As hard as I try, I can't quite seem to get my morning rituals into a ROUTINE. I wish I could know that I was always going to wake up at 5, sip coffee and have time with Bible reading and praying until 5:30, have breakfast and couch time with Chuck until he leaves at 6, exercise while talking to Chuck until 7, and then write my blog until 8. Then I'd have the whole day to get those "LIVE FROGS" eaten, and do the things I love to do the rest of the time.
What's a girl to do who suffers from insomnia, and when she can't sleep, she starts her day as early as 2:30, and when she CAN sleep, she wants to do just that, and start the day later? It's called being flexible. I just have to adjust things earlier or later, and in whatever order works, so I can do what is important to me.
My priority is time with Chuck and our kids, depending on where I am and who is with me. I have some requirements for a really good morning, though, so these are the things I do each day, even though the routine order changes from day to day.
GOOD MORNING ROUTINE
REFRESH- Rehydrate with water, at least 12 ounces, first thing.
- Make a pot of coffee to enjoy throughout the morning.
REVERE
- Read the Bible.
- Pray.
RELAX
- Make Chuck's breakfast and sit at the table and then on the couch with him before he leaves at 7:00.
- Exercise (either on the stationery bike or walking while talking to Chuck during his 70 minute commute).
RESTORE
- Restore order to the house: Clean up kitchen. Start the dishwasher and a load of laundry. Make the bed.
What about you? Are you a creature of habit, one who sticks to your schedule each morning? Oh, you're my hero.
Or are you more like me, doing the best you can each day, flexible with what gets done when?
What are the things that are non-negotiable for you? What are your morning rituals that make your day better for you?
I hate to be flexible but family life has forced me to it. In terms of the routines, I heard in a neuroscience book and interesting thing about this subject. Apparently, you get a much lower dopamine dose from things such as brushing your teeth which is why it takes so long to build healthy habits whereas things like coffee and cigarettes generally give people a big charge. In fact, almost all the bad habit produce a big charge. We don't lack will power as much as our minds work against us because of the tasks they are wired to do. I like your list. I may borrow your list.
ReplyDeleteI think I understand why a daily reading and writing habit takes longer to establish; the rewards are rarely immediate. Help yourself to my list, and let me know what you ad or subtract.
DeleteI have a morning routine during the school, one I don't particularly like but that I follow because I have to. What I need to do for myself is give myself a routine for summer mornings, too, when I actually get to sleep according to my preferred hours but rarely follow routine and thus am far less productive than I could be. I think that's a quest this summer.
ReplyDeleteWhen I taught, my summer mornings had much less routine, much more laissez-faire.
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