I’m definitely a person that thrives off of being in consistent routines. I like to relax and be spontaneous at times, but I always love settling back into my routine and feeling at least a tiny bit more in control of my life. Over the past year or so, I’ve really tried to establish good routines in my life and experiment with what makes me feel best! My morning routine is one of the most calming parts of my day. It changes all the time, depending on if I’m at home vs. school, how much time I have to get ready, summer vs. winter, and things like that, but having at least some structure to my morning makes such a difference. I find that I start my day on a positive foot, I’m calmer, and feel more productive simply by making the time to follow a morning routine.
I don’t wake up at the exact same time every day, because my schedule is always kind of different. For my spring semester at college, I have class at 9:35 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but the other days are completely online and it’s up to me to get myself out of bed and start my day. I wish I could be the type of person to wake up at 6 am and be ready by 7 to have the whole day ahead of me, but I would be wayyyy too tired if I did that every day, haha. Unless I’m extremely busy that day, I usually aim to wake up by 7:30, maybe 8 if I’m really tired.
Once I wake up and go to the bathroom, I try to drink a good bit of water. I have the 40 oz hydroflask and I always fill it up the night before and keep it on my dresser, so it’s nice to have it nearby right when I wake up. I always feel so dehydrated right in the morning, and it also kind of shocks my system and wakes me up to drink cold water. Then I light a candle, grab my books for the morning and get back in bed. I kind of have a lot of books I go through each morning: my daily journal, the 40 Day Prayer Challenge devotional, my devotion journal, and then whatever faith-based book I’m reading at the time.
The first thing I do is write in my daily journal, and this is something I just recently started. I used to always journal at night, just a recap of my day, but I love adding in morning journaling too, and I feel like it’s really improved how I start my day. I’ve been following journaling prompts from @lanibfit on instagram, but I also add my own sections to her outlines, like a daily prayer and my challenge of the day. It’s usually just a quick, 15 minute brain dump and I like to end by picking my “challenge of the day”, which are just 3 small goals to try to accomplish. My sister and I have been doing this together and we’ll text each other our 3 goals to try to stay accountable.
After my journal prompts, I do my 40 Day Prayer Challenge devotional. I got this for Christmas and have really enjoyed reading it every day! It’s a short read with lots of good truths, and after reading, I’ll use my devotional journal to write out a quick takeaway I got from my reading and then a longer prayer. I think this has really transformed my mornings. I used to prayer journal only every once in a while, and just do small prayers in my head throughout the day, but I love doing a long, written prayer to come to God with everything on my mind. It’s also so cool to look back at old prayers and see how they’ve been answered (or not answered!) in my life.
My last book (it’s a lot I know haha) is whatever faith book I’m reading currently. I start this in 2021 as well: reading at least one chapter of a faith book every day. I just finished Crash the Chatterbox and it was so so good. Now I’m reading Liturgy of the Ordinary and while it’s definitely a more complex read, there are so many good truths in it. I’ll just read a chapter of the book and underline main quotes as I read.
My reading/journaling does take a while, usually 45 minutes or so, but I think it’s so worth the time commitment. I feel so much more at peace and ready for the day when I’ve started it reading God’s truths and journaling my thoughts. I know there will definitely be days when I want to sleep in and read my devotion later in the day, but I’m going to try to stay consistent with it as often as I can. After all my books, I get out of bed to start my day.
I always make my bed every morning, and this is another habit I’ve started in the past year or so. It makes me feel so much better to have a clean room and a tidy bed, even on the craziest of days. I’ll make my bed and pick up any random things left out in my room from the day before, then get ready. Even if it’s just putting on leggings and a sweatshirt, changing clothes helps me feel a tiny bit more put together, instead of just chilling in my pajama sweatpants. I love wearing joggers and a cute pullover, especially in the winter, because my classes are usually freezing!
I like to work out most days of the week, but the time I exercise honestly switches up every day. I will sometimes schedule a morning spin class for like 9 or 10 if I don’t have class, run on the treadmill, or wait until later in the afternoon. I wish I could say I get out of bed and stretch and do a pilates routine or something, but thats usually not the case haha.
On days I have class, I will usually pack an apple and Rx bar, refill my water, and drive to class. Even if I’m not actually in class, I always have so much homework for my online classes, so I try to hop straight into schoolwork. I like to get it done in the morning/afternoon so I’m not staying up later in the night working on it. On my no-class days, I would use to sit in my room at my desk and work on my schoolwork, but I’ve actually been trying to not do that as much. It’s definitely easier to just sit at home, but I feel so much better if I get out of the house and go to a coffee shop to get it done. I’ve just realized how much it affects me mentally to sit in my room all day on my computer, only going down for meals, until I’m done with my schoolwork. I also feel more productive with the coffee shop vibe, anyone else?
So that’s my current morning routine! I was so stressed and overwhelmed when I first got back to school, and while I definitely still struggle with that, I think that getting into a consistent routine has helped me so much. What’s your favorite part of your morning routine?
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