(free printable checklist below!)

If your morning routine feels like a burden, rushed and chaotic or just plain meh these 5 steps towards a morning routine you love will help you gain:

• a greater sense of calm
• motivation for your work
• time for things you love
• more joy and sense of time
• time to work on your goals

I used to dread getting up in the mornings to the crazy of the day just taking me along. My day felt out of control and generally rushed. Now, I love my mornings, and get up much earlier than I used to. But a solid morning routine doesn’t have to start at 5 am or even 6. Today I’m going to share with you a framework you can use even on days you sleep in! A solid morning routine should boost your overall sense of joy in your day, create momentum towards your goals, and start your day with the right orientation. We all have somewhat of a morning routine, whether it’s working FOR us or against us.

TIP: Find a rhythm you can stick to MOST of the time but don’t expect perfection! Knowing you’ll have days you will sleep in will help you succeed long term. 
I’m here to help you create a morning routine that you’ll miss if you have to skip it!

Today I’m going to be sharing tips that have helped me build consistency to find time to care for myself, my home and my growing family. Plus, I’ll share ideas for how you might make these ideas work best for you in your season of life. If you’ve been getting up early already and it hasn’t been working for you, or you don’t enjoy your mornings, please stay with me, as I’ll start with the basic steps towards a morning routine you love!

What we’ll cover today for 5 steps to a morning routine you love

We’re going to focus on laying a good foundation first. There are 3 basic pillars to a solid morning routine. I suggest doing 1 for a week before adding another. This will help you gain some traction and consistency. Also, the goal is not perfection but progress. Plan to have a few mornings that you’ll sleep in. This will help you be able to stick to it for the long term. This will not be an overwhelming list of to-do’s, but manageable baby steps to a rhythm that can help you love your mornings!

Step #1 towards a morning routine you love- wake up 30 min. earlier

Wake up just 30 min. earlier than usual, or before your kids usually do.

 I realized that just a little bit of extra time in the morning to orient myself brought more peace and energy to my day than that little bit of extra sleep ever did. I never regretted that time. Sometimes I might need a nap later or to get to bed earlier but I NEVER regret a morning I start on the right foot. 

 Here’s the key: It doesn’t need to be 2 hours of quiet time alone or waking up at 5 am.

Even when the littles are up with me, waking up a bit earlier to give my heart and mind time to prepare can make all the difference to beginning our day well. Littles awake with me could get extra snuggles and some milk to bide by until breakfast while I allow myself time to caffeinate, read or just plain unfog.

In my current season of life, I no longer have a baby, but I still will have late nights (teens) or restless sleep (toddler ) but now I’ve learned my morning is more important to prepare my soul, body and mind.  Try it and see! Just begin taking a little bit of extra time, 1/2 an hour for now, to let your body wake up before your day takes you along for the ride!

Remember: consistency > perfection = progress.

If you want some ideas, try any of the following:

A few ideas:

• Stay off screens
• drink some water with lemon or a pinch of salt in it to rehydrate ( I use these electrolyte packs or this salt)
• pray
• write a gratitude list
• 5 min. of quiet while looking out the window
• enjoying your favorite beverage
• journaling
• writing 3 things you’re grateful for
• stretching

Bonus tip: Don’t hit the snooze- you’ll lose 10 min. out of your 30. Allow that time to just wake up.

Step #2 Get ready for the day first thing

Choosing once to get ready first eliminates wasteful decision fatigue. There’s not a lot we have control over in our day but being ready first thing can boost your motivation and productivity.

This is the second pillar to establishing a solid morning routine you love. Get ready first thing and shower then if needed. The first three steps are the most important keystones to the framework of a solid morning routine. The order you do them in is not as important, as long as you do them before you let the day take off. Preparing your mind, body and heart for the day are the fundamentals. After you’ve established waking up a bit earlier fairly consistently, begin to shorten that 30 min. wake up window to allow time to get your body and heart ready for the day.

You can always change later, or shower again, but you can’t get your morning back and the feeling of being ready to face whatever your day brings! There is a lot that comes at us in our day we can’t control, but we CAN be ready for them. 

 This tip has increased my feeling of motivation and productivity in my day more than any other. I don’t have to accomplish anything major, just feeling ready for the day helps my mindset so much. Try it for yourself and see!

I used to spend so much energy deliberating on when to shower or get ready for my day. “Should I shower after my workout? Oh, but what if the baby wakes up early. After I clean the bathrooms? But I have to run an errand before that….”

 Then before I knew it, it was 3 pm, the day was half done, and I was still in my robe and messy bun feeling crummy. I slowly learned that I am the most productive when I am dressed and feel ready for my day.  I usually shower at night anyways, so I just do a quick rinse if I get sweaty enough after my workout.

