Finding places in your day to gain a little rest, refresh and change the total outcome of the next 24 hours can start with your morning routine.

What would you do with 2 extra hours in your day?

 

Training your body to get up earlier is NOT that hard.  Let me say it again because the more you say something the easier it is to believe.  Getting up early is not hard!!

 

WE LIVE IN A CULTURE DOMINATED BY EXPENDITURE AND NOT RENEWAL

 

Wouldn’t you like to live in a house full of rest, calm and order?  I’d like to walk you through my morning renewal routine (even though that sounds totally yoga-ie I do no yoga in the morning, most days) so you can see what a difference intentional self care can make.

 

Living each day tired and hurried is not how we were created.  Our bodies do NOT thrive. It’s like running a marathon without taking a single sip of water.  You’re not going to make it to the end!

 

I want to challenge you to start off right.  I’m giving you my routine and what helps me make changes to have a more restful day.  I’m going to guess we’re different and what works for me may not work for you but I do want to make sure you know that if you are not feeling restful RIGHT NOW, you need to do something in your day to change that.

 

Change is hard and it takes practice.  So, design a routine that you think will work for you, plan what you know will give you restoration and then DO IT!  Give yourself a week and see what happens, after a week, give yourself one more week to make adjustments and keep at it!

 

START YOUR DAY WITH YOUR NIGHT

Go to bed at a reasonable time, night owl or not, our bodies were not originally made to be awake while the sun is down, get in the routine of early to bed, early to rise.  After 2-3 times of setting an alarm my body doesn’t even need it anymore. I’ll get up at 5 no matter what. My kids are little so they get up about 7. My “self care” moments equal about 30 min then I head to my office for an hour or so of work.

 

 Tech tips: buy a cheap alarm clock to set NOT your phone – keep your phone out of your bedroom, I’ll go over more on this in a future post where I focus on my tech habits to create a calm and restful life

 

FIND A SPACE AND MAKE IT YOUR OWN

Get a comfy spot, we have 2 amazingly comfy (not cute or insta worthy cause they are hand-me-downs and totally lived in) chairs with a side table and lamp.  These are my comfy spots to do what I do.

 

If you don’t have an easy spot already set up and in mind, you’re making it just a tiny bit harder to visualize your new routine and have a place to go to as soon as the alarm goes off.

 

Find your spot and get it set up to accomplish what you need it to as soon as you get there!

 

WHAT DO I DO?

After popping out of bed, I throw on my gym clothes, making it that much easier to get some fitness in early.  If my clothes are already on I’ve already won half the battle of making it to the gym or going for a quick walk with the boys!

 

Flip on the hot water for my tea and while it steeps I unload the dishes ONLY.  This is the only chore I’ll allow before my personal quiet time. It takes me 4 min to unload and my water 3 min to boil so I’m only “loosing” 1 min here.  

– I currently have a little “waiting in wonder” book I’m going through to prep for babe #3

– journal what’s on my heart and mind (I try to keep this NONbusiness)

– pray for my kids and hubby

– focus on short scripture

– sit and do NOTHING, really, I think, pray, let my mind wonder, process, prepare, whatever. But I’m quiet and with NO technology while I finish my tea.

 

After this it varies but we’ll usually officially start the day about 8:30, legos are typically involved as well as a few minutes playing outside (before it gets too hot).  If it’s during the school year we head out around 9:00. If it’s summer we tend to head to the gym or figure out a fun adventure.  

 

As a work at home mom I tend to work best in the morning before kids are awake so I’ll add in an hour to an hour and a half of work time in my office.

 

MY GIFT TO YOU

This is what I”m doing now, my routine changes with the season, literally.  It’s too hot, even at 6 AM to sit outside but when it cools (spring and summer) I’ll be on the back porch and usually add watering the garden to my routine.

 

There are also a few wonderful devo types, question-answer books I’ve gone through, but it’s more than just reading, I have to get my mind going so I make sure there is some sort of active prompt in the first thing I do or my mind won’t wake up.

 

What I really want to give you is a printable with my routine on it!  I also have one for you to fill in and print up. This may seem silly or unneeded but FRIEND, try it, write it out, tell your hubby or roomie or MOM this is what you’re trying this week and will you check in and see if I did it, hold me accountable.

 

Shoot me an Insta DM and let me know how your morning went and what changes you saw.  I’m dying to hear from you!

 

Now, click here and grab the freebie!