Recently I was interviewed on KSL about my morning routine. I’ve developed this routine to help myself be more productive and less stressed every day. It’s amazing what a difference it makes! On the show, I shared my 5 steps to creating your perfect morning routine. 

With everyone home all of the time and kids’ school schedules changing, having a good morning routine is important to getting more done and feeling accomplished.

During quarantine, I started losing my motivation and my focus to get stuff done.  I realized that I needed to take back control of my morning routine.  I knew that if I could own my morning, I could own the day.  And, it worked.  I tried this with my community and we held each other accountable and the effects were life and day-changing.  

Create Your Perfect Morning Routine – My 5 Steps

1. Get up early.

Getting up early is the first step when you create your perfect morning routine. Here are some statistics:  Some studies have shown that 90% of executives wake up before 6 am on weekdays, and over 50% of self-made millionaires wake up over 3 hours before their workday actually begins.

Now, early is relative.  For me, I like to get up at least an hour before my kids, but those with babies or early risers might not be able to do that. Get up earlier than you have been and you’ll be amazed at what a difference it will make in your day! 

2. Make your “will do” rules.  

Figure out the few things that you are going to do each morning that will make it successful for you.  In my community, we have a #3before9 challenge where we 1. Get up and exercise 2. Get dressed and ready for the day 3. Check-in with God (meditate, prayer, gratitude journal or scriptures).  If you aren’t sure what to include when you create your perfect morning routine, these three things are a good place to start.

3. Make your “won’t do” rules. 

Make a few rules for things that you won’t do. You might not think this is an important step when you create your perfect morning routine, but it is pivotal. For me, high on my list is that I won’t check social media or emails until my morning routine is done.  Getting lost on social media is a sure-fire way to hijack your morning routine. Besides losing precious time by scrolling your morning away, you also set yourself up for a big dose of comparison in those early hours when you aren’t mentally ready to fight the feelings that you aren’t doing enough.

4. Remember- A good morning starts the night before. 

The only decision you want to make in the morning is to get out of bed.  Put out your exercise clothes, your scriptures, whatever you are going to do the next morning so you can get out of bed and get to work.  Also, get to bed earlier the night before so that you can get up and own the morning. There was a study in 2014 that says that people who get to bed later are more likely to be overwhelmed by repetitive, negative thoughts. We do not need those negative thoughts, especially with everything that’s going on.  Getting to bed early helps us have more control over our thoughts.

5. Never miss two mornings.

  You are going to sleep in every once in a while.  Your kids are going to wake you up in the middle of the night.  That’s okay, the habit isn’t lost until you’ve missed more than one morning.  

James Clear author of Atomic Habits said:

“What separates the elite performers from everyone else? Not perfection, but consistency. This is why the most important thing is not to prevent mistakes altogether, but to avoid making a mistake twice in a row. Errors are part of the process, but they shouldn’t become part of the pattern.”

When I say that you can create your perfect morning routine, I don’t mean that you have to be absolutely perfect in what you do every day. We are all human, and life happens. But, when you get off track, be sure to hop back on with these 5 simple steps!

Now it’s your turn to create your perfect morning routine!

I hope you can see now how easy it is to create your perfect morning routine. I promise you that if you start to take charge of your mornings, you will be amazed at how differently your days go. You will have more energy, be able to focus more on your daily tasks, and you may even be happier!

I know I have noticed that when I do my morning routine, I’m a better mom and a better business woman. For these reasons alone, I’m going to keep going with my morning routine. Won’t you join me? Follow me @iammichellegifford and #3before9 on Instagram to join the morning routine movement!

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