Bonus tip: Try showering at night to save time in the morning. If drying your hair at night is an issue, try quickly washing just your hair in the morning.

Step #3- WORD before world

Nourish your soul in God’s word and prayer before you open your phone.

This is the final pillar to establishing a solid morning routine you love. I suggest spending some time being consistent with these first three before moving on to the final 2 steps.

My biggest deterrent to getting my Bible read when I slept in or my kids were awake early with me, was that I wanted to complete my entire section from my Bible reading plan so I wouldn’t even start.

I realized I just needed time to pray and read a chapter, or even a few verses, to meditate on in order to orient my heart and day. 

Starting your day orienting your heart towards your Savior doesn’t take chapters of reading and lots of study time– although those things are wonderful when we can get them in- don’t let that hold you back from not communing with your Savior first thing. We need to fill up before we can pour out!

This is the final and most important pillar to creating a good foundation to a morning routine that works for you. You can do step 2- get ready- after you’ve been in the Word, of course, but these 3 are the foundation to creating a more peaceful morning and solid start to your day. If you sleep in and only have 15 minutes, then you can still use this framework instead of something mindless.

These can be done even with your kids awake, if needed, but making time to get your mind, body and heart ready for your day is the most important part of establishing a morning routine you love! Next up we’ll dig into some rituals we can do to enjoy and utilize this time.

• 5 min. of quiet to wake up
• 5 min. to read something from God’s Word
• 5 min. to brush your hair and put something decent on

If we want to be people that conform our lives and hearts to what God wants for us, then we need to take time to listen and talk to Him before we let in the world’s opinions.

Bonus tip: If you can manage without getting on social apps, try listening to an audio Bible, prayer guide, or worship music WHILE you’re getting ready for the day.

Step #4- Add 10 more minutes to your wake time for 1 soothing ritual

Add 10-30 minutes doing something that is enjoyable, soothing or therapeutic for you can make a WORLD of difference to your entire day!

It is so easy to feel selfish when we take time to care for ourselves as moms, but it’s actually a way we can better care for our families. Because finding joy in little things is one of the ways we can feel joy and love from the Lord through His gifts to us. When we feel that joy and love it is more natural to turn and pass it to others.

Think about how you encourage your children and people you love to do this! We want our children to grow up to be holy, healthy and whole individuals so we need to model that for them. Parents are so good at making time for their children to do what they love and are good at. In fact, we even spend ALOT of money to make sure they are pursuing those things. Haha! This is one of the ways we can truly enjoy our callings and the life God has given us. We are adults, no one else will do this for us, we have to do it for ourselves.  

Ask yourself these questions :

• What would make my morning feel relaxing? 
• What do I wish I had more time for?
• What do I enjoy, but I haven’t done for a long time?
• What do I love to do, but haven’t since having kids?

Personally, just being awake, dressed & caffeinated before my kid’s get up can feel indulgent, but this has been the key to help me actually LOVE my mornings.

Some soothing ritual ideas

• enjoy a nice drink in quiet (or while enjoying relaxing music)
• journal
• read an encouraging devotional
• indulgent beauty care
• work on your hobby
• read a fun light book

Bonus tip: try a different thing each morning!

Making time for something enjoyable in your morning can be the key you’ve been missing to unlock that motivation to rise earlier! 

Step #5- add 10+ more minutes to your wake time for 1 growth ritual

Get up 10+ minutes more to do something that is measurable towards your current goals.

I would describe a growth ritual as something that moves you towards your long term goals. Ask yourself these questions to find the answer for yourself.

• What are some of my goals that I need more time for?
• What do I want to learn?
• What have I been wanting to change or implement?
• What do I need to work on?

It doesn’t take much time to make an impact towards your goal if you are consistent at one small change. Doing nothing means nothing changes, but even doing just a little bit can snowball and create momentum, motivation and even results!

Bonus tip: Use a timer. Don’t get distracted. Really just focus on doing that one thing for at least 10 minutes! 

I’ve seen gains in many areas implementing this in my mornings!

Doing nothing means nothing changes, but even doing just a little bit can snowball and create momentum, motivation and even results!

Some growth ritual ideas:

• plan your day
• trouble shoot a pain point in your life
• research questions you’ve had about something
• read an educational book
• write 2 pages in a morning pages notebook
• exercise
• do 1 high priority task
• work on a creative project

Click the picture below to grab your free morning routine makeover checklist!

5 steps towards a morning routine you love in review

1. get up 30 minutes earlier
2. dress, get ready, shower if needed
3. meditate on God’s Word and prayer
4. make time for 1 -2 soothing rituals
5. add 1-2 growth rituals

Pin to save & share 5 steps to a morning routine you love!

