How my morning routines changed and simplified my life
Morning Routine From A Professional Organizer
Fair warning: This is a topic I am very passionate about so this blog post is a bit longer than I typically share. I could go on about this for days
There was a time in my life that just felt like chaos, and at that… repetitive chaos. Like everyday was a struggle and it was a bit of a groundhog day situation, feeling like I was living the same chaos everyday. Yuck.
I credit my morning routine as one of the big reasons I was able to come out of that dark season in my life.
I have based my morning routine off of Hal Elrod's Miracle Morning.
His structure is as follows:
Step 1: Silence
Step 2: Affirmations
Step 3: Visualization
Step 4: Exercise
Step 5: Reading
Step 6: Scribing
What I love about this strategy is that you can make this happen in 5 minutes, or an hour and a half depending on your timeframe. This structure adjusts to your day and what you need it to look like.
Over the past several years I have adopted some changes to fit my own life and needs, but continue to use this basic structure. I have a custom printable I created to customize what works best for me, and I would love to share my basic structure and some favorite resources with you.
Affirmations:
Visualization
Helpful Hint: make a Pinterest Board!
Reading my devotionals
Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling was gifted to me years ago by a dear friend and this is a must have staple in my routine.
Journaling
Prayer Journaling
Goal Setting / Today's Non-Negotiables
Keep it simple: Drink your water, get in your steps, Look for places to be grateful…
Daily Planning
I use both a paper planner and a digital calendar I share with my family
Exercise
(see below)
You may notice I skipped reading…I am not a morning reader, as it makes me a bit too cozy and sleepy, ha! I save that for my evenings.
So as a professional organizer why does this matter? Why am I sharing it with you today?
For one, I would not be living the life that I am without my morning routine. Without that time to reflect on where I am, who I am, who I am called to be, and how to get there I would not be who I am today.
The morning exercise has been imperative to my mental health as well. It is pretty obvious to those close to me when I have skipped my morning workout based on my mood, ha! (And a BIG thank you for loving me on those days!)
For a long time this was a structured 45 minute class I took 5-6 days a week, it now looks a bit more like morning yoga, Yoga with Kassandra is my favorite. Doing some weights in my garage, Pilates at my favorite local studio… and most often my tried and true favorite; going for a walk. (I can and will do a whole other blog post on going for walks! Haha! They are a miracle in my life as well.)
If you are currently in a season of feeling stuck, or if you are thriving in life (and I hope you are!) A morning routine will only add to your life. My last tip in this is to romanticize your life and this routine.
For me this looks like:
Lighting a candle or starting my oil diffuser.
Ensuring my workspace is clean (this is part of my evening routine… which will also be a future blog post)
Having a yummy hot beverage
Right now I am loving Paleo Valley’s hot chocolate bone broth
I also love to ice roll my face right when I wake up, do my dental care and throw on some moisturizer, or any kind of mask (hair, lip, face, under eye) . I love them all.
This habit stacking method gives me the most bang for my buck!
If you are still here, thank you! I hope you got something out of this. Having a simplified life is not always about being organized with your things, but being organized, intentional and present in your life. I hope there is something you can take out of this and incorporate into your most simple living.
Choose Simple,
Sarah
