Do you ever feel like your morning is just one chaotic moment after the next, until you find yourself sitting in your car, coffee spilled down your shirt and ready to fast forward the whole day until 6 o’clock in the evening? ‘Cause, same. Mornings are hard enough without feeling overwhelmed before you even leave the house. But if you’re someone who has tried and failed to stick to a morning routine, swearing if you can juuuust get yourself to journal and slow down long enough to drink your coffee that it will change your life — then you know sticking to a morning routine is HARD. But it doesn’t have to be that hard. Speaking from the experience of One Who Loathes Mornings, I’m here to give you my best tips for how to stick to an early morning routine. (And stick to it long enough that it can actually make a difference in your week.)
After you read this post, you’ll know my best tips for staying consistent with your early morning routine so you feel energized, ready for the day, and — dare I say it — optimistic about what the day will hold.
Psst! These tips are for how to stick to a routine, but if you want my best tips and ideas for how to create a morning self care routine, you can read all about it here!
Tip 1: Make your early morning routine reasonable for you
Not all of Pinterest or Instagram’s ideas for morning activities are going to be the right fit for you, and that’s okay!
For example, are you really going to do 45 minutes of yoga, shower, do your Korean skincare routine AND have time to journal before you start your work day at 9 a.m.?
If the answer is yes, then please send me your time management tips because GIRL. You’re killin it.
But if the answer is “probably not” (or in my case, “no heckin’ way”), then don’t make that your routine! Otherwise, you’ll never be able to stick to it consistently, which means it’ll never become a routine anyway.
Instead, it’ll just be something you tried and failed at, and you’ll give up on a morning routine altogether.
Pro tip: Time yourself in the morning
To make sure you’re setting aside enough time in the mornings for your early morning routine, I suggest timing yourself on a day when you’re not in a huge rush.
Write down how long it takes you to do the usual things: Shower, do your skincare routine, make breakfast and eat, pack your lunch, take your dog out to use the bathroom, etc.
Then, you have a better idea of how much earlier you need to wake up if you want to add in the bonus morning activities like stretching, doing a workout, journaling, meditating, or whatever other AM habits you want to incorporate.
Remember, it’s probably not realistic to start waking up at 4 a.m. if you’re used to waking up at 7 a.m. and rushing out the door. Be gentle and patient with yourself.
Start waking up just 30 minutes early, and gradually increase until your sleep schedule is adapted.
Tip 2: Define your primary “morning goals”
What do you want your morning routine to accomplish?
Do you want your morning routine to help you feel more relaxed as you go about your day? Are you wanting to feel more organized? Do you want to ensure you get your exercise done first thing in the morning so you don’t have to worry about it later? Or are your morning goals all about being productive?
Whatever your primary goal is for creating a morning routine and sticking to it, make sure that your morning activities support that goal.
For instance, if you want to follow your morning routine so it’s easier to stick to healthy habits, then starting your day with a chocolate chip muffin and a sweet coffee drink probably isn’t the best morning routine!
Instead, meal prep the night before for an easy and healthy breakfast. Chop up some veggies, cook up some sausage in the evening, and keep it all in the fridge overnight. Then, in the morning just toss it all into the pan with some eggs for a delicious, healthy omelet!
Or if the goal for your morning routine is to help you feel more joyful and relaxed in the first hours of your day, then starting your day by reading your emails isn’t a great idea.
Instead, consider starting your day with a few minutes of quiet journaling, reading your favorite motivational book, or even putting on a lighthearted TV show like Friends while you sip your morning tea!
Tip 3: Fill your morning routine with things you enjoy.
This isn’t the time to try to force yourself to do what’s trendy.
I know the morning routine for “That Girl” that’s all over Pinterest is to wake up and work out at like 6 a.m., but that’s absolutely not my jam. I prefer to workout in the afternoons. And, if I tried to force myself to work out early in the morning, I probably wouldn’t stick to it.
The whole point is to fill yourself with peace, so choose primarily the things you either enjoy or are prepared to challenge yourself with.
Tip 4: Pair the things you don’t want to do with things you do want to do
While I know I just said to fill the morning with things you enjoy instead of things you have to force yourself to do, I also know it’s not realistic to only do things you want in the morning.
(Or, ever. ‘Cause, y’know. Life. And adulting.)
Because the truth is, you probably have at least one thing you don’t love doing in the morning.
Maybe you want to spend 10 minutes stretching to wake up your body, but you don’t quite enjoy that yet. Okay, so try pairing your stretching with watching your favorite morning show!
I love putting Friends or New Girl on when I’m cleaning my room. I don’t love cleaning the room, but I love watching those shows. They’re good background noise and make my chore much more enjoyable.
Or, maybe you don’t love cooking breakfast, but a girl’s gotta eat. You can meal prep breakfast the night before, or you can pair cooking breakfast in the morning with something you enjoy (like listening to a podcast or music).
The idea is to balance the things you have to do with the things you want to do so you’re more likely to stick to those routines.
P.S. I learned this concept from reading one of my all-time favorite personal development books that I’m sure you’ve heard of: Atomic Habits by James Clear. Atomic Habits gives you tons of actionable and practical steps to create/break any habit you want.
You can read more about that book, plus my other favorite self improvement books in this blog post!
Tip 5: Play around with different forms of self care and be willing to pivot.
So, you’ve tried yoga for a full week as part of your morning self care routine and it just wasn’t “it”? Totally cool.
Do something else!
Try keeping a gratitude journal instead. Or take a nice hot (or even cold!) shower. Or, heck, watch your favorite Netflix show to slowly wake up while you enjoy your coffee!
There’s no right or wrong answer here, friend. You gotta do you.
‘Cause if you don’t like your morning routine, you’re not gonna stick to it.
Conclusion to top tips on how to stick to a morning routine
So for a quick recap on how to stick to your early morning routine:
- Make your morning routine realistic for you
- Definite your primary “morning goals”
- Fill your morning routine with things you enjoy
- Pair the things you don’t want to do with the things you do enjoy doing
- Play around with different forms of self care and be willing to adjust
That’s all for today, friend!
I hope you enjoyed this blog post and that it gave you some helpful tips on how to actually stick to your morning routine.
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Sending love and good vibes,
