Including meaningful tasks in your morning routine allows you to start the day in a positive and powerful way. Today I’m walking you through my morning routine, exploring the why behind each task, and sharing tips to help you determine your essential morning routine elements!
5 Essential Morning Routine Elements & Why They Matter
The holidays are over, and the new year has arrived! That means saying goodbye to the slower paced, less structured mornings of holiday break and returning to the busy, chaotic mornings of work and school.
Busy mornings absolutely require routines. For my family—and for me, too!
As I began working on my morning routine this week, I realized that there are a few elements that I always include, because they line up with my priorities and help me to get a positive, productive start in the morning.
Let’s talk about these 5 essential morning routine elements and why they matter!
#1 Time to Connect with Your Significant Other
Getting back into the grind can be hectic and overwhelming. But the element that starts my day in the best possible way (and often spills over into the rest of the day) is starting with a little hubby connection time.
My husband and I created a morning tradition of having a cup of coffee and a little quiet time to connect and chat before the rest of the family gets up and going.
That means we get up a little earlier than absolutely necessary, but it’s so worth it! Not only do we have time to connect, but it’s a positive way to start the day.
Schedule a few minutes to connect with your significant other before the day gets going, and you’ll feel happier and more relaxed throughout the day!
#2 Time to Connect with the Kids
I like to have some time to connect with my kids before I send them off to school.
When they were younger, that time was when I walked them to elementary school or drove them to middle school. But now that they’re teenagers they drive themselves, so this essential morning routine element needed a little tweak.
Now, my husband and I make breakfast for the kids, and we all sit down at the table to eat it together as a family. Sometimes it’s only for 10 minutes, but it’s a wonderful time to check in, talk, and review schedules for the day ahead. And it starts the day off with positive family connection time.
Breakfast is often the only meal we eat as a family (evenings are completely crazy around here), so we’re hitting two priorities in one morning routine element!
Find a way to connect with your kids before they head off to school or you all jump into the day. It’s a wonderful way to start your day and your kids’ day in a positive way!
#3 Check the Calendar
I usually check the calendar several times throughout the early morning:
- Before my husband and I sit down for coffee, in case we need to coordinate schedules.
- And before we have breakfast as a family; that way I can remind the kids of activities or deadlines, and we can review the happenings of the day, so we all know where we’re going.
We use and love the Flylady calendar!
The Flylady calendar has large squares for each day, so I have plenty of space to write in appointments and activities for each member of our family along with event reminders.
I color code the entries, so that with a single glance I can see appointments and activities specific to each family member.
It also has a handy pocket in the back for holding permission forms, invites, game schedules, etc.
Our calendar hangs on the wall right next to our kitchen, so it’s easy to glance at as I come in and out of the kitchen (something I do many times each day).
Check your calendar throughout the morning and review it with your family members, so that everyone knows the plan for the day!
For details on how I use my calendar and how I created a calendar routine, check out this post: Add Hours to Your Day with One Simple Tool.
#4 Make the Bed
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Making the bed is another essential element of my morning routine.
“If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.”
U.S. Navy Adm. William H. McCraven
It’s a small thing that makes me feel ready to start the day, and according to U.S. Navy Adm. William H. McCraven, it can help me change the world!
Admiral McCraven goes on to say:
“If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task, and another, and another. And by the end of the day that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed.”
I find this to be true!
In addition, our bedroom is often one of the cleanest rooms in the house, so as I go in and out of our room throughout the day, putting laundry away or getting items out of the closet, I see a freshly made bed and a clean room. It gives me a sense of accomplishment and a feeling of calm.
Don’t believe Admiral McCraven? Here’s even more support that making your bed can lead to greater productivity:
According to the book The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, making your bed is a “keystone” habit. Keystone habits help us to make good decisions throughout the day and to feel like we’re taking charge.
And that’s exactly how I feel on days when I make my bed….like I’m taking charge and in control of how I spend my time!
Try adding a few minutes into your morning routine to make your bed and see if you feel more in control of the day!
U.S. Navy Adm. William H. McCraven wrote a book, appropriately titled Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life…And Maybe the World. You can grab the Admiral’s book here!
#5 Intentional Check-In Time
After my husband leaves for work and my kids head off to school, it’s just me and the dachshunds. The house is quiet, I’ve had breakfast, made my bed, and I’m ready to start my work day.
But before heading to the office and jumping right in, I take a few minutes of intentional check-in time.
