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Hey, y’all! Happy New Year! There is always something special about the start of a new year and the fresh start motivation it can give. One of my goals this year is to become a morning person. I’ve tried a lot of different things and without fail (especially because of the pandemic and working from home), it doesn’t pan out.

My husband has always been a morning person and is the type that the alarm goes off and he’s up, cheerful, and ready to go to the gym at 5 am. I married a crazy person, I know. Jk, he is just one of the most disciplined people I know and that is what was lacking for me when it came to being a functioning human in the morning. It really is hard for everyone to an extent, but practicing that discipline is what makes it successful. Over the last year and a half, we have spent a lot of time learning from the world’s top leaders, business owners, content creators, and influencers on what we can do to better the many aspects of our life and one common theme between them all? Their morning routine.

One of my favorite podcasts: The Skinny Confidential: Him & Her, asks most guests what their mornings look like and their keys to success. I’m going to share what we’ve heard, what works for us, and some ideas to help you make your morning routine amazing and valuable. Of course, I’m not an expert and just sharing our experience in the hope that it will help someone take the step they’d like to toward making a better morning.

Step One: Make a list of everything you want to accomplish in the morning.

Rather than sticking to a set time or schedule upfront, think about what you actually want to do in the morning to fill the time. You need to fill that time with something you’ll learn or that will create value in your life. Who cares if someone wakes up at 5 am if they aren’t doing anything with their time?

For me, this looked like this:

• Caffeine and out of the bedroom

• Devotional & Journal, gratitude list (3 things minimum)

• Walk Wrigley (our cute corgi if you’re new here) with Kollin (my husband, again, if you’re new - also, hi!)

• Review weekly priorities and schedule for the day

• Prep and publish content if a posting day / engage with TCB community

In order to better understand what time I needed to wake up, I worked backward from my last priority, (a tip I loved: refer to this list as our priority list rather than a to-do list. These are things you’re investing in rather than something you’re checking off). For example, my best posting time on Instagram is 9 am central so I worked backward from that priority and allotted time to each other priority (20 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, etc). Add it all together and see how much time you need in the morning to conquer your list. Personally, this is about an hour to an hour and a half, but it can range depending on what you want to do. Kollin likes to spend at least 45 minutes in the gym in the morning so he has to wake up earlier than I do to accomplish his entire list. There isn’t a set time any of these successful people agree on - it’s just about being productive in what you want and need to be successful. So, for me, it’s 6:45 am and for Kollin, it’s 5 am. I’m sure if you have kids or a different lifestyle than we do this can look totally different, which is the point!

Here are some ideas of what the world’s most successful people start their day with (in no particular order):

• 90% highly recommend meditation

• NOT being on your phone & eliminating decision-making tasks in the morning.

  • Avoid email, text messages, the need to be reactive right away. This can pull you from your mindset and derail your morning. This has really helped me feel calm and collected in the morning. I personally do check to make sure no one has called or texted with an emergency, but then I leave my phone in the bedroom while in my routine.

• Journaling / Morning Pages (I have a post on that here and really loved it when I did it).

• Gratitude exercise

• A devotional or prayer/religious/spiritual routine you prefer if you practice

• Affirmations

• Listen to a podcast

• Exercise / go to the gym / yoga

• Go outside - spend time on your balcony, sit in the sunshine, take a walk. For my cold weather friends, look into a sunlight lamp. Many people also recommend grounding - check out this article for more on the science and research behind it.

• Short, cold showers (helps with inflammation, focus, circulation and sore muscles).

• Hydrate (models like Kendall Jenner and Christy Brinkley credit their gorgeous skin to at least 8 oz of water before they get out of bed).

Step Two: Have a Set Space

One of my downfalls, when I had tried this before, was staying in our bedroom. By staying in bed and not physically getting up, I would get tired again and the thought process we all go through in the morning of wanting to hit snooze or go back to sleep took over. This time, I designated a space in our living room where I kept everything I needed for my priorities together and made it a rule that it had to be done there. It has helped so much. I also recommend this if you’re living with other people because it signals that you’re in your priority space and others can identify that what you’re doing is important to you. For example, Kollin and I both have different morning routines and what we find enjoyable in the morning. I have my space to cultivate the vibe I like and he does the same. If you and your partner have similar priorities in the morning then doing this together could be helpful in terms of accountability!

Step Three: Write down your routine

I personally work best with a planner and lists, but if you like tech better, put these things in your calendar and follow them that way or set timers if you find you get distracted. Even something as simple as a checklist is helpful. I recently bought The Full Focus Planner and have found it extremely helpful in outlining what I want to accomplish. You can also find it on Amazon here. It is goal-oriented and works by creating your best practices based on your annual goals, then breaks those down into quarterly goals, weekly goals, and then daily habits needed to accomplish them. I’ve linked several different planners at the bottom of this post, but find one that works for you and your routine!

Step Four: Track Your Progress & Use s.m.a.r.t. goals

Like anything in life, there is always room for growth and I’m sure my routine will change over time, but the notion of waking up and accomplishing what I want that morning shouldn’t. A great way to keep yourself accountable is to track your priorities and assign S.M.A.R.T. goals to them (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time Sensitive). For example, an annual goal of mine in 2022 is to read 25 books in 2022 by December 31st. This can be broken down a few different ways, but I know at the end of the year I need to be at 25. So, is that one book every two weeks? Reading a certain amount of time each day? Break it down with what you’re comfortable with, but add these into your morning or evening routine so that you’re accountable to the bigger picture each day. What this looks like for me is setting a reading goal each day and month (at least 30 min a day and 2 books a month). These are tangible, actionable goals I can reach to help me understand my progress.

Step Five: Get Your Tools

In order to accomplish your right routine, you need the tools that work best for you. For my routine, I need a devotional to follow, a journal to write in, my favorite pens, a planner, highlighters, and some form of caffeine. I’ll link all my favorites at the end if you’re interested, but look at your list and determine what you need to accomplish it every day, and stock up. If you have the resources you need at an arms-length, it makes it much easier to continue to reach for them each day.

I’ve been in my current morning routine consistently for about a week now and have really seen a difference in how it impacts my day. I’m clearer, more focused, have less anxiety, and I am overall more productive. I’m sure that the newness is attractive at first so I’ll be sure to keep y’all updated with my progress because it will definitely take discipline and accountability to continue to show up each day.

So, what did I miss? What do you do in your morning routine that the TCB community needs to know? Comment below and share! Thanks so much for reading and check out my favorite tools below!

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PLANNERS, JOURNALS & GRATITUDE

PENS, HIGHLIGHTERS AND EXTRAS

FAITH RESOURCES