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There are many ways a mom's morning can start, from exhausted and overwhelmed to just flat out, over it. I know ya feel me! But after years of living that way, I decided there had to be another way.
Naturally, I'm not a morning person but it has became such a habit that it's one of my top daily non-negotiables now. Getting up before my children gives me time to set the intention for my day. If you could choose joy and patience over chaos and anxiety, you would, right?
I'm also extremely unorganized, even though in my deepest of intentions, I do try hard to be better. So at times, even though I got up earlier to do all the things, i was wasting time looking for my journal, a pen, my current book I'm reading.. before I know it, the kids are up and nothing got done. Cue frustration - again.
So I decided to put together a little something called my Morning Routine Toolkit that keeps everything I need for my routine to actually be productive.
Here's a deeper look of what I have in mine so you can create your own!
Start with a sturdy basket that will hold everything. We have a bizillion baskets at our house but my favorites are from these from Target. Then have a pencil bag or ziploc with pens (the more colorful the better - these Paper mate gel pens are the BEST!) I also have a little sign that says "Make Today Magical" just as a cute reminder :)
The first thing I do is open my laptop and sign in to our Zoom accountability group with some girlfriends. There's rarely any talking but its like having buddies there with you when it's a little (or a lot) hard to get out of bed in the morning.
Then I"ll open my Bible app on my phone, read my daily dreams/goals/affirmations and write down what I'm grateful for that day. Don't make this hard - what are you thankful for right now? This morning, I was thankful the Steelers made it to the playoffs, yesterday it was for God's protection over my family through another week of C0V*d scares. It can be whatever! Daily gratitude is a habit that gets easier the more you do it and flows throughout your entire day.
Then, I brain dump. I grab my to-do book and just start writing. Everything from to-do's for the day, things that popped in my brain overnight and my worries or more gratitude! This gives me a clean slate to keep going with everything else.
Then, I open open my fave journal right now, 100 Days of Believing Bigger by Marshawn Evans Daniel. I write down my verse of the day from my app, then read the devotional in the journal, followed by a journal prompt and prayer.
I've recently included reading in my morning routine. Not only do I love it but just don't time in my regular day to do it, but I have also found personal development / nonfiction books to be really intriguing and gets your brain thinking of things in life in a totally different way. Currently, I am reading Get Out Of Your Head by Jennie Allen, and my mom just gifted me Encouraging Words for Mothers : Morning and Evening Devotionals for a Mother's Soul by Michelle Medlock Adams.
Lastly, I'll check in with my social media, add to my stories and check my text messages. I'll check in with our fitness accountability group (currently "Back to You in 2022" sharing our prompt / inspiration for the day and I'll send a couple texts to friends or family that are on my mind. I do not even open my email until I get to work so that I can just keep all of that separate.
Some days are followed by a workout or cleaning, depending on what is on the schedule that day, but usually the kids are up by now so it becomes a little more chaotic but I am mentally ready to take on anything that life throws my way just with these simple, daily steps.
Overall, this takes about 1-1.5 hours so I'm usually pouring coffee around 5am. It's hard some days, but dang! it is so worth it!
So what would you include in your Morning Routine Toolkit? Is there anything I've listed you would love to try or maybe have already tried? I'd love to know your thoughts in the comments!
Until next time!
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