with toast, oatmeal, yogurt and berries, or make ahead muffins or burritos. That way we can eat right away and there isn’t much to clean up afterwards.
As a mom part of my morning routine is eating breakfast with my kids. In the past I would eat breakfast before they got up, but I’ve found that eating with them is a great way to start our day together.
That way they are given some extra attention and are less clingy later in the day.
3. Do one productive task.
After you have gotten yourself ready for the day and fueled your body with breakfast, choose one productive task to do. I keep it super simple and throw a load of laundry in the washing machine.
I love doing 1 or 2 loads of laundry a day so that it doesn’t get out of control. It’s a simple thing to do each morning that doesn’t take much effort but has a big impact.
What is one thing you could do every morning that would help you get the day started? Maybe it’s making the bed or drinking a glass of water.
Once you do it, you’ll have more momentum to complete another important task and stick to your daily schedule.
Making the most of your mornings
Before you go, I wanted to mention a couple of other tips that will help you with your mornings. First a great morning routine starts with a great evening routine.
Second, you’ll be able to accomplish a lot more if you stay off electronics.
As you begin your day, do your best to keep your phone out of reach. It’s easy to get sucked into checking social media, but doing that will distract you.
This simple morning routine is what works for me, but you may need to create something different. Use my ideas to get started on your own morning routine.
When to use a simple morning routine
There are 2 specific times in your life when you’ll want to keep your morning routine as simple as possible. It’s easy to get off track with your routines when life happens. However, I find it easier to stick with a simple schedule.
When you’re starting a new routine
If you’ve never followed a morning routine before, start small. Don’t over complicate it or you’ll want to give up before it becomes a habit.
During a busy season of life
There are times in your life that will be busier than others. It’s during those seasons that less is better. Keep things as simple as possible to reduce stress.
However, be sure to not give up your entire routine. Having a morning plan each day will actually help you stay on track and accomplish important tasks when your life is busy.
Hopefully, this post has given you the ability to start adding positive habits to your morning routine. You can do this!
If you find that you skip a morning, that’s okay. Just don’t let it turn into 2, 3, or 4 days. That’s when you break the good morning habits and start building bad morning habits.
8 thoughts on “Simple Morning Routine: 3 Essential Morning Habits to Start Your Day”
Great idea! I don't know if I could create a morning routine for the work week, since Kyle and Sophie are both asleep when I get up to go to work. I hope you have great success this month!
liz jo @ sundays with sophie
Thanks, Liz! So far it has been a success! I totally understand the difficulty of not being able to do much while Kyle and Sophie are sleep. My husband goes to bed around 7 P.M. because he goes in to work super early, so I have to be really quiet in the evenings. That is when I get most of my blogging work done!
I'm working on creating a good morning routine. One thing that has helped me is the Make Over Your Mornings course. If you haven't heard of it you can check it out on my blog, it's on the side bar. It's great!
I have been getting up earlier and being more productive in the mornings, I just need to get a real routine in place.
I have heard about that course through several bloggers. It sounds like a great idea! I think being productive in the morning really helps me feel less stressed because I don't feel the pressure of getting everything done at the last minute.
I have a few morning habits, but not a strict routine. I like the idea of scheduling out a routine. I think I would get less sidetracked! Thanks for linking up at Tuesday Talk. 🙂
Hi Emily! Yes, the routine does exactly that. It helps keep me focused, and I waste less time this way. Keeping it pretty simple has helped me stick with it.
Thank you for sharing this- I am the most disorganized n the morning and it's becoming apparent that I need to establish a routine. This is great inspiration!
Jessy, I'm so glad this was helpful. I was really slow about getting around in the mornings until I started following a routine. It has made such a difference. I hope you are able to find one that works for you!