If there is one thing I have struggled with FOR YEARS, it is my morning routine. Ever since I quit working a job that requires me to punch the time card in the a.m., I have struggled with getting myself up and going in the morning. And for a long time, I have felt guilt and shame about it, like there was something seriously wrong with me.
- Why do I have such a hard time rising and shining in the morning?
- Everyone else on Pinterest, YouTube, and IG is rocking the morning routine life and I’m over here pressing snooze!
- There is something physically wrong with me because I can’t wake up at 5 a.m. and hustle like the other women who get all the things done.
- Why can’t I just get it together????
Ugh.
Now, here’s the thing – my brain doesn’t do well with that kind of self-talk. If I have learned anything in my 20s it is that I don’t thrive on you stink at this, now fix it. And here’s why – I enjoy the path of least resistance. As much as I love the idea of a good self-development challenge, I’m really rather lazy. Self-discipline is not my forte. So simply telling myself that there is a problem doesn’t light a big enough fire under my backside to move me to action. I have to change my self talk to even get me motivated to make change.
So instead of
Elyssa, you stink at morning routines, you always have and you need to figure it out and get it together.
I need to tell myself
Elyssa, you know what you want to accomplish in life and you know you’ll only help yourself if you master your mornings. You need to discipline yourself in this area if you’re ever going to win at adulting.
That’s just the start. I still have to do the thing – win at my morning routine. But while I can not and will not accept my lack of self discipline, I will be kind and gracious to myself as I pursue faithfulness in the tasks set before me. If God can be patient and gracious to me then I can too. So this summer I’m going to give it another go. And I’m going to start small. I’ve read blog posts about the 27 things you need in your morning routine. Posts like that stress me out before I even click to read and always set me up for failure. I’m going to keep it simple and start off with 5 simple changes!
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1. Make the bed
To be honest, I’m not terribly consistent with this one. But I know it’s important so I’m working on it!
2. Go outside
Okay so I’ve just recently gone from living in a travel trailer park to a house with a fenced in back yard (hallelujah, thank you Jesus!). I really need to take advantage of the luxury! Because I am slow to shine when I rise, I’ve decided to head outdoors in the early morning with my picnic blanket and get in some devotional reading and stretching. Perfect way to wake up my mind and body!
TIP: If you’re going to lay out on your lawn in the early morning, make sure you’re on something water proof since there will still be dew on the ground. You don’t want to get damp! I’d suggest something like this!
3. HYDRATE
While I’m outside reading and stretching, I’m drinking my first glass of lemon water. I drink it in a mason drinking jar like this one.
I drink it at room temp and by the time I’m done with my reading, I’ve finished almost, if not all, 32ish ounces! My body feels great and ready to go!
3. Do one chore
This is usually emptying the dishwasher or throwing a load into the washing machine. Once I start working on projects, it’s easy for me to totally forget household chores until late in the day. I want to start the work part of my day already having accomplished something even if it’s something small.
4. Create an atmosphere of praise
I’m constantly consuming content – audiobooks, podcasts, YouTube videos. There’s nothing wrong with listening and watching great content but for the first few hours of the day, I need to be intentional about tuning my heart to His so I can start the day on the right note (see what I did there?). So while I’m getting ready, the music will be playing and there will be singing, praising and praying in the shower!
That’s it! There’s more that needs to happen after that of course like breakfast and Bible study and reviewing my planner for the day but I feel like this is a good start! I’m going to work on this morning routine this summer and see what happens!
What does your morning routine look like?
