How to Create a Short Morning Routine in 3 Easy Steps

Where is the short morning routine tailored for moms? Pretty sure you won’t find it if you read an article written by a businessman locked in his solitary and serene office. Dude, moms don’t have the luxury of an hour alone with their journal and latte. We’re lucky if we get ten minutes in the bathroom without little fingers clutching under the door. The idea is nice, but we don’t need another thing to do or another way to feel not enough. What if we create a SHORT morning routine for real-life moms? And what if it could be as short as FIVE MINUTES?

Start With Questions

Before we get started, take a few minutes to ask yourself these questions and jot down the answers. We get so busy we don’t even evaluate all the things going on in our life.

• What season of life are you in? Babies and toddlers? A mix with school-age kids? High schoolers?
• Do you have any special circumstances? Pregnancy or new baby? Difficult season?
• Is your morning impacted by your health? Pregnancy or postpartum? Chronic illness? Stress?
• Who are YOU? Morning person or night owl? Structured or go with the flow?

How Long Should Your Short Morning Routine Last?

Your answers to those questions will help you determine the length of your short routine. If you have a 3-month-old and a two-year-old, please drop the guilt for not having a 30-minute devotional. If you deal with health issues that zap your energy, don’t pile on an unrealistic 20-minute routine. I’m serious. There are times when anything more than 5 minutes is too much. Let that guilt and shame drop off you right now. On the other hand if you have only teens at home and you love your quiet time, go for it.

What Should My Morning Routine Include?

What’s important to you? What do you WANT to include? How do you want to FEEL about it? More questions. But questions give you clarity, and that will take you where you want to go. If you’d like a jumpstart on ideas, here’s a simple framework that starts WHILE YOU’RE STILL IN BED:

IMPORTANT DON’T: When you first wake up, don’t pick up your phone! Don’t bring the sorrow of the world into your waking moments. Don’t check email and start feeling pressured and hurried. No phone.

1. A minute of gratitude. Think about this while you’re still waking up, in bed. No journal needed. Nothing fancy. Be happy you’re alive and the sheets are soft. This gets you going in the direction of gratitude first thing, and that’s a great start for your day.
2. 3 wins from yesterday. Again, you’re thinking about this, not writing (unless you want to). There is SOMETHING that went well, I promise. You changed a diaper before it leaked. You got a nice text from someone. If you think you don’t have a single win from yesterday, you’re arguing for discouragement.
3. A couple of things you want to get done today. This is something that would benefit from writing it down, even on a sticky note on your bedside table. Keep it simple but meaningful. These will look different for everyone. You could do two personal and two for the house. Or two for your family and two for your business. Or just TWO, period. It’s amazing what you can get done when you keep it doable and consistent.

That’s it. You can totally add “healthy breakfast and workout” if you want. “Get dressed” is sometimes a worthy goal in certain seasons of life.

But This Doesn’t Include [fill in the blank]

This is your short Morning Routine, not your full-day schedule! Resist the urge to add more and more. It’s highly likely that you won’t stick with it if it gets overwhelming or guilt-inducing.

If you love to journal or read your Bible or work through a Bible study, by all means do it. But for the women who are in challenging seasons of life there can be other options. That’s another blog post in itself, but think “audio” or “Bible next to my nursing chair.” Feed your heart with spiritual food but don’t be mean to yourself about it. There’s a verse that says “He is gentle among you” and He has so much compassion for you in your circumstances, dear one. You can live all day in an attitude of prayer and asking for wisdom.

Why Have a Morning Routine?

You might be wondering how five minutes can make a difference. Why bother? Because if you don’t tell your brain what to do, it will tell you. It’s too easy to open your eyes and feel at the mercy of the day. Your brain might start to dread what you have to do, and instead you can shift your attention to what you’re grateful for. Let it fuel your feelings.

Instead of feeling overwhelmed by a long, complicated list that you won’t stick to….create your own short morning routine and start your day on purpose!