My *updated* Morning Routine as a SAHM & Homemaker
Hello and welcome back!
Back in the spring, I shared a morning routine but it wasn't actually complete. I was working towards a specific morning routine goal and I'm happy to say that I have accomplished that. My morning routine did not consist of some of the things I thought it needed to for the summer months given my situation this year (AKA being pregnant). Still, I have found an excellent routine that allows me to get up and slowly ease into the day while also allowing myself to do things I enjoy before anyone else in my house even wakes up. It's even caused me to be a morning person, which let me tell you is a bit of a miracle for me.
This morning routine has turned into a kind of sacred ritual that just helps me set my day off on the right foot. As I share this morning routine, you will see how very first thing in the morning I get to work on my faith and relationship with God, I also get to learn, create, relax and move, which certainly sets my day off in a well-rounded manner. I personally think this is so important as a human being but especially as a mom and wife where the rest of the day you are serving the rest of your family. It's nice to start the day with some time working on yourself.
And now for the routine!
6:00 am - Wake Up
My day has been starting at 6 o'clock which is unheard of for me unless I have to go somewhere super early. Teenage me would never believe that adult me would get up that early just to be at home all day long. But honestly, this hour has become one of my favorite times of the day. I get up at 6 and immediately head to the bathroom and put on some workout/lounge clothes. You'll see later on that my workouts aren't super intense so just some sweats and maybe a pair of leggings at times works just fine. I then head downstairs to start "waking up the house". I do this by opening up all the blinds and curtains on the first floor as well as putting the tables back around our dining table which I've moved the night before so that my robot vacuum can clean more easily. While I'm doing these tasks, I'm generally also talking with God about the night before, the day ahead, what I'm thankful for, and any prayer requests that come to my heart. During this time I also prep my "first breakfast" of the day, which generally just consists of a protein shake (I use protein powder from Gainful and I've been super happy with this company so far). I will also grab a bottle of water (room temperature, as I've heard this is better for your digestion system first thing in the morning) and head into our family room where the bulk of my routine takes place.
Bible Study
After I sit down on the couch, all comfortable and ready to go, the very first thing I do is my bible study for the day. I'm not going to elaborate much on this because I do have a full post with a more detailed description of what my morning Bible study looks like and you can read that here. But basically, I read a passage of scripture, answer one question about it and then write out a short prayer with anything I want to talk to God about. I also set a word of the day (which can also be a phrase). Just something that's really speaking to my heart, I will write down as my sort of focus word for the day. Since I do set up my own Bible study and don't have a workbook or anything, I do have to take the time to set up for the next day, so after I've done my Bible study and checked my answer to the question for that day and compare it with the study guide answer and even possible do some research, I'll then set up the page for the next day. This generally takes about 15 to 20 minutes to do this bit of working on my relationship with God.
Duolingo
After I finish my Bible study, the next thing I do is two lessons on learning a language. Obviously, this is my formal learning for the day. To do this, I use Duolingo on my computer and I absolutely love it. I will generally do two lessons a day. Sometimes it will be on a new subject and sometimes it will be two review lessons based on other subjects that I need to refresh on. I just follow what the program shows me I need to do. I'm currently learning Welsh. I don't really have much of a reason why it's randomly Welsh but it is. I was watching The Crown and Prince Charles has to learn Welsh (as he is the Prince of Wales) and it sounded interesting, so I just went for it. My sister and I also ironically took an Ancestry DNA test and it came back that we are part Welsh so who knows, maybe that sparked my interest too before I even knew it. It normally takes me about 10 to 15 minutes to complete these lessons.
Writing
Once I've finished my Duolingo lessons, I will head right here to my blog to write. I don't have any other time during the day to write and writing is something I have loved to do since I was a child. I've wanted for a long time to be able to incorporate writing as a daily part of my life and this is how I've finally managed to do that. I think the main key has just been not putting pressure on myself. Once I come to this part of my morning routine, I set a timer for 10 minutes (I use the app Forest for my timers) and I get to writing! That's it. I have dedicated 10 minutes every morning to writing. I've been able to write SO much more and enjoy it so much more this way. I've found I get a lot more out of it and can put a lot more into it writing just a few minutes every day versus sitting down one random night every few months and writing for a long while. I think this is a good tip for anyone who has a hobby they want to pursue, give it 10 minutes a day and see how you feel. Pretty much all of us can spare 10 minutes. And 10 minutes is really a longer time than you think. Normally by the time I get everything set up, this part of my routine normally takes about 15 minutes.
