Tips for Creating a Productive Morning Routine
*Beep Beep Beep* We all know the feeling of when our alarm goes off in the morning. You roll over and hit "snooze" just one more time... and then oops! You realize that you are getting up an hour late or even more, and now you have to rush to get ready in time for the day. None of us want this, so here are real tips you can use to create a productive morning routine that will have you excited to wake up for the day!
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Updated for 2024
I also have a post on creating a planning routine for your planner or bullet journal, so if you are having trouble remembering to use your planner or bullet journal, then you may find it helpful.
Now we'll get into the tips for creating a productive morning routine. Plus, I'll give you some ideas of things you can add to your morning routine, in case you want to start adding some new productive habits to your life. :)
Tips for Creating a Productive Morning Routine
1. Keep it Simple
First off, I wanted to address this issue. You don't need a long elaborate morning routine. Sure maybe some people can get up at 4:30 and work out for an hour, journal and have a relaxing cup of hot chocolate, read a book, plan out their day, and then go off to work.
But let's be realistic that will only work for a few people. You want to keep your morning routine simple. If you miss something in your morning routine, don't stress it.
Your morning routine needs to be something that is achievable for most days. It doesn't have to be for every day. Some days I get up and I don't feel productive, so I skip things in my morning routine and that is okay.
Grab a sheet of paper, or pull out your planner, or bullet journal, and make a list of everything you want to include in your morning routine. It doesn't matter if you have a lot on your list right now, because you will simplify it in the next step.
Some Ideas of Things You Might Include on Your Morning Routine List
- The time you want to wake up at
- Saying "Today is going to be a great day!" (Read the book "Tiny Habits" if you don't understand this one. I highly recommend it!)
- Picking out an outfit
- Planning your day and writing a to-do list
- Writing in your journal
- Writing down something you are grateful for
- Exercising
- Eating fruit with your breakfast
You don't have to think about the order yet. Just write down everything you hope to complete in the morning.
Now it is time to start narrowing down your list.
Which of the things on your list, can you actually see yourself doing each morning?
An hour and a half of exercise might not be feasible for you in the morning, but maybe you could fit in half an hour.
What things waste your time in the morning/which ones do you procrastinate?
You want to keep your morning routine simple so it is feasible. For example, if it takes you a long time to pick out what to wear in the morning, pick out what you are going to wear the night before.
If you turn your phone on right away and get sucked into social media, then remove your phone from your morning routine. I can hear you complaining, that you write your to-do list on your phone. Well, don't worry, in that case, put "writing your to-do list" last on your morning routine, so you don't get sucked into wasting time on social media.
Next, put your morning routine into the order you want to do it in. I'll use the list from above as an example.
- Wake up and get out of bed while saying "Today is going to be a great day!"
- Exercise
- Put on the outfit picked out the night before
- Eating fruit with your breakfast while writing your to-do list
The things removed from the list can be done the night before so that is why they were removed. If the person wanted to do them in the morning, I would do them right before making breakfast.
Okay, there you go! You have your morning routine. The real question is: does it work?
You might have created a routine that you think will work for you, but you won't know that until you test it out. How are you going to do that?
2. Start Out Small
By starting out small. Do not try to fully incorporate your entire morning routine at once. It might work for a few days but after that, it might stop working.
Instead, you can incorporate your morning routine little by little because it is much more sustainable that way.
Pick one or two things (ideally the first one or two things on your list) and start doing those two things. After you can do them easily for a few days, then you can start adding in one more thing every week or two.
3. Revise Your Morning Routine
After you have done your whole morning routine, you've probably realized that some things on it don't work as well, as you thought they did.
For my morning routine, I wanted to go running for 45 minutes Monday through Friday, but I realized that it was too dark outside to go running so I removed this from my morning routine, and instead I go running in the afternoon.
So instead of dropping your whole morning routine, just go back to your list and revise/switch around a few things.
Tips for Creating a Productive Morning Routine
Ultimately, your routine should start the night before. If you go to bed really late, then you won't be able to get up early in the morning.
And if there is something that you don't want to do in the morning that you are procrastinating, then do it the night before if you can.
If you liked this post, you can read these ones too.
- How to Create a Daily Routine You Will Actually Stick To!
- How to Create a Planning Routine + Maintain It
- 10 Things You Can Do This Weekend to Be More Productive
- How to Be Insanely Productive During Quarantine
I hope this helped you with creating a productive morning routine. Leave a comment, if you have any questions! I answer all of them. :)
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