After becoming a mom, I realized that starting the morning off right was one of the best things I could do for a productive day.
Several months ago, I shared my detailed morning routine. I LOVE knowing what I need to accomplish every morning, however, there are some days that I don’t get it all done. I wish I could say that I exercised every morning and that I jumped right in the shower and got ready for the day as soon as possible. But the truth is some days I don’t make time to exercise, and some days I get busy working on a project and don’t take a shower until it is time to start thinking about lunch. Truth.
However, I have learned over the past several months that there are four essential habits that I must do every morning if I want a great start to my day. Yours may be different. Maybe you like listening to music or doing yoga. But I believe that everyone needs an established routine in order to set themselves up for a productive day.
If you would like help establishing a morning routine, you can use my free morning routine printable. Once you have established your routine, there will be certain habits that become essential for you too.
5 Steps to a Productive Morning
1. Go to bed on time.
If you get enough sleep the night before, you’ll be more motivated to get up in the morning instead of sleeping in. Following an evening routine will help you get to bed on time consistently and set yourself up for success the next morning.
2. Quiet time before the kids wake up
Back in February I made the decision to start going to bed earlier each night so that I could get up before my son each day. Back then he was getting up as early as 5:45 A.M.
To be perfectly honest, it was really hard to get up earlier than him even when I was going to bed by 9 P. M. each night. BUT after Day Light Savings Time, he never adjusted his sleep schedule and is getting up between 6:30-7:00! Hallelujah!
So I now get up between 6:00-6:15 and have time to enjoy a cup of coffee, time in God’s Word, and prayer and reflection. I love having “wake up” time before having to be Mommy. I am much more pleasant when I have that quiet time and slowly get my day started instead of jumping right into mommy mode as soon as I wake up.
3. One productive task first thing
One of the first things I do as my daily schedule is put a load of laundry in the wash. In fact, my son has started gathering the laundry from our room and then pushes the laundry basket to the laundry room! Teaching ’em young!
By the time we are done eating breakfast and cleaning up the kitchen, the laundry is usually ready to be transferred to the dryer. I’m able to finish a load of laundry each morning!
If you find yourself forgetting to do laundry until late in the day and your schedule allows it, try making a habit of throwing a load in each morning.
Recently, I started making my bed every morning. I used to think there was no point because we were just going to mess it up that night. But having a new bedspread motivated me to start making it. I even added a few throw pillows which is kind of crazy for me. I used to never have throw pillows on my bed. Such a waste of time, right? I decided to time myself. It only takes 5 seconds to pull the top sheet and comforter up and add the throw pillows. That little time investment is worth the order it brings to our room throughout the day. When ever I walk into our room during the day, I smile because our bed looks so neat and inviting. In fact, having a made bed deters me from putting clutter on it.
4. Drink a glass of ice water
Coffee is my first required drink of the day! But after I enjoy my cup of coffee, I pour a tall glass of ice water. If I didn’t pour myself some water, I would end up pouring a second cup of coffee.
I keep the water on my kitchen counter which I pass by multiple times a day. It is a constant reminder to drink my water!
5. Avoid distractions.
It’s easy to waste time on electronics first thing in the morning. Most people do it though. They wake up and reach for their phones. Then before you know it, you’ve wasted your morning scrolling through your social media feed or catching up on emails.
In order to avoid wasting time, you’ll need to intentionally avoid distractions. Do your best to not pick up your phone until you have accomplished what is really important to you.
6. Get showered and dressed as soon as possible.
If you want to be productive, one of the best things you can do is get yourself ready for the day as early as possible. If you are staying home most of the day, you may be tempted to wear comfy clothes like sweats and a t-shirt. But those clothes will only cause you to be unproductive.
Instead get a shower and wear clothes that make you feel good about yourself. You’ll be more likely to stay off the couch and actually get things done.
You can have a productive morning and still keep it simple. Before following this routine, I would wander around the house not sure what to do. Now I have direction and focus and am able to accomplish important tasks each morning.
3 thoughts on “6 Essential Steps for a Productive Morning!”
I miss my morning routine. Pregnancy then a newborn pretty much wrecked that for me. With just my 4yr old, I could manage it. Now I pretty much crawl out of bed when the baby wakes me up. I look forward to her sleeping through the night so I can back to the routine I love. 🙂
My water and coffee are backwards from you. I have to have some water/juice and breakfast before I have my coffee or else I end up with an awful headache.
Oh, I bet! I didn’t get up early until my son started sleeping for 10 hours at night which wasn’t until he was a year old. It is near impossible to get up before the baby when you are getting such little sleep! That is interesting about the coffee. I have a headache if I DON’T have a cup of coffee! I may be addict to it . 😉
My morning routine is so important to me, as well! Thank you for sharing yours!