I check my to-do list and my habit trackers to make sure that I’ve blocked time into the day to make progress on my most important goals. I write down a few things that I’m grateful for, and I write my 3 morning pages.
When I have the time, I also read at least 3 pages in my book. This process takes me about 30 minutes to an hour, but it starts my work day with intention and helps me to make sure that my most important priorities are scheduled and in the forefront of my mind.
Try scheduling 15-30 minutes of intentional check-in time before you jump into your work day. Use this time to plan for the day, cultivate gratitude, and make progress on important goals.
It will help you to feel successful and you’ll be energized from taking steps toward your big goals!
Wondering about that “read 3 pages in my book” thing? It’s a mini goal, a technique I discovered and discussed in this post: How to Meet Your Goals…Every Time!
How to Discover Your Essential Elements
My essential morning routine elements have developed over time. I’ve tweaked my morning routine multiple times, and it shifts according to the time of year (summer vs. during the school year), my time of life (toddlers, elementary/middle schoolers, teenagers), and based on many other variables.
But other than experimenting, time and tweaking, there are a few things you can do to find your essential elements if the ones listed above don’t resonate with you!
Take a class
Take a time management class. Even better if it’s specifically related to creating a morning routine!
I highly recommend Crystal Paine’s Make Over Your Mornings course.
It’s a 14-day course that’s well organized and presented in a logical way that isn’t overwhelming.
And it’s not all about getting up earlier (although, that might be an important morning routine piece for you). Plus at $17, it’s very affordable!
You can learn more and purchase the course HERE.
If you’re not sure this course is for you, you can get FREE access to Day 1 by scrolling all the way to the bottom of the landing page and filling in the form with your first name and email address.
Check out my post, 5 Things I Learned by Making Over My Mornings, to learn more about how this course helped me to create a meaningful and supportive morning routine.
Read a Book
I’m a big reader, and when I’m searching for information or answers I almost always turn to books first!
Here are a few I’ve read and found helpful when tweaking my morning routine:
Time Management Mama by Sarah Korhnak and Beth Anne Schwamberger (the founders of Brilliant Business Moms).
Time Management Mama isn’t about routines specifically, but it helped me to determine my top priorities and passions and to focus my goals and action steps around them (one of which was having a better morning routine… go figure).
It also gave me a hefty dose of hope and inspiration, made me smile, and sometimes even had me laughing out loud.
You can read my full Time Managememt Mama review here.
And you can snag your very own copy of Time Management Mama HERE!
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
The Happiness Project chronicles Gretchen Rubin’s year-long project of trying to be happier.
One task she took on?
Making her bed!
Mini Habits by Stephen Guise
I just finished rereading Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results by Stephen Guise for the third time. I love it! And it provides a simple yet effective strategy for adding positive habits to your life (like the tasks included in a morning routine).
You can learn more about my experience with reading and implementing the techniques in Mini Habits in this post: How to Meet Your Goals…Every Time.
5 Essential Morning Routine Elements & Why They Matter
Creating and sticking to a morning routine isn’t easy, but it will be less challenging if you know why you’re completing the tasks in your routine.
And if the elements included are meaningful and support your most important values and goals, you’ll have more success establishing and maintaining your morning routine. Plus, you’ll start your day with progress on those VIGs (very important goals)!
The tips in today’s post will help you to determine your essential morning routine elements and get your day started in a powerful and positive way!
Related Posts
If you found today’s post helpful, you might also enjoy these posts:
- How to Build Strong and Lasting Business Routines
- How to Write a Better To-Do List and Actually Get Your To-Do’s DONE
- 3 Essential Routines for Home Office Organization
Have you found any parts of your morning routine that are always present and essential? Let me know in the comments below (I might need to add a few items to my routine)!
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Thanks for sharing a reading list. Mornings can be so hectic, but your tips are great.
My kids are no longer in the house but that businesses still lingers
You’re very welcome, Mary! Mornings are tough, and you’re so right, that business stills linger! 😀 Glad you enjoyed the tips. Here’s to making mornings an enjoyable, productive, and positive time.
Where is the monthly, weekly, and daily checklist in the picture from? I love that format!
Hi, Teresa! Are you referring to the one with my hand in the picture? 🙂 That’s the Tending List from Lara Casey’s PowerSheets. I highly recommend them for intentional goal setting! You can learn more here: https://shop.cultivatewhatmatters.com/collections/2018-powersheets-collection. Thank you for being here today!