We all have a morning routine. Some are effective and some are not. Here are my 5 tips for an effective routine for your morning. 

  1. Determine what you want to accomplish

Do you just want to get out the door and not forget your lunch? Do you want to get more done during your day? Use your goal for your routine to determine what it will look like. My goal in the morning is working out and setting my goals for the day. My morning routine looks very different from my husband’s who has a goal to read for a set amount of time and write a journal entry. 

  1. Include breakfast

For me, having something to eat is a must. I have started eating the same thing every day which helps eliminate an early morning choice which in the past resulted in not eating … which resulted in a grumpier Millissa.

  1. Be realistic

I tend to overreach what I think I can accomplish. In the past, I’ve made morning routines with several activities and scheduled them down to the minute. This didn’t work as well for me. I love the waterfall habit idea. I focus on just one thing I want to accomplish each morning. Then when I have that down I add a second habit and so on. When habit #5 gets challenging, I drop back down and focus on habits 1-3 to build confidence and then start adding habits again. 

  1. Be flexible

As I wrote this article and did some research I found several ideas that I’m going to implement this week. If your morning routine isn’t working to do what you want to accomplish, switch it up. That’s the fun of life. We are designed to change and grow. 

  1. Reach out

Valuable information is all around us. One idea I’m going to try this week is asking my friends what their morning routine is instead of asking them what shows they recommend. Of course, the internet has tons of articles and the library has some great books on the subject as well. The caveat with all this information is that it must help me achieve my goal. If it is a great suggestion but it doesn’t help me reach my goal, it is best to shelve it for the moment and move on to other ideas.