The Only Morning Routine You’ll Ever Need

The morning sets the tone for the REST of your day. It also determines how you will feel when you hit the pillow at night.

And because having a morning routine is SO important that there’s a LOT of hype around it — the kind of morning routine you should have, how early you should be waking up, and the activities you should be doing as part of that.

But I’m calling bullshit on ALL the experts and telling you that you should only have ONE routine in the morning…

…and it’s the routine that works for YOU and your season life.

I remember not too long ago, I read Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod (definitely recommend, by the way) and it was so eye-opening to me. I learned the importance of establishing a morning routine and how it can completely change the trajectory of your life — and it totally did.

I implemented the activities in the book, and while it worked for a period of time, it didn’t scale with my life. It was too much, almost too complicated for me. I LOVE all the things he recommends, and do them as part of my day, but I needed to implement something that was a little “easier” for me and my family of five.

I started to experiment with various routines and found a pattern and rhythm that worked for me.

I learned that it was less about the actual ACTIVITIES and more about how I was mentally preparing for the day.

My number one priority for my mornings became setting intentions. Some mornings, I’m getting up well before my family (around 5/5:30a) and reading, writing, and working. Other mornings, it’s just enjoying a cup of coffee to myself. However, no matter the activities actually entail, I will ALWAYS set the intention for the day, find gratitude in another moment on earthy with my family, and recenter with myself to prepare for another busy day.

What does setting intention look like?

Setting an intention gives us the ability to control how we want to feel and how we plan to respond to LIFE (in this case, respond to our day’s demands, nuances, and challenges).

It means briefly putting yourself in the future and visualizing a day that looks and feels GREAT; knowing how you plan to show up for the day instead of letting it consume you.

Some days, my intentions are specific; being a present mother, being a creative writer, completing x,yz. Other days, it’s just allowing myself to BE intentional and giving myself the space for gratitude and grounding.

Don’t get caught into thinking you have to have an ELABORATE morning routine to be “successful”, but it’s important to give yourself the space to be intentional before the day consumes you.

Start by waking up before your family and giving yourself 10 extra minutes to sit in silence.

Then, move into thinking about how you want your day to unfold; knowing that you are the owner of your time, energy and mental bandwidth. Your day will only consume you if you let it.

Lastly, replicate this routine until it becomes habit (approximately 21 days). Try various rhythms and routines until you find something that gets you excited to get out of bed.

It’s life-changing, I promise.