A fantastic morning is a lift-off we need for a wonderful and productive day. Creating the perfect morning routine can help you face the day, be in better spirits, and become more productive.
The secret is that since we’re all different, the same routines won’t work for everyone. These morning routine ideas offer tips to design the perfect morning that fits your unique identity.
What’s a Morning Routine?
A morning routine is a system you use every morning to get your day on the right track. Your schedule should include the tasks you need to accomplish, like brushing your teeth and the order in which you will do each thing.
Why is a Morning Routine Important?
Morning routines are important because they provide structure and help us ensure we complete essential tasks. Routines also help us form habits, so our structured schedule will become second nature, even when our lives get busy.
Morning routines are essential to ensuring we start our days off right.
Morning Routine Ideas
There’s not one set morning routine that will work for everyone. Some of us are morning people and don’t need much to get started, while others are night owls trying hard to make a nine-to-five schedule work.
Busy parents have children they need to incorporate into their morning routines, while pet owners may need to walk the dog or feed the pets.
We’ve offered morning routine ideas for night owls, early birds, and folks with limited time in the morning to accommodate these varying needs.
Tasks Everyone Should Incorporate Into Their Morning Routine
There are certain things everyone should do each morning. Here is a short list of things you should do every morning regardless of which category you fall into.
Personal Hygiene
Make brushing your teeth and washing your face your top priorities each morning. Taking care of your hygiene is vital to a happy life. As a bonus, the invigorating splash of water on your face will kick-start your body into waking up!
Take Care of those who Rely on You
Get the children dressed and make sure they have something to eat. You don’t need to make a complete breakfast like the power Instagram moms. Children can be happy with a bowl of cereal, a bagel, or fresh fruit.
If you have pets, ensure they are fed and walked as needed.
Eat Something
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but too many of us skip it. It doesn’t have to be a big production. Eat something easy, like a banana or a granola bar, to jumpstart your daily energy.
Morning Routine Ideas for Night Owls
Mornings can be a challenge if you aren’t a morning person. Some of us do much better in the evening and struggle to start the day.
If you’re a night person, implement these ideas into your daily plan for an easy morning.
Get Ready the Night Before
If you’re at your best at night, don’t force yourself to get everything done in the morning. The best morning routine idea for you is the easiest one. So get ready the night before. Write your to-do list and plan your day before you even go to bed.
You should lay out your clothes, pre-make breakfast, get automatic pet feeders, and consider anything else you can accomplish before shutting your eyes. Having most things ready in the morning will simplify your morning routine and make it easier for you to start the day.
Stop Snoozing
It’s hard to get up when you’re not a morning person. But snoozing your alarm clock generally does more harm than good. Dr. Reena Mehra, MD, MS, Director of Sleep Disorders Research at the Cleveland Clinic, approached this topic for the Cleveland Clinic’s blog. She reported that snoozing doesn’t help our bodies get the restorative sleep we need.
Dr. Mehra also said that the latest parts of our sleep cycle are essential for REM sleep, and hitting the snooze button often disrupts that vital portion of the cycle.
Instead of snoozing, set your alarm clock for your later, final wake-up time. Shift your evening routine to allow yourself a full eight hours of sleep. Use proven strategies to fall asleep faster, so you don’t need to hit the button.
Have Some Tea or Coffee
Coffee and tea are fantastic day starters. The slight jolt of caffeine can give you the boost you need to wake up fully.
Get a coffee maker with an automatic timer to make your morning cup easier for you. You can get everything ready before going to bed and awaken to the delightful aroma of freshly brewed coffee.
You should add a morning drink to your routine even if you don’t enjoy coffee or tea. Fruit juices or smoothies give you a little morning calorie boost, but even a glass of water will help you wake up and feel more refreshed. Turn curling up with your beverage of choice into a relaxing morning ritual.
Give Yourself Time
Add at least ten minutes to your morning routine for waking up. Get out of bed, but allow yourself to ease into the morning. Use this time to wash the sunrise, wash your face, and get into the right mindset for tackling the day.
The best way to embrace a new day is curling up with that cup of coffee you just made. Let the mug warm your hands, inhale the exhilarating aroma, and savor every drop. When you finish, you will be ready to face the day ahead.
Whether a coffee drinker or not, setting aside a few minutes to fully wake up is essential for night owls.
Focus on the Important Things
If you’re not a morning person, getting everything done in the morning might be hard. Stop trying to fit into a mold you aren’t cut out for.
You don’t need to do everything in the morning. Determine which tasks are essential for a great morning and focus on those. Switch jobs around so they fit better with your schedule and personal body clock.
Switch your showers, workouts, and dog walks to after work. Do the dishes when you get home. Give yourself a break from perfection, and realize you will be much less stressed with “good enough.”
Morning Routine Ideas for Early Birds
Early risers have an easier time in the morning. They wake up bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and ready for whatever day might bring!
The best morning routine ideas for early birds embrace the energy you have first thing in the morning.
Plan Your Day
While fresh, map out all the things you need to accomplish today. Write out your to-do lists, goals, appointments, and plans.
Your early morning routine might be a good time to set daily affirmations and intentions to get you into the right mindset for the day.
Get Organized
The morning is a perfect time to organize your home and your life. Ensure the dishes are clean and ready for dinner, clear the counters, and manage the clutter which compiled the previous day.
Setting aside a few minutes in the morning to clean up and organize your home will help you approach the day with a clear mind.