I hope you’ve found this post helpful, and if you have, please leave a comment and let me know what you’ve implemented in your life that has had a positive impact on your morning!

As always, thanks for being here in my little corner of the interwebs.

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The post 5 steps to a morning routine you love appeared first on A Legacy In Days.

The moments we are given are precious, but that doesn’t mean they always feel that way, in fact, they rarely do. It is often that someone’s attitude needs to be corrected or we have to start where we left off multiple times from the same spot, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t making progress. Every day spent in small moments of intentionality in your homeschool morning routine will bear fruit. The more and more you incorporate the elements to your morning that you long for, the more it will feel natural and you will meet with less resistance from your kids and even yourself.

The next day starts the night before

My desire is to have a slower pace to our mornings and time for togetherness before we have to get to our to do list. A little extra preparation the night before goes a long way towards not feeling rushed the next morning. Some evenings I prep a baked good or another dish I can quickly bake- like a quiche or some muffin batter. We make sure the kitchen is cleaned, do a quick tidy, and sort out a load of laundry to put in in the morning before tucking in for the night. Having an evening routine that helps me sleep better and wake feeling ready for another day is so helpful for setting our mornings off on the right foot.

Using Time blocks for more flexibility

We schedule our day in what is commonly referred to as time blocks. We aim to accomplish certain tasks within a set timeframe and leave what isn’t done in that block until another day and move on to the next block. I stick to the priorities so if we have extra time we can do a little more, but at least we are getting to the most important things in that block. These blocks of time usually are plenty to get done what we need to and still be able to maintain this schedule. Each day making progress forward is the goal.

I used to try to schedule our days for each item on our schedule. But it would leave me feeling panicky and behind if we couldn’t fit in what we needed to get done. I would push each undone item into the next time block and constantly felt behind. Now, I have made our blocks with plenty of margin to get done what we need. If there is an unexpected interruption or delay, we just move to the next block and drop what’s not finished as needed.

No day is ever “perfect” and that’s precisely why the schedule is so helpful for me. I don’t have to think about what I should do next when something is off rhythm or try to “catch up”. We just keep plugging forward! By the end of a week we have generally balanced out anyways. The things maybe dropped earlier in the week have a chance for recovery and I don’t stress it if not. Progress is the goal, not perfection.

How our homeschool morning routine begins

6-7:30

I love the slow quiet of morning before the kids all wake up. I try to get up before they do so I can calm and quiet my soul before I am taken up with directing the show. Even after a rough night’s sleep, waking up early enough to be able to orient my heart to the Lord’s will for my day renews me for another full day more than an extra bit of sleep will. I typically get up at least 30 min to an hour before I wake the kids up. I aim to at least have enough time to get ready and read my Bible. If I’ve had enough sleep, I will try to wake up even earlier to sneak in a quick workout or write.

My older kids get up earlier, as needed, to begin their school. Our younger children like to sleep in, so we don’t have a household of kiddos up at the crack of dawn, like I know a lot of families do. Our struggle is more in getting the kids UP! In this block I set out any breakfast things, start tea and coffee or do a quick prep (preheat oven) right before I wake up the children that aren’t awake yet. I try to wake us up earlier than we would want to so that we can have TIME to enjoy the morning together.

Our homeschool morning worship routine

7:30-8:30

I turn on their lights and cheerfully rouse them, but then I go out and let them wake up. Eventually they make their way out to snuggle on the couch by the fire. They usually chat with me, while having tea or coffee. I love this slower moment with snuggles and time for a chat with my kids before the pace picks up for the day.

Then we begin morning worship. Even though it is never easy or peaceful, and can feel tempting to skip it, this is the most important part of our morning routine. At some point in here the baby wakes up and I feed her or she joins in on the readings.

Our morning worship flow includes the following:

• A chapter from a passage of scripture, alternating OT & NT, Psalms and Proverbs
• Recite together a verse from our Bible Verse memory selection-currently Romans 8:31-39
• Reading from a short devotional- currently using Training Hearts Teaching Minds & Leading Little Ones to God
• Sing a hymn or Psalm
• Reciting our term poetry memorization
• Prayer requests and prayer time
• Go over the plan for the day and dismiss the kids for the next block

This usually takes us 20- 30 minutes to complete. If we are having more interruptions or have a busier morning, I will just read the Bible reading for the day and pray. Sometimes I have slept in, have discipline issues to deal with a child or everyone is not getting up in time. But I have learned it is better to do less and stick to it, than throw it all out because it’s not ideal every morning.

