How to Schedule Your Daily Morning Routine for a Great Start Every Day
Scheduling your daily morning routine is the best way to get a great start to every day. You’ll know exactly when and how to get everything done for a cleaner house and a less chaotic morning!
Of all the things I done to keep up with the business of running a household (and keeping it from turning into a complete mess!), creating a Morning Routine has been the most valuable.
My daily Morning Routine gets most of the must-do home keeping tasks taken care of early in the day so I can focus on other people and projects in my life. Honestly, if my Morning Routine is the only thing I get done around the house, our home can stay relatively clean and somewhat organized.
It frees me up to concentrate on my work, give attention to my kids, and enjoy my husband because I know that life’s necessities are pretty much taken care of.
The problem is that the mornings just seem to slip away at the speed of light. I’m certain that clocks move faster in the morning than they do during any other time of the day. Call me crazy, but I’m pretty sure it’s true!
I am on a quest to be more productive, but sometimes most times it feels like I roll out of bed…blink…and then the morning is gone. I wake up with every intention of getting things done, but before I know it, the day starts slipping through my fingers, and I spend most of my time trying to play catch up, or even worse, I just give up altogether.
I couple days ago, I reached my breaking point. I couldn’t take feeling behind any more. I also couldn’t take the dirty bathrooms and neglected laundry that was piling up from not having time to complete my morning list. Something had to change.
I decided to schedule my daily morning routine so I’ll know exactly what I need to do and when I need to do it. And boy, it has revolutionized my days!
It opened my eyes to how much time I waste and how much I can actually accomplish. It also showed me the things that simply won’t fit into those precious morning hours and need scheduled later in the day.
Whether you work from home (like I do), work outside of the home, or stay home with your family, creating a detailed schedule for your mornings will help you be in control of your time. Instead of running around each morning, trying to get one step ahead – or sitting around trying to avoid real life – you’ll finally know exactly what needs done and how to fit it into your day.
Give it a try and see if scheduling your daily morning routine helps you have a more peaceful morning AND get more things done throughout the day!
How to Schedule Your Daily Morning Routine:
1. Write out your daily Morning Routine.
Even if you don’t have a formal Morning Routine written down yet, there are certain things you know you need to do every day. List out everything from packing lunches to taking a shower and getting the kids fed. Try not to skip anything that needs done during the course of the morning, and you can even follow these tips for how to make a morning checklist that works for you.
2. Jot down how much time each task will take.
Think carefully about how long it takes you to shower and fix your hair, clean up the breakfast dishes, feed the pets, start the laundry…whatever you need to do each morning. Always estimate high. It’s better to plan for fifteen minutes and be pleasantly surprised on the days when it only takes you ten.
3. Write down a basic time schedule.
Grab a piece of paper and jot down a basic time schedule. Starting with the time you get up in the morning (or the time you SHOULD get up in the morning), list the time down the side of the page in fifteen minute increments.
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4. Schedule the tasks from your Morning Routine, starting with time-sensitive tasks.
Schedule any tasks that must be done at a specific time (such as waking up your husband or taking the kids to the bus stop). Now that you know when you have to do certain necessities, you are free to schedule in the rest of your Morning Routine. Figure out the best times to work everything into your morning, and be sure to leave some buffer time, just in case something come up or takes longer than you expect.
5. Move extra tasks to later in the day or adjust your wake-up time.
If you can’t fit everything from your list into your morning, you’ll need to either move some of your tasks to a different time of day, or you’ll need to adjust the time your alarm goes off in the morning. This exercise of planning out a morning time schedule will help you recognize where you’re wasting time and where you’re trying to fit in more tasks than humanly possible.
Try it, Tweak it, and Try again
Don’t expect to get your time schedule perfect on the first try. Go through your well-planned morning for a few days to see what’s working and what isn’t. Look for slots where you’ve underestimated (or overestimated) the time a task takes to complete.
Tweak your schedule and try it again for a few more days. Eventually, you’ll have a plan that will keep you on track and give you a productive start to your days.
You’ll get more done in the morning than you ever thought possible, and your home will be more manageable as you’re able to fit in some basic cleaning and maintenance tasks. You’ll also find yourself finishing the day feeling more peaceful instead of carrying the weight of playing catch-up all day long. It’s an everyday win!
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Start feeling at peace in your own home! Learn how to pick the best spot to start decluttering AND step-by-step how to tackle the mess in any room in your house. PLUS get my best tips right in your inbox…and it’s 100% FREEEEE!
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“You should see my house right now. Thank you so much for everything!!” – Carly
I agree! The morning hours always go so fast! Especially with kids (and the mid afternoons are slooowwww) These are good ideas! Being mindful of how I’m spending my time almost always makes me aware how much time I’m wasting doing unimportant things. If I can make my mornings productive, my whole day feels successful!
Hello, I subscribed to download the clean sheet but haven’t received it?
Jessica,
I sent you an email about this so I can help you directly. 🙂
This is a great idea- however, it will not work for me. I literally get up, cook breakfast, pack lunches which are made the night before, make bed/get dressed, and run out the door. I think this idea applies more to me on breaks (Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer) as I am a teacher. So I am going to make a morning list for those days I do not have to work.