If you heard that 50% of self made millionaires do this one thing every day, would you want to do it? I’m going to talk about why a morning routine is so important and why you should do one, too. 

We are in this pandemic with all of the kids home. There was a time at the beginning where it felt like a little vacation, and it was during those early weeks that I realized that no one was giving me a routine. I found myself being lazy in the mornings and not getting out of bed before the kids would wake me.

After a few weeks I started really feeling the effects of this laziness. I talked to my husband about it and I realized I had zero motivation to do anything. I was thinking about what I can do to feel more motivated even though there were so many things I couldn’t control. But I realized there was one thing I could control, my morning routine.

What can I control?

I could control when I woke up, exercised, and had time with God. So on Instagram I started a #3before9 challenge. We got up, exercised, got ready and showered, and checked in with god all before 9am. Now this is not just something that Michelle thinks is great and that a lot of my audience has been loving, too. There’s actual scientific studies that back this up. Some studies have shown that 90% of executives wake up before 6am on weekdays, and over 50% of self made millionaires wake up over 3 hours before their work day actually begins. Thats crazy, right? So there’s an article on Huffington Post that talks about the CEO’s of some major companies and when they actually wake up–

• Apple CEO Tim Cook wakes at 3:45am
• Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is in the gym by 4am
• Pepsico CEO Indra Nooyi up by 4am

As I was reading this list I realized that most of them are doing this same morning routine. They wake up early, exercise and then they have this moment to themselves. 

Are you a “Morning Person?”

There was a study in Texas at Texas U in 2008 that said that people who classify themselves as “Morning People’ earn a full point higher on their GPAs than people who classify themselves as “Night Owls”. That’s kind of crazy: a 3.5 GPA over a 2.5 GPA. Now you may look at your past self and say, “yeah that works in college but not now”. But that correlation is still true. Now I know it’s easy to justify staying up late because we’ve been with the kids all day and we need a break. But that time at night at least for me, my brain is not the sharpest at night. I’m not as decisive, the tasks I do take longer, I make more mistakes, etc. I’m so worn down by the end of the day.

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. How many of us have experienced this? Has this happened to you? When it’s nighttime and suddenly everything is a big deal. You look on social media and feel like you are not good enough and not doing enough and you spiral, and get dramatic and feel like you need to change everything in your life. I’ll admit that I have done this many times. I’m working on stopping myself and recognizing what is going on and putting myself to bed. Then the morning comes and things are better.

How early do you need to wake up?

There’s an author named Benjamin Spall that wrote ‘My Morning Routine: How Successful People Start Every Day Inspired’. He says the biggest predator of success is simply having a steady routine. It cannot be ignored that many of the most successful figures in his book wake up early, before 6 am early. Yes I need you to get up early, but early is relative too. Look at what is going on in your life. If you have a newborn, please don’t force yourself to get up for the day at 5am. 

The biggest factor is that you have a morning routine. I recommend getting up at least 30 minutes before your kids. What I do is get up about 6 or 6:30am, exercise or go for a run with my dog, shower and get ready and have some time for scripture study and prayer. Doing those 3 things have completely changed me. I can look back on my life and those times when I have been healthier and more alert, more optimistic and it was the times when I’ve had a morning routine. 

How do you navigate summer with your morning routine?

Now, coming into summer there’s going to be some vacations and family visiting and that can affect your morning routine. But you can still make it a priority to get up and make time for yourself. And that’s what this really is. We talk a lot about self care and prioritizing taking care of your body and mind, and having alone time. But I think that this is really one of the highest forms of self care. Because you are taking care of your mind with reading scriptures and meditation, taking care of your spirit by checking in with God and taking care of your body with exercising and moving your body. So just really taking control of the things you can control. Develop your own morning routine, it doesn’t have to look exactly like mine.

I’d love you to join us in the #3before9 challenge. Take a picture and tag me on your Instagram stories so I can cheer you on. I’d love to know that I’m not alone, I do this every day and I’d love to have you do this with me. I know that it has made a completely huge difference in my business to have this time alone. It makes me a better mom because I’m not woken up by someone staring at me. You know that feeling when you wake up because you know someone is right there staring at you. That is no way to wake up, my friends! Lol.

Taking control of your morning is taking control of your day. When you start doing that your business will change and your life will change. Don’t forget to join me in my morning routine on Instagram with the hashtag, #3before9. Keep going and keep pushing! I’m cheering you on. 

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