How to Create a Morning Routine

If you pay any attention to successful business leaders or the personal development industry, you’ve heard of something called a Morning Routine. 

Maybe you’ve blown off the idea because you can’t imagine yourself heading to the gym at 5am. Or maybe you’re a night owl, so you roll out of bed last minute, rush to get out the door, and barely make it to work on time. 

But morning routines aren’t just for the go-getters or the morning larks. If you have big goals to reach, a full day ahead of you, or someone to serve (your family, your clients, your team, your community), you NEED a morning routine that sets you up for success.

A morning routine is simply a series of activities you complete in the morning. It doesn’t have to look like any one else’s, but it should be simple and include activities that will help you move through the day with laser-beam focus and a positive attitude. 

Here are the 5 steps you can take to set up a routine that works for you:

1. Imagine your ideal work-day morning. What time would you wake up? What would you do? How would you feel? This exercise will help you identify key activities to add to your morning routine.

2. Choose the top 3 activities from your imagined ideal morning. What can you not live without? What will help you feel the way you want to feel and serve who you want to serve to the best of your ability? 

3. Think outside of your normal routine. What else will you set you up for a successful morning? Here are some recommendations:

• Start a gratitude journal

• Use performance prompts (examples: “How do I want to show up today?” or “Who do I need to serve and how can I do it well?”)

• Exercise

• Eat a nutritious breakfast

• Drink a full glass of water

• Read your bible/spend time in prayer

• Read aloud a list morning affirmations

• Play upbeat music while you get ready for the day

• Listen to a podcast during your commute

4. Try it out. Once you know what you want your morning routine to look like, execute it! Figure out when you need to wake up so you’re not rushed and see how it works for you. 

5. Be flexible and adjust as needed. You may find that the routine you set up doesn’t work for you at first. Are you running out of time? Go to bed or wake up earlier, remove an activity, or spend less time on your activities. 

Now that your morning routine is set, it’s important to avoid anything that may add stress to your day or force you into reaction mode. Here are the 4 things we recommend you remove from your morning routine!

1. Hitting the snooze button. If you’re struggling to get up after your first alarm, set your alarm across the room or set it for a later time. You will actually get more uninterrupted sleep when you don’t hit snooze 3+ times.

2. Checking e-mails. When you check your e-mails, you go immediately into reaction mode. Maybe there’s an e-mail from a client, an employee,  your boss, etc. You immediately start thinking about your work day, before you’re even out of bed. 

3. Scrolling social media. It’s too easy to get caught up in the trap of comparison! Start the day by focusing on YOU. What are your goals? Dreams? Desires? Values? If you let other’s opinions or accomplishments get in the way, you’ll lose sight of where you’re going. 

4. Expecting perfection. Life happens, but it doesn’t mean you need to give up on a morning routine. You will inevitably have days when your alarm doesn’t work properly, you stay up later than planned, you spill coffee on your clothes on your way to a meeting, or there’s an accident on the highway that makes you late for work. Avoid the expectation that things will always go as planned, and try again tomorrow.