Establish & Set Up Your Intentional Morning Routine
Starting your mornings early makes it more simple to relax, take your time, and begin the day with a heart full of gratitude, mind full of peace, and a body ready to work. But, in all reality, this can often be difficult or almost non-existent for people who say they cannot wake up early to save their lives.
However, if someone wants to change their life, make an impact on people, or pursue their mission, this starts with establishing an intentional morning routine. So simple.
But, let’s just be real. There really is no “perfect” morning routine. Sometimes life just happens, for example, I got married, and I have to adjust to living with someone, starting a whole new morning routine in a whole new home.
Truthfully, in the transition process, this made it harder for my husband and I to figure out a morning routine when we were also trying to get used to living with each other.
Before I got married, as a college student, I had my morning routine down to a tee. I’d go to bed by 10:30 or 11 PM, wake up at 5:45 AM, go downstairs, get my coffee, sit down with my Bible, journal, and devotional. Until 7 AM, I would read the Bible, write, pray, and seek His presence.
Next, I would get up and workout for about 30 minutes with a home workout DVD or a YouTube video. Then, shower, get dressed, and eat breakfast, getting on with the rest of my day. I felt unstoppable and fierce in my high levels of productivity. But, then I got married.
Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE being married to my husband, David. He is the best thing that God has ever brought into my life. I love our life together, and that I get to wake up every morning next to him. We do our devotional for married couples together every morning. But, a few weeks into the marriage, I realized I missed my morning routine. Because I would wake up around 6:30 or 7, I would feel rushed in doing other things and not have any time left to write down my thoughts and prayers or read my Bible.
Overtime, this began to build up that I had to reveal what I was feeling to David. I was feeling very unproductive and empty. He completely understood, and we both decided to go over our priorities and goals to set for our mornings.
While we were talking about this, I realized that I did not simply need a morning routine: I needed to pursue God. I cannot pour out anything worthwhile if I do not allow the time for God to pour into me as I seek to know more of Him and His love.
What are your priorities for your morning routine?
If there are no priorities or goals, then this will make it difficult in establishing your morning routine because there are no reasons to. Figuring out your goals for a morning routine will give you a reason to get up at the crack of dawn before everyone else. For us, our priorities are to read, write, and spend time in God’s Word.
While we were dating, David and I started a daily devotional for Christian married couples, and this morning activity brought us closer together. We would both do the devotional on our own since we were not living together until we were married. But, we were not perfect, by all means. Listen to our podcast episode on our struggle with purity during our dating & engagement.
Now being married, we do our devotional together, and then we each write or read by ourselves in order to get our own personal time with God. David is currently finishing up his book, so he uses this early morning time to write and edit for an hour. As for me, my priorities are to spend time in prayer, get filled up in God’s Word, read, and write, whether it is for the blog or my personal journal.
Ideas for You:
For you, this can be to read, write, learn, exercise, taking a walk, play or listen to music, listen to podcasts, spend extra time with your spouse or partner, catch up on big or little projects for school or work, cook a big breakfast, pursue your dream one goal and one morning at a time, or create a to-do list or schedule for the day or week ahead. The possibilities are endless. Take full advantage of every single day even in the start.
“So be careful how you live, not being like those with no understanding, but live honorably with true wisdom, for we are living in evil times. Take full advantage of every day as you spend your life for his purposes.”
Ephesians 5:15 TPT
If you are someone who has a dream to be your own boss, start a business, or pursue any life-long dream you have, I am sorry to say that not establishing your morning routine will make it less likely for you to achieve those things.
For example, if you cannot plan out your day or accomplish mini-goals, this will make it difficult for you to have a plan to reach your dream. The reason why: having a routine teaches you discipline, consistency, and a sense of direction on where you are leading your life. Having a routine will help you reach your goals by being intentional on how you spend every day, not go through the motions or rush through every morning.
It’s Okay To Not Have Perfect Routines Or To Sleep in Once in a While
It is okay if you do not have a current morning routine as long as you begin to establish some kind of routine now. Even if it is to start waking up at 9 AM when you are used to waking up at 10 or 11 AM, it is a START. You have to start somewhere. I really want you to figure out your mission, to reach your dreams, and to have a meaningful and happy life. But, it starts how you begin your day.
However, sticking to a perfectly established morning routine every single morning may not always happen. And I am here to tell you it is okay. Some days, you just need more sleep so you get an extra 30-45 minutes of sleep. Or you were up all night studying or finishing your major school projects. Or your baby keeps you up the whole night or wakes up earlier than usual. Or you are more of an night owl than a morning person. Or for today, you rather spend the extra time you have to have quality time with your spouse or children.
The important thing to note here is there is always room in the rest of your day to spend time with God, exercise, learn, or to do what needs to get done to accomplish your goals. It just may be a little inconvenient moving around your routine or schedule, but it is always worth it to refuel your soul even if it just for 10-20 minutes. Give yourself room, time, and grace because you are human, not a machine.
Everyone’s Routines Looks Different, Especially in Different Seasons; Don’t Compare!
Establishing your morning routine looks different for you and everyone because we all live our own crazy and unique lives that involves transitioning into different seasons. I do not want for someone reading this to think they have to match their morning routine to what ours is. Our season together is different from the next person.
For example, in 2018, I was a single girl attending college, so I had complete independence in controlling my morning routine which included doing homework assignments and projects.
Fast forward to being newly married, we are still working out a routine that works best for both of us because we are a team, not one person making all the calls. And one day (not now), we want to start a family so having children will change our morning routine in the transition season of becoming intentional, loving parents.
What do you want your morning routine to look like? It is your choice.
If you loved this post, take a listen for more insider tips on the morning routine episode on our podcast!
