Looking to start a morning routine? Here are five simple tips to get your morning started off on the right foot.
A long time ago in a land far away….
…I used to sleep until noon.
Until.
Until I had a job.
And children.
And dogs and cats and assorted individuals who depended on me to get out of bed and put my feet on the floor and drink loads of coffee to wipe the bleariness from my eyes and face each day earlier than I ever imagined possible. Understandably, it took me a while to adjust. It took me a while to figure out that the sun was my friend and that chirping birds were just nature’s way of telling you that the day had started and that hitting the snooze button could be a little overrated.
To say I’m not really a morning person is the understatement of the century, but I truly want 2025 to be different.
This year I decided I needed a morning routine to start my day off on the right foot. So now that we are back from the cruise, I have a new morning routine THAT IS ACTUALLY WORKING.
Yep.
Truth?
I’m more productive than I have ever been before.
Now just between us, I’m only a couple of days in so I don’t want to get overconfident yet, but if this is what getting your mornings on right looks like, then I’m all about it.
So in honor of celebrating a brand new year, here’s my morning routine (including the one thing I do that’s changed my entire day) and my five best tips to get the most out of all those hours I never knew existed before noon.
Five Things I’ve Learned to Make Mornings Easier
1. Start your morning routine by getting out of bed
I know this is the most Captain Obvious suggestion you’ve ever heard of.
But it’s true.
You have to make the commitment to get up out of the bed and stop hitting the snooze alarm and smell the coffee pot that you’ve set on a timer the night before and put your feet on the floor and not snuggle back under the covers.
And here’s my best tip to accomplish step number 1. As soon as you get out of the bed…
….make it.
It accomplishes two things (three if you count teaching yourself how to coordinate your arms and legs together before 7:00 am). First, making your bed prevents you from climbing back in it and secondly it helps get your room ready for the morning, too.
2. Do the same things in the same order
When I was researching morning routines they all had one thing in common.
Consistency.
Getting out of bed is tough enough without having to make decisions, too. If you have a routine in place, then you don’t have to DECIDE ANYTHING (especially at a time when you aren’t really at the top of your game). So decide what you want to accomplish in the morning, make a list and every morning do the list on repeat.
At the end of the post, you can see exactly what I’ve been doing every morning and what works for me right now.
I’m not sure exactly why this works, but it does. I think when you have a routine, you are telling your brain that it’s go-time and there’s no going back and crawling back under the covers (which you can’t do anyway because the bed is already made).
3. Don’t get on your phone
So your bed is made and you are tackling your list and you’ve stumbled into the kitchen to the smell of coffee and suddenly you hear a Facebook beep from your phone.
And you want to reach for it.
Don’t.
That phone can TOTALLY draw you offsides.
If you reach for Facebook it might turn into Instagram which might turn into e-mail or messages or Snapchat or Tumbler and before you know it Good Morning America isn’t playing on the television anymore and the View is on.
Sigh.
And the morning is halfway over.
Kittens playing the piano and dogs riding skateboards and people singing or laughing or graduating from high school or dancing to songs about Applebees can wait.
I established a rule for myself that I don’t get on social media or my phone until I’ve finished my list and I’ve eaten breakfast. It’s what works for me. You can find your own time that works for you, but give yourself time to adjust to the morning first before you start looking at that little screen.
4. Make sure to drink water
The ONE thing that changed my entire morning?
A glass of water.
I know it sounds so simple. I know it sounds so basic. BUT IT IS A GAME-CHANGER.
When we wake up we are dehydrated.
And then?
We reach for coffee which can be a slight diuretic.
Before you drink that coffee?
Drink water.
It’s an easy addition to a morning routine. I started doing this at the beginning of my weight loss journey and it really works. I drink a glass of water before I have that first cup of coffee and it wakes me up and fills me up and starts my day off right.
5. Move your body
I added stretching to my morning routine.
Nothing fancy.
I just found some 10-minute stretching videos on Youtube and I play them on the television. I’ve been trying different instructors and I found one that I really liked.
It’s WAY TOO EARLY to actually exercise for me. But stretching? It makes my toes wiggle and my stomach feel flatter and my arms feel like they want to take on the day. It’s also helped improve my posture and makes me feel taller, too.
And now?
Here’s my morning routine (I put it into a Google doc so I’d remember it):
7:15: wake up and drink a glass of water and make bed
7:20: wash my face (with my skincare routine)/brush my teeth/floss/apply moisturizer/add undereye patches to decrease swelling
7:30: stretch with a stretching video for 10 minutes
7:45: morning devotion and quiet time for 10 minutes/drink coffee
7:55: eat breakfast
8:05: get dressed and put on make-up
8:15: take on the DAY
A couple of quick notes:
- I take a bath/shower at night so I already have that out of the way in the morning.
- I also only wash my hair once a week (SO MUCH better for your hair). Then I curl it and I don’t really have to re-curl it for the rest of the week—just brush and go.
- This year I’m also trying to lay out my outfit the night before (this is kind of new, so I need to work more on this).
- The thing that has made the biggest difference for me is that I’ve embraced the routine. I love it. I relish it. I enjoy it.
- When I’m stretching, I’m telling my arms and my legs how beautiful they are.
- When I’m putting on lotion, I’m taking my time and pretending I’m in a romance movie.
- That’s the key. Enjoy your routine. It’s for you. Let it prepare you for the day.
- Be kind to yourself. Give yourself grace. There’s only one you and you are AMAZING.
- My routine is only one hour from beginning to end and I’m ready for the day.
TOTALLY LIFE-CHANGING.
Someone wise once said that the first hour of the day can set the tone for an entire day of productivity.
It is so true.
And having that morning routine is the key.
It takes the thought and decision-making out of the morning—kind of like laying out a super cute outfit for the day so you don’t have to think about what you are going to wear.
I don’t need to think about what I’m doing the first hour of the day, because it’s already all planned out for me.
And when I’m done?
I’m ready for the day.
Watch out world….
…..here I come.
Here are a few of the things that help me in the morning:
- my favorite yoga instructor is Kassandra—you can see the videos here
- Emily Ley has the prettiest planners to keep you organized
- this is such a powerful reminder for daily quiet time (I’ve met this author before and she’s amazing)
- the best book for outfit planning (I’ve met the author before and she’s so lovely)
- here’s a link to my favorite drugstore make-up
PS What do you do first thing in the morning? Do you have a morning routine? I’d love to hear any ideas and suggestions.
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