For years, I’ve struggled on establishing my own morning routine. I don’t have a set wakeup time and my day will only include work and watching videos online. I will always live the day with regrets of what I could have done more for the day. 

I soon realized that I wanted to allot an hour or two in the morning just for myself and for the activities that matters to me the most. 

Finally after some trial and error I was able to create my own morning routine that I stick to since the lockdown happened last year. 

Here’s my current morning routine:

• Wake up between 5am-6am

• Prepare my coffee or sometimes just a glass of water

• Morning Pages, a full page of writing down my thoughts first thing in the morning

• Devotion or Bible Study, I follow a Bible Reading Plan and write down my thoughts using the S.O.A.P. Method

• Read a novel

Now I don’t want to say that I’m perfect when it comes to my routines. There are days when I miss waking up early or I skip reading novels. But, most of the time I’m able to follow my morning routine. 

Here are the ways that helped me create my own morning routine. It is my hope that these tips will inspire you to establish your own morning habits.

Read next: 21 Life Changing Habits to Set in 2021

Define your why

The very first thing you should do in order to create your morning routine is to define your why. Know what having a morning routine means for you. This is an important task especially if you are not a morning person. You want a reason why you need to get up in the morning and do your routine instead of having more sleep. 

There are a lot of articles available online on the benefits of having a morning routine. Here are some reasons:

• It gives more structure to your day

• You are no longer rushed or stressed before starting your day

• Increased productivity

• Better sleep quality

• And more!

As for me, I realized that a great day starts in the morning. It helps set the tone of the day. When I do wake up without a morning routine in place, I don’t feel as a productive. And I’m someone who feels extra good when I have a productive day. 

So think about what having a morning routine will do for you. 

Build your morning routine

Once you’ve defined your why the next step is to select the activities you will include in your morning routine. 

There are a number of morning habits you can choose from. My tip is to select 4-5 that you would like to do.

• Wake up at 5AM

• Drink a water

• Devotion or Quiet Time

• Make the bed 

• Eat breakfast

• Workout 

• Run for 30 minutes

• Journal

• Write a blog post (500 words max.)

• Make a to do list

• Do a gratitude journal

• Take a bath

• Stretch

• Take vitamins

• Listen to a podcast

• Read

• Say affirmations

• Work on a side hustle for 25-45 minutes (pomodoro)

• Review your budget

• Do a 10-minute declutter

Read next: How to Minimize Procrastination Using Pomodoro Technique

Do a 21-day or 30-day challenge

Once you’ve selected the activities you’ll include in your morning routine it’s time to test it out. From the five activities you’ve selected, arrange them in chronological order from what you’ll do first to the last thing on your routine. 

Make that list and put it on your phone’s reminder app, notes app, or your planner. Then, try doing a 21-day or 30-day challenge so you can implement the routine more. 

Every morning, when you wake up, take out your list of morning routines and commit to doing each of the activities step-by-step. Find an accountability partner whom you can report your progress. 

Find your non-negotiable activities

Lastly, find your non-negotiable activities. Maintaining a morning routine can be hard especially if you are not a morning person yourself. 

My great tip is to ask yourself what are your non-negotiable activities? What do you value the most that should be done in the morning more than the rest of the day?

Mine includes devotion and morning pages. As long as I’ve done those two I know my morning routine is a success. Others include meditation, exercise, or reading. 

If you can only do two things from your routine, what would they be?  

Read next: 7 Simple Activities for a Better Work Day

Overall

It all starts with a perfect morning routine. 

I personally love the idea of having routines to live by. It gives you something to look forward to. 

Your morning routine can include a skincare routine, productivity routine, workout routine and even a makeup routine just as long as it gives you a nice primer before you start working. 

Now is not the time to fret or give COVID-19 more power to ruin our lives. Let’s strive to maintain structure, stay safe, try new things and be as productive as we can.