I have always gotten up early but I really wouldn’t call myself a morning person. Honestly, in the morning, I don’t want to socialize with people. I’m not even chipper. In fact, I’m very mellow and low-key. So why do I do it? Because, there’s something about waking up and doing my morning ritual that sets the tone for my day and it beats being catapulted into being wide eyed and bushy tailed.
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My Morning Ritual In 5 Steps
I thought it might be helpful to share my morning ritual in hopes to inspire you to take action and create your own. I will say that my morning ritual has changed slightly over the years depending on the season of life I am in. So, you may find yourself changing things to work for your current season and that is totally okay. I am right now in a season where I don’t have to pump my boobs or breastfeed every 2 hours and my toddler sleeps till 7:30am.
These days my morning ritual is more self-care based. This is my morning ritual after I have showered and gotten dressed:
1. Fill up my water bottle and make some tea
I wake up at 5am and typically head to the shower by 5:30am. I turn on the tea kettle and fill up my water bottle. Since I am trying to drink more water, I make sure to chug down half the bottle. Then I move on to my tea. I just love crafting my own version of Starbucks London Fog Tea Latte with shots of caramel. I don’t know why but it makes me happy when I do it.
At this point, I am feeling pretty good and head right to the dinning room. My Bible, notebook, highlighters, pencil and pen are set under the table on a shelf. I then open my phone to my online devotional or whatever reading plan I am working on.
2. Devotions and Reading Plans
After my tea, I am ready and looking forward to getting into the word of God. I like using reading plans from She Reads Truth and they also have an awesome Bible with wide margins that allows me to get creative with scriptures or thoughts that stand out to me. It gives me a chance to reconnect with my artsy side which is calming for me.
This is not a long process, in fact, it only takes me about 10 minutes to do and then I like to meditate for a few minutes on things that stood out to me.
3. Pray
Once I finish my devotions, I close with prayer. I talk to God a little bit and sometimes ask him for understanding and clarity. Usually I thank him for the day, and just unveil what’s on my heart. I don’t pray the traditional way but in a way that feels comfortable to me.
Ever since I was a little girl, I spoke to God kind of like Margaret. If you don’t know about Margaret then I suggest you read the book, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. It’s a really good book. But anyways, it just feels right to me to talk to God like a friend. Other people may pray more structured and if that works for you then do you. I don’t think God minds either way.
4. Daily Gratitude
I have a daily gratitude sheet that I created in my planner that has a morning and evening section. At this time I fill in the morning half which is positive affirmations, things I am grateful for, and a question – how can I make today a good day? You can download my Daily Gratitude Template here. Doing this daily is great because it sets the tone for my day and on New Year’s Eve I reflect on all the sheets and it’s always a blessing to look back on.
My positive affirmations vary depending on what season of life I am going through and how I am feeling that day. I made a point to identify affirmations as positive ones because I believe words are powerful and they can build as well as destroy. It saddens me that many of us will speak words of destruction into our lives without even knowing it. We do this with the negative words we speak to ourselves. Some will deceive themselves and say it motivation – but is it really motivational to tell yourself you are fat and need to lose weight? No, it isn’t. I rather look in the mirror and say to my body, you are amazing. You did amazing things for me and now I want to nourish and strengthen you so you can continue to be and do amazing things.
I believe that words are powerful and they can build or destroy. They are also connected to our thoughts and hearts. I think many of us will speak destruction into our lives without even knowing it with our words and the negative way we speak to ourselves. That is why I make a point to identify them as positive affirmations. I want to speak life into my life and my circumstances. At first this was hard for me but it definitely has gotten easier once I pushed through the uncomfortability I felt in the beginning.
5. Review My To-Do List
After I do my daily gratitude, I like to look over my calender and things I need to do and want to do. I identify my top 3 priorities and then outline my tasks. I look them over one last time and make sure they are in alignment with my core values. This is crucial because I don’t ever want to fall back to filling my day with a bunch a tasks that just doesn’t serve me and deplete my joy. I use to be guilty of saying yes to everything and now I focus on why something belongs on my to-do list. This is me guarding my time because time is a non-renewal resource and we should all be intentional on what we give our time to.
My Morning Routine All Wrapped Up
It seems like a lot but it only takes me about an hour the most. Then I move on to start my other morning routine of getting lunches and bags ready for the kids to go to school and daycare. Somedays I will even make breakfast and other days I will let the kids have cereal. My kitchen being decluttered and functional really helps me in this area. If you want to learn how I declutter my kitchen you can check out my blog post: How To DeclutterYour Kitchen
My Morning Ritual is a Non-negotiable
For me, this ritual before my official morning routine is everything. I have pushed this ritual aside in the past and regretted it. I had such a crappy and off day that I now make this ritual my non-negotiable. There’s value in my morning ritual. It isn’t something I take lightly or toss aside. I don’t care what I have planned I am making time for my early morning routine to kickstart my day. Having a morning ritual is such a priority for me because I feel better. My energy throughout the day is lighter and my attitude is positive. No matter what I’m struggling with – when I do my morning ritual I’m not focusing on the bad. It’s easier to live in my purpose.
I hope that you find this encouraging and that you feel inspired to create your own morning ritual that serves you and helps you be a better version of yourself – confident, put together and positive throughout your day.
