Day 3 – Finding Time in Your Busy Morning

7-Day Morning Routine Makeover Plan

Welcome to Day 3!

Is finding time in your busy morning important to you?

LISTEN TO AUDIO – Finding time in your busy morning

Generally, mornings are hectic and can feel quite chaotic when lacking direction and proper planning. I’m sure you recognize this firsthand, especially if have young children to get ready and out the door five days a week.

The good news is that no matter how busy you think you are first thing in the morning, it doesn’t need to remain this way. By consciously and pro-actively designing your mornings, you can manage them in a way that works best for you.

Yesterday, we explored how the first few hours in the morning set the tone for the remainder of your day. The questions you reflected on were:

1 – Do you want to continue experiencing hectic mornings – being rushed, frantic, and feeling like you’re constantly running and trying to catch up to your day?

2 – Or would you prefer to begin your mornings calm, collected, productive, and with a sense that you’re in control of your life?

It’s up to you!

It’s all about embracing and applying 2 simple concepts to find more time in your busy mornings for the things you love.

Concept 1: Get Up Early Enough

It’s tempting to hit the snooze button repeatedly and catch a couple more minutes of sleep, isn’t it?

It can even be difficult for you to set your alarm early enough to give you plenty of time in the morning to get everything you need and want done.

I get it! I really do!

If you’re not a morning person, just the thought of moving up the alarm by 30 minutes to carve out a little extra time, might make you cringe.

Trust me though, after the first few mornings of getting up earlier, it will no longer be as tough as you think. It’s something you’ll get used to fairly quickly.

Avoiding the snooze button at all costs and getting up early enough is the key to an unhurried, more pleasurable morning.

Here’s the issue with cutting your morning time too short or repeatedly hitting your snooze button a few times… it gets you behind your day from the very start. You constantly rush to make it out the door in time. Any little issue or hindrance that arises along the way, can turn everything into an enormous problem!

For example…

Not being able to find your house keys suddenly becomes a significant crisis. Why? Because it could cause you to be late for work; and therefore, the kids to be late for school.

Remember, your morning sets the tone for the remainder of your day. If you begin it by chasing down time and things, that is likely how you’ll spend the rest of your day.

The simple action of rising early enough and avoiding the snooze button puts you ahead of the game and in control of your morning… and ultimately your entire day. You can take care of everything that needs to get done while still having time for the key activities you have personally chosen to focus on (i.e. meditation, going for a power walk, journaling…you get the picture).

Here’s a little exercise for you:

What time do you currently set your alarm and wake up to?  

___________ : ___________

New  Action:

• Set your alarm 30 minutes earlier.
• Share your new objective with a member in your home. Ask for support by assigning this person to be your ‘accountability-buddy’.

1 – Write down the new set alarm time here:   

__________ : ___________

2 – Write down your accountability-buddy’s name here: __________________________________________

Concept 2: Restructure Your Routine

Spend some time reflecting on your current morning routine and where you’re spending the most time. Consider things you can change and tweak to make more time for what you truly want to do.

What do you want to add to your morning routine? 

For instance, let’s say you want an additional 20 minutes in the morning to meditate. The pro-active step would be to look at what you can complete, eliminate, or delegate ahead of time, to make meditation part of your morning practice.

Here’s an example of what you can do if you spend most of your early hours getting breakfast prepared for everybody:

• Free up some of your time by setting the table the night before.

• Ask a member in your household to assist you by getting the coffee maker ready. All you do in the morning is push the ‘start’ button.

• Teach children to prepare their own breakfast partially/fully. When finished eating, train them to take the dirty dishes to the sink, rinse them, and put them in the dish washer. Or create a rotating schedule for them to wash dishes by hand.

• The night before, set aside all clean, ironed clothes (including your own), to be worn the following day.

• Assign a designated spot for “out the door” necessities – things like car and house keys, purse, briefcases, and eyeglasses. Make sure that they are all placed in their designated spot(s) before turning in for the night.

Small changes to your morning routine can drastically improve how you experience your day.

Day 3: Are you ready for today’s morning routine ‘tweak’ action challenge?

Great!

Now, implement a couple of small tweaks to your morning routine that will free up at least 30 minutes of your time to use how you choose:

Tweak #1:

Tweak #2: 

You’ve got this! Remember to have fun! 

Be sure to check your Inbox tomorrow morning, on Day 4, when we will explore why determining what you should be doing is crucial. See you bright and early!

This is the key to love life your way! Living by conscious design is walking the path of least resistance, one step at a time…