When you establish a morning routine, you set the tone for the rest of the day. Either you run the day, or the day runs you. Don’t let it be the latter!
Today is my first day on duty for the 2017-2018 school year and I’m shocked at how quickly the summer flew by! I feel as if I blinked on June 2 and suddenly it was August. Despite how fast the pages leapt off the calendar, back-to-school season is here and it’s time to get back into a routine and headstrong mindset.
One of the greatest components for a successful day (for me) is a meaningful morning routine. In my early adult life, I was one of those who people who sprang out of bed at the latest possible minute and rushed out the door to get to work. I always felt frazzled in the mornings, was constantly late for work, and spent the rest of the day running around like a chicken with its head cut off. It took me quite a few years to establish a morning routine, but once I did saw gains in many areas of my life and was able to let go of those old habits.
How to Establish a Morning Routine for a Successful Day
My morning routine consists of three major parts: spiritual wellness, physical wellness, and emotional wellness. It’s important to remember that the morning routine you establish should be a reflection of you and the things that are important to you. In the last few years, I’ve cultivated a morning routine that helps me be a more well-rounded person. Depending on what’s going on throughout the year, I may rearrange the order of the components throughout the morning, but these three elements are always present. To determine what you should include in your own morning routine, take a look at what’s most important to you that will easily fit within the time constraints of your morning.
Spiritual Wellness
Each morning, I do a little something to nourish my heart, my soul, and my relationship with Christ. During the school year, my alarm rings by 4:15 a.m. most days of the week and the first thing I do {after starting the coffee😉} is spend 15-20 minutes in prayer and in the Word. I’ve downloaded the She Reads Truth app on my tablet and I’m working my way through their study library. If you’re looking for study components that fit into even the busiest days, I highly recommend SRT! Quiet time is probably my favorite part of my morning routine. As an elementary teacher, most of my day is LOUD and those few minutes of quiet allow me to get in the right headspace and take control of my day. I use this time to have about half a cup of coffee and just breathe.
What does quiet time look like for you? Quiet time can be a few minutes of meditation, or even business/goal oriented personal/professional development. Use your quiet time to nourish yourself from the inside out.
Related: Teacher Off Duty: A Day in the Life
Physical Wellness
If you’ve been around I Am Teacher Fit for any amount of time, or read any of my weekly workout posts, you know I like to workout! Finding a fitness routine that allowed me to thrive was the light bulb moment that made me say, “Hey, maybe there is something to this early bird gets the worm thing.” What started as an attempt to drop some weight by way of a 5 a.m. boot camp class has morphed into something that defines me and motivates me. My physical wellness component doesn’t look the same each day. Sometimes I focus on strength, other days I run or do another form of cardio, and then some days I do nothing more than yoga or stretching.
I believe everyone can find some kind of physical activity they enjoy. You don’t have to squat twice your body weight at 5 a.m., but I encourage you to find an activity that invigorates you throughout the rest of the day!
Related: Balance.
Emotional Wellness
Emotional wellness is another very important part of my morning routine. Emotional wellness, to me, is nurturing my personal relationships, especially that with my husband. One of the things I love most about being a wife is preparing meals for my husband. I make him eggs and coffee each and every morning, not because he expects me to, but because it brings me joy to serve him in that way. We sit on the couch and have breakfast together. Sometimes we chat, sometimes we watch the news or a silly YouTube video that allows us to laugh together. The important thing is we’re spending that time together before heading off into our days. My husband works a much longer day than I do and we both stay very busy throughout it, which usually means we’re exhausted by 7 p.m. Early mornings are essential for us, and on the occasions he’s out of town for work, I always feel like something is missing.
When you establish a morning routine, include something that serves your emotional wellbeing or honors your relationships. Call your parents or grandparents on your commute {I love doing this too!}, have a sing-along with your kids in the car, or even take the dog for a short walk. Your heart and soul will be better because of it!
About the time my husband leaves for work, I begin to get ready for the day. I usually listen to a podcast and enjoy getting pretty. Some days I still feel like I’m running behind, but most of the time I feel like I’ve got a jump on the day and that I can handle whatever the day throws at me.
Question: Do have an established morning routine? How do you ensure your day will be a success?
I’m linking up with Crystal for Tuesday Talk!
I love this! I go back on duty on Wednesday and quite frankly, I’m not ready for early morning alarms and a routine.
Good luck to you!
xo, Lily
Beauty With Lily
I hope you have an awesome year! It’s coming whether we’re ready or not. 🙂
My morning routine does involve my running but even on days I don’t run I like to at least get outside and walk even if it’s just 5-10 minutes. Most of the time my husband is already gone and I do like “MY” time. My quiet time. He’s not very quiet unless he’s asleep and even then he makes noise, lol. So I like that time!
My husband is the same way! If I’m going to get in any quiet time it has to be after he leaves or before he wakes up!
I was just talking about this at supper! My husband got our oldest daughter dressed when he woke her up, rather than me getting her dressed after breakfast. It’s such a small change, but it somehow saved us 45 minutes today. We had a chance to relax and play outside before we had to leave, rather than still be fighting over clothes right up until it was time to go!
Crazy what a difference those little switches can make!
I love reading about people’s morning routines. I love that yours is intentional and that you include spiritual, emotional, and physical wellness. The early morning when I’m the first one up is my favorite time of day–I love reading or listening to podcasts during that time.
Yes, it’s so very early, but I cherish that quiet time!
I am so guilty of rolling out of bed early and getting to work late. (read: I wake up at 7:50 when I have to be at work at 8. Thankfully it’s a short commute.) My husband gets up earlier than me and brews the coffee and hands me breakfast on the way out the door, but I miss the days when we were intentional about getting breakfast together early in the mornings! Reading this encourages me to get back in the habit of establishing a morning routine!
YES! I love this. I’m such a morning person but it’s ALL about routine
I love routine! I thrive on it!
I love meditation and yoga after having my first cup of coffee in the morning 🙂 Love the Emotional Wellness portion of this post and how it’s important to spend time with your husband. I’m sure the majority of people don’t consider connecting with their partners in the morning as opposed to when they’re most likely to be exhausted at night!
Sometimes I feel like we might be ships passing in the night if we didn’t take that time to connect in the AM!
I’ve been trying to make my mornings more enjoyable and less about rushing around trying to get ready for work. I’ve been trying a few days a week to wake up a littler earlier and get ready for work.
I do that! When I know I need to be up early, I inch my alarm back each day so it’s not as much of a shock.