Work Out
You may want to put that extra morning energy to good use by creating a morning workout routine. Hit the gym, go for a run, or do some early morning yoga.
Working out in the morning can help improve your focus, boost your energy, and elevate your mood.
Devote Time to Side Projects
The morning is an ideal time to focus on your side projects and hobbies when you’re an early riser. Use it to your advantage by dedicating time to things you love to do.
I’m an early riser who loves the quiet solitude of the house before 7 am. I wake up an hour earlier than I have to to dedicate the best hours of my day to writing. My morning routine ensures that I can keep up with my side hustle while working a demanding nine-to-five.
Prep for the Evening
If you’re anything like me, you’re too exhausted by the time you get home from work to do much of anything. Make your evening routine easier by preparing for it while you have energy in the morning.
Decide what you will have for dinner, and defrost any items you need.
Morning Routines for those Short on Time
Many of us feel rushed in the morning. There’s so much to do and strict timelines we have to meet to get where we’re going on time. Here are some tips for streamlining your morning routine when you don’t have much morning to work with.
Automate
Automation is your best friend when you’re short on time. Get automated coffee makers and dog feeders—set timers for important daily deadlines.
You can also automate yourself by following a strict schedule. Eliminate decision fatigue from your morning by pre-planning and use muscle memory to get through the morning.
Use Planning Tools
Bullet journals are excellent tools for organizing your life. Use a bullet journal spread to map out your week, so you know exactly what needs to be done each day. Take the planning out of your morning routine and focus on the essential tasks.
Meal Prep
You can meal prep breakfast. You may want to stick to easy meals like cereal or fruit, but you can also pre-make a variety of breakfast foods. Make smoothies and hard-boiled eggs weekly, or create frozen breakfast dishes that need to be reheated and served.
Set Standards
If other people live in your household, it’s imperative to set standards about how mornings need to go to get out of the door on time. Give everyone morning tasks to accomplish based on their capabilities, and set timelines for completing each task. Everyone needs to be on board for the morning to run smoothly.
Ideas for Morning Routines with Kids
Most people can build their own morning routines with little assistance. Building morning habits becomes far more challenging when you have little ones to take care of. Children have a delightful knack for throwing a wrench into all the best-laid plans.
However, as difficult as it might be, setting strict morning routines with children is essential. To help you develop strategies to make your morning as easy as possible, we asked parents to give us their best tips for morning routine ideas with children.
Do Everything the Night Before
Robyn from A Dime Saved embraces the night-owl idea of getting everything done the night before. She lays out clothes, packs lunches, and prepares the coffee maker ahead of time, so she doesn’t have to worry about it in the morning. Robyn finds that mornings run much more smoothly when there’s not as much to handle.
An Easy Home School Routine
Nicole from Gracefully Abundant has more time than most as she homeschools her children. She incorporates schooling as part of her morning routine. They cook a warm breakfast together as a family, using that time to have discussions which often lead to research and learning in the at-home classroom.
Nicole’s elementary-aged children are full of energy, so after breakfast, they have time to run around the yard, which helps them focus when it’s time to start school.
Getting Up First for You Time
Victoria, from Motherhood, Life, Balance, starts her morning routine with time for herself. She typically gets up an hour before the rest of the household, spending time on self-care. She will read, shower, have her morning coffee, and even complete a 20-minute work. This “me time” gets her into the right headspace to tackle the day.
When the kids get up, she starts prepping their breakfasts and lunches. They are old enough to dress themselves, but she monitors the clock to make sure everyone is ready on time.
Victoria has tried numerous morning routine ideas throughout the years but discovered she’s less stressed and more ready for the day when she gives herself that extra hour each morning.
Use Technology
Monica from Planner at Heart finds getting kids out of the house in time for school to be one of the most stressful times of the day. Many mornings were filled with yelling down halls to finish this; remember that.
The constant yelling wasn’t healthy for the parents or the children, but Monica found a clever solution in technology. She uses Alexa as a secret weapon to set reminders and communicate throughout the house. Instead of yelling, she types reminders for Alexa to announce and always includes a silly noise at the end to add a dose of levity.
This morning routine hack helps her keep her eldest child on task while caring for her little one without resorting to yelling.
Set a Timeline
Nadia from This Mom is on Fire has two kids and has found that setting a specific timeframe for completing each portion of the morning routine has helped keep them on schedule.
She gives her daughter precisely 15 minutes to change and fix her hair. The kids need to be downstairs for breakfast by exactly 820. They leave for school at 840. Setting these specific goals helped get the kids into a structured routine and has made Nadia’s mornings much more manageable!
Using the Clock as a Guide
Jonathan from Parent Portfolio also uses timetables but includes more flexibility as part of the morning routine. He gives himself a half hour to get ready before waking the kids and asks them to get themselves ready by 7 am. After 7, they eat breakfast and brush their teeth, with a hard out-the-door time of 730 am.
Jonathan adds flexibility to his mornings. Sometimes the kids are ready before 7 and can get to breakfast early. When they have extra time in the morning, Jonathan encourages them to practice their instruments so they have extra free time in the afternoon.
Morning Routine Ideas Can Help Everyone Have a Fantastic Day
The great thing about the morning is that there’s no set way to do something. Take these morning routine ideas and use the ones that will help you. Dismiss the ones that don’t fit into your lifestyle.
The key is creating a morning routine that works for you and helps you have the best day possible. Rise and shine to a fantastic morning!