Morning routine for a good day – Winter edition

5 min read

I love mornings. When the whole day is lying ahead, it’s still dark outside and the house quiet. Part of my love for morning is having a morning routine. This might sound dramatic, but I often go to bed already looking forward to the next day, where I get to go through it again!

Due to the Lockdown, I currently work from home, which means I don’t have a bit more flexibility and time in the mornings. Working from home and staying motivated also requires a fair bit of discipline for me.

One thing that helps me tremendously to be disciplined and to manage my time well is to have a morning routine. Structuring the beginning of the day helps me to be more productive later on. My morning routine leaves me more mindful and increases the likelihood that I get through everything on my to do list and won’t feel as stressed.

Even if you’re not working from home, I think a morning routine can really help to start the day on a good note, and, as a result, have a better day overall. Maybe the below gives you some ideas of ways how to start your own day.

So, here’s what my current morning routine looks like!

Waking up // 6.00 am

My alarm normally goes off between 6.00 and 6.30am. I try to resist hitting the snooze button and jump out of bed straight away. I then brush my teeth, put on my yoga leggings and make some herbal tea.

Yoga // 6.30 am

Currently, I am doing a 30-day yoga challenge. I did this last January already and shared about the experience here. Starting out the day by stretching my body and sometimes even getting a bit of a sweat on feels so good and helps me wake up on days where I am still feeling a bit groggy. I am hoping to keep going with this habit even after January finishes. How amazing that there are so many free yoga classes on YouTube you can do from the comfort of your home!

Time for coffee // 7.00 am

After yoga I pour some coffee for myself and bring Edd who gets up a little later a cup as well. It is such a small gesture but I like that the first interaction we have in the morning is filled with kindness and caffeine!

Silence // 7.10 am

Once I have got my coffee, I settle down in the living room and put on a timer, normally only for five minutes. In those minutes I just concentrate on my breathing. I try to become aware of God’s presence with me and observe the thoughts that come into my head and consider how I am feeling. Often I tend to be a bit disconnected from myself. As a result, I sometimes have a hard time knowing why I am being happy or moody. This practice is helping me to become a bit more mindful of myself and how I react to certain things.

Writing // 7.15 am

Then, I grab my journals and pens and it is time to do a little bit of writing. I have a 5-year journal that asks a question every day. Over the years I can observe how my answers to some questions stay the same or change, which is really fun. I then grab my ‘proper journal’ and write down three things that I am grateful for. Often it is things that happened the day before, people I met, prayers God answered, happy moments I got to experience. Then I write down 3 things that I am hoping to achieve that day, like going for a run, finish a project at work or make progress on my knitting. Then I write down some things that I am praying for.

Reading // 7.30 am

Once I finished writing down these things, I open my Bible. Normally I read a longer passage of a narrative story and then meditate on a couple of verses more in depth, for instance a Psalm or short paragraph in one of the Epistles. I write down any questions and thoughts I have about what I am reading and often record some verses I want to think about more. Sometimes I also read a few pages in a Christian book or a Bible commentary. If you are interested in getting more into reading the Bible yourself, I am planning to write a whole post on this soon!

Prayer // 8.00 am

The journaling and reading is finished off with prayer. I present God with my questions about what I have read or the thoughts and feelings that are stirring in me on that day. In addition, I pray blessings over my day, my friends, family and my church.

Learning // 8.30 am

After that, I tidy away my journal and Bible, I pour another cup of coffee and it is time for my French practice. I use an app called Babble which I really love. I am hoping to improve my French this year to the level where I could read simple books in the language.

Getting ready // 8.45 am

Finally, I get dressed, put make up on and start my computer. I try to keep my phone in airplane mode until I finished all the above steps in my morning routine (however, I don’t always succeed), so now I check any messages or notifications.

And that’s it!

So this is my current morning routine! Before ending this post, I wanted to highlight a couple of things.

First, if you read this and think ‘She has so much time!’ – you are right. Currently, I am in a season where I have the time and freedom to spend almost three hours in the morning to exercise, read, journal and learn French. I know my life won’t always look like it does now, but while it does I am making the most of it.

Second, I do eat breakfast, just much later. I am (kind of) doing intermittent fasting, so I normally don’t eat until about 10 or 11 am.

In conclusion: My morning routine is something that I thoroughly enjoy. It puts me in a good mood and as a result I am happier and more productive. However, you might not be a morning person or you have to start work very early. That’s ok. You can have a 5-minute morning routine. Or none at all. Either way, I would love to hear how you start your day! Do you have a morning routine? What does it look like?