Breakfast & Chores

8:30-9:30

When devotions are finished I dismiss the kids for their morning “dailies”. I finish getting breakfast ready, and finish my own morning chores. As the older kids finish their chores and breakfast they start right into their independent work. It is tempting to do everything myself because it’s faster and more efficient, but it is not as effective for the goals we have in parenting children. We desire to give our children real life skills and instill competency, a good work ethic, and diligence. Which means, they all have chores. This home belongs to ALL of us, and we all have a key role to play in how it runs and shapes our lives.

My Morning Dailies

• Finish making breakfast and serve littles (older kids serve themselves)
• Prep dinner (defrost meat if needed)
• Put in a load of laundry set out from the night before
• Make bed
• Help littles get dressed
• Finish getting ready if needed
• Soak dishes and clear counter

The Children’s Dailies Include

• Get ready
• Make bed
• Animal chores
• Breakfast cleanup chores: clearing and wiping table, sweeping kitchen and dining room, unloading and loading dishwasher

Lessons with Form 1: 1st-3rd

9:30-10:30

Next, I head downstairs to our homeschool room to check in on what the kiddos have started. After I’ve put the baby down for her nap, I begin read alouds with my Form 1 kiddos.

We focus on short lessons, so we usually only spend 15- 30 min on phonics, copywork, reading, math help, map drills and another 15-30 min. on read alouds.

Current selection of read alouds include:

• Geography- Elementary Geography, Me on the Map
• American History- Pocahontas by D’Aulaire, North American Indians, Indians, Follow the Dream, Exploration & Conquest

They listen to one of these during the afternoon or on car rides:

• Natural History- Birds of the Air, Burgess Animal Stories (both via LIbrivox)
• Literature- The blue, Red & Pink Fairy book stories (via Librivox)
• Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare (also on audio)

Afterwards they are free to play outside or quietly in the basement while I move on to Form 2 lessons.

Lessons with Form 2: 4th-6th

10:30-11:30

They each have a notebook with their independent subjects and a daily to do list to check off. They begin right after their chores and breakfast are finished. Whatever they don’t complete before I start work with them, they have to do later. This is their free time and screen time, so that usually motivates them to get right to it.

Independent work includes:

• Phonics
• Math
• Copywork
• Geography map drills
• Math
• Assigned readings

We have about an hour, while the baby sleeps to do some subjects together. Sometimes we get to spend more time and work on fun projects. Otherwise, we get our reading done, take notes and narrate through 2-3 subjects on rotation.

This current rotation includes:

• Geography- O Canada! Seterra
• Ancient History- A History of the Ancient World, Cleopatra by Diane Stanley
• World History- Leonardo DaVinci, Our Island Story (via Librivox),The Story of the World Volume 1 (audiobook)
• Grammar – IEW Fix it Grammar
• Natural History- Nature Readers
• Science- The Way things Work, DaVinci’s Amazing Inventions
• Literature- 50 Famous Stories, Tales from Shakespeare (both via LIbrivox)

Lunch prep & Forms 3 & 4: 8th, 10th &12th

11:30-12:30

I finish up downstairs and we do a quick tidy before heading up to prep lunch. I check in with the big kids during this block to help with math etc. They have a meeting with me in the morning and are working on their own studies during the previous hours. If they need my help they will usually come in and sit at the bar while I work in the kitchen. Sometimes I’m finishing breakfast dishes here, or just letting some lunch heat up while doing math and science help. Some days I have a chance to sneak in a quick workout or some cleaning here as well. I prioritize the most important thing in this block, and whatever else I can get done is just a bonus.

Well, that wraps up our homeschool morning routine! Now we begin moving into lunch and the afternoon finish school, housework and hopefully some rest during quiet time.

Conclusion

We all certainly have overwhelming mornings, and they aren’t bad, but they don’t have to be like that everyday, and certainly don’t have to be the norm. Believe me, our mornings are in no way idyllic. With younger ones still learning to sit quietly, and some kids not even wanting to be awake yet, we definitely have our bumps. However, if I expect every morning to look like our perfect ideal, I will never intentionally carve out a realistic way to actually accomplish what we desire. I desire a gentle start to our day centered around God’s word, NOT just my to do list. Keeping this as the focus helps me remember that those small conflicts won’t really matter in the long run if we stay faithful and keep persevering.

I hope this glimpse into our morning has encouraged you! Please share with me your own biblically centered family morning rhythms below!

Blessings on your mornings!

In His service,

It would honor me so much if you would please share this if you’ve found it helpful or insightful.

Thanks for stopping my my little corner of the interwebs!

The post Our homeschool morning routine appeared first on A Legacy In Days.