let's talk routine: MORNING

Routines...either the dreaded or beloved word. But the truth is that we all crave routine even if we don't like to admit it at first. I know everyone watched those YouTube morning and night routine videos that we found so aesthetic haha. (here's my fav one I was OBSESSED with back in 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THMRRGgb7AY) But seriously! We watched them because we desire routine, structure, and stability in our lives! And while it is such a good thing to be spontaneous and crazy, (I'm not talking about planning your life down to the minute lol) it's really healthy and grounding to have a consistent morning and night routine. Having structure to our day leads to increased productivity, health, peace, and overall happiness.

So let's talk routine.

I have MAJORLY struggled with routine these past 3 months of being at college for the first time. Like sleep schedule is YIKES and that basically screws everything else up pretty badly. I don't use my free time well for homework or exercise half as much as I'd like to, BUT that's why I'm here writing this! To give me accountability and incentive to fix it!

Alright let me paint you a picture:

Back in July I had one of the best routines I've ever had. I woke up and went on a run at 8am almost everyday. I went to bed at 10pm and before that I would set my phone down an hour before bed and read a book. Literally as I'm typing that out it doesn't seem real. I am not one to be consistent or good at structure so don't think for a second that I'm a natural and this is just my personality because lolololol that couldn't be farther from the truth! But I did it! Now let's keep in mind that I didn't have any schoolwork to keep me up late at night and I could just go to bed whenever I wanted, so that did help a lot.

But now let's go back a bit farther to April when I had one of the WORST routines of my life. I am talking almost all-nighters every single night or going to bed at 4am at the earliest. I would wake up for my 8am class on zoom and then go back to bed from 9am-1pm. Then I'd zoom the rest of my classes, grab some food, watch Netflix, do my homework until 12am, hop on a FaceTime call or two, watch some more Netflix, and then go to bed at 4 or 5am. Even thinking about that makes me sick. I felt absolutely horrible and drained every single day. Not to mention I had NO IDEA what was happening in my 8am class because I was barely awake, zooming it from my bed haha.

So moral of these two stories? Routines will MAKE OR BREAK your day, your productivity, your health, and most especially your happiness. Having a routine is a GAME-CHANGER! But you don't have to start big! You can begin by implementing small things into your daily routines each day or week at a time.

In this post I'm gonna highlight some tips on morning routines, but you can check out my second post focused on night routines here!!

The Morning

1.

When your alarm goes off, GET UP!!! Ooooohhhh baby do I struggle with this one the most! Ask literally anyone who has ever lived with me or slept over at my house. I will sleep for an hour through that beeping alarm. I am the QUEEN of ignoring alarms. That being said. it is something I am working on! So I encourage you to do it too! Some advice that someone told me once was that when your alarm goes off you should either get up and get on with your day or turn it off and sleep for the extra hour and be an hour late to everything. Meaning: If you need more sleep that's ok! Take that time, but just know that you will be sacrificing being on time to everything else in your day for it. OR just get up and go! I can promise you that those five extra minutes from hitting the snooze will not help you out in the long-run!

2.

Try waking up between 8am and 9am and immediately going to your kitchen and filling up a glass of water and drinking it. That way you're out of bed and more awake!

3.

Take some time in prayer. Before you begin the rest of your morning and day, take at least 15-20 minutes of intentional silent prayer time. This isn't the time for worship music (as amazing as that is). This is a time to quiet your mind with silence and reenter yourself before your day begins. Listen to what God has to say to you. My favorite way to pray in the morning is either with Liturgy of the Hours morning prayer or journaling with scripture. This is honestly one of the most crucial parts of a morning routine because without it we have no grounding to begin the day with. Starting in prayer will bring you immense peace for the rest of the day.

4.

Get up and exercise first thing in the morning. I never used to be a morning exercise-kinda-gal, but then this summer I started going on runs with my friend at 8am and honestly it was the best! I would wake up, drive to a park, go on my run, come home and shower AND make breakfast all before 10am! Then I had the rest of the day in front of me!

5.

Like I mentioned in #3, after you exercise, go and make yourself some breakfast! My fav go-to is peanut-butter banana toast. Seriously the best!!

6.

Now this one may seem pretty basic I knowwww, but get dressed and ready for the day! This doesn't mean you have to do your hair and makeup every single day or wear some fancy outfit, but just get dressed in something other than your PJ's! Also on those days when you don't have time to do your hair or are just really not feeling it, throw in a cute scrunch or hair tie to spice up your ponytail or bun!

I hope these tips helped inspire you to go and create your own morning routine! Leave a comment down below if you already do one or more of these things or let me know something you do that I didn't include on here! Can't wait to hear from you guys!!