How I’m Creating a Flexible Morning Routine

Since sharing my morning routine a while back my husband has been traveling a lot. That’s nothing new, he’s traveled for work our entire relationship, but it seems to come in these big waves that can easily throw me off balance. At the time I wrote that post about my routine I was also finishing my first round of BBG and was determined to end strong, meaning I was willing to sometimes get up at 4:30am to make that happen. Kudos to past me, but even then I knew it wasn’t a realistic long-term plan.

Lately I’ve been in a bit of a funk. Fall always hits me hard, and on top of that some of my morning routine basics have had wrenches thrown in them. Not having that strong start to my day always leaves me feeling constantly rushed and mentally off. I decided it was high time I come up with a better system instead of just making excuses.

This past two weeks I’ve been trying out a more flexible routine while my husband has been away, and so far it’s been working out so much better. Whether you’re building a routine for the first time or looking for a ways to adjust your current one work, these might help you create a system that works for you.

Create Variations

When my husband is away each day can be a little different, so I’ve created a couple different versions of my morning routine that I’m keeping in my Notes app on my phone. Each night I look at what I have going on the next day and figure out which version of my routine will work best, and make adjustments from there if I need to. Is it is a crazy day at work? Do I have someone to walk the dogs during the day? Do I need a rest day from my workout? No matter what I have going on I can grab one of my pre-made schedules and make it work for me. Here are two of my basic ones that I most often use. I’ll often copy and paste one and then make adjustments each night before I go to sleep.

At-Home Workout Morning:
5 – wake up
5:10 – workout 
6 – shower 
6:20 – walk & feed dogs
6:30 – breakfast 
6:50 – read 
7 – journal 

Break Morning:
5 – wake up
5:10 – read 
5:40 – journal 
6 – walk & feed dogs 
6:10 – breakfast 
6:40 – get dressed, do makeup 
7 – blog 

The big things I know I need to fit in if I’m going to set myself up for success are reading and journaling, for the most part everything else can be adjusted. I’ve found reading something inspiring first thing in the morning can be one of the best ways to get myself in the right mindset, so I’ve been prioritizing even just a few minutes each day.

No matter what I have going on the next day I always take the time to create a schedule for the morning, otherwise I wake up in a fog and wander around trying to remember all of the little things I wanted to do the night before. The most important part of a routine (especially one you change often) is that you have a plan!

Preparation

Confession: I’ve been lazy lately when it comes to my night prep. But I’m stepping up my game because It really is the foundation for having a truly kick-ass morning. Having everything laid out and ready to go for the next day means I can focus 100% on myself and whatever else I need to focus on, and have as few roadblocks as possible, which is crucial to starting the day off well.

I also am trying to be more proactive about making sure the house is cleaned at night, so I’m not waking up to distractions in the form of dirty dishes or piles of laundry sitting around. Even though I may be exhausted at the end of the day, there really is nothing better then waking up to a clean house, so I try to remind myself that it’s well worth the couple of minutes at night to clean up, even if I’d rather just plop in front of the TV and veg.

Schedule Realistically

There’s no point in creating a routine that rushes you though the morning and leaves you feeling overwhelmed and tired before the day even gets going. Make sure you leave yourself plenty of time for each task, but not so much that you find yourself with time to scroll endlessly through your phone (which I am totally guilty of). I give myself ten minutes when I first wake up to check my phone and let me brain turn on, but cut myself off after that, time to start the day!

I truly believe that how you start off can have major affects on the rest of your day, and it’s a big key for me when it comes to productivity and overall happiness. Just that little bit of time to work exclusively on myself once a day has an impact. If you haven’t tried incorporating a morning routine, I would definitely recommend it. it may sound crazy to get up early just to workout or read, but you may find that you absolutely love it!