Reading
Next on my list is reading. I love to read, I'm a big bookworm so this is one of my favorite parts of my routine. This is where my relaxed portion of the routine comes in. I sit down and set a timer for 20 minutes and I just get to read. Usually, I'm reading about three books at once (learn more in my How to Read More post) but since one is generally an audiobook, I don't really read it in the mornings. I generally save that for when I'm doing housework or driving. But I do read my current physical book and a book on my Kindle in the mornings. So I will just choose whichever one I want to start with and I'll read one for 10 minutes then the other for 10 minutes. I love starting my day like this. It's so relaxing and I truly look forward to it.
I also want to mention here that sometimes if I'm feeling particularly tired, I will switch up my workout and my reading because if I just continue to sit, I will fall asleep on the couch while trying to read. Getting up first and getting my blood pumping a bit wakes me up so sometimes I do switch these two things, just so I can stay awake easier.
Work Out
After my reading, I will then get up and put anything back in the kitchen that needs to go there, put away my books and roll out my yoga mat. This is the time when I will do a 10 to 20-minute workout routine (depending on how I'm feeling and how my routine has gone so far or if someone needs up earlier than normal). I love moving my body in the morning. It just feels like I'm really waking myself up when I do this. Right now, my exercise looks a bit different than it would if I wasn't pregnant. I generally do more variety of workouts including some strength training and toning but that's not overly ideal when I'm pregnant and already sore enough without the help of pushing my muscles too hard. So while I am pregnant, I've strictly been doing yoga which has proved to help me so much with not only my stiffness and back pain but also mentally. It helps me focus and really feel grateful for my body and what it is doing right now as it grows my precious baby boy. And I do also feel like it has helped my balance and strength. Overall my body feels good and so does my mental health after doing my yoga workouts.
Bullet Journaling & Home Prep
At this point in the morning, I move to the kitchen where I sit down at the island with my bullet journal and start updating some spreads in there. I use this time to fill out my habit tracker and my gratitude log. I also use this time to update any progress on my goals for the week and to make my to-do list for the day. Doing this in the morning helps give me the framework for a productive day and also helps me to stay on top of my housework and any other tasks, appointments, or phone calls that need to be dealt with.
Once I am done with my bullet journal, I like to try my best to take the time to unload my dishwasher (which has run the night before) and put away any dishes that were drying on the counter and I also like to start a load of laundry. Doing these two small tasks alone makes such a huge difference in the day. If I can do this, I am already feeling ahead of the game. With the dishwasher unloaded, I can more easily keep the kitchen tidy during the day because I just put dirty dishes straight into the dishwasher. And with a load of laundry already started, I am more likely to get a full load done that day and avoid people in my house asking if there are any washcloths or looking for a very specific pair of blue jean shorts (parents of teenagers, you know what I'm saying).
8:00 am - Get Ready & Wake Up the Household
Finally, as 8:00 am hits, I go ahead and start a pot of coffee for my husband. I don't drink coffee on the regular and rarely ever drink caffeine at all so this is strictly for him. I'll just get this started before I go upstairs to wake him up for the day if he hasn't already gotten up.
Once I get upstairs, I will start getting myself ready for the day. First I put my Apple Watch on the charger. Since I wear it while I sleep if I don't do this it will die early in the day. Then I start brushing my teeth and washing my face. After that, I generally open up our blinds and curtains followed by, of course, making the bed. I'll put my clothes on and do my hair really quickly, which generally consists of taking my hair out of braids, brushing it, and then re-parting it. In my last morning routine, I think I mentioned I would put on makeup depending on what was going on that day. Well, unless I'm literally going on a date with my husband, I just don't wear any makeup anymore, and honestly, it's pretty freeing, as silly as it sounds. Lastly, I pop on my jewelry for the day, I change out my Apple Watch band to something more casual and put it on. Ideally, it will be around 8:30 am and I will go get my son up and that starts a brand new routine.
As I write this, I want to stress that this is what is an ideal morning routine for me. It does not go like this every day. Especially as I'm progressing more in my pregnancy and considering I'm still recovering from COVID, this routine can look more relaxed and slow because I have been so tired lately. But I think the important part is getting up and putting my effort into it. Even if I don't maybe get the dishwasher unloaded or maybe I do only a 10-minute workout that day instead of a 20-minute one, it's the effort and the fact that I am taking the time before the day starts to ease into it and nurture my own personal passions.
It doesn't seem that long ago that I posted about my new morning routine but I wanted to give an update. For one, I love routines and talking about them, and also, I think maybe I wanted it down somewhere I could refer back to because I can assure this routine will not look like this for a while following the birth of my youngest son. We will fall into a completely new routine, which I hope I will be able to adapt to be similar to this one as it does hit all the bases for me.
I want to thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed reading about my morning routine and found some inspiration to get up earlier and start the day. I heard it said once that God really speaks in the early morning. It's a time of the day He created to be quiet and there is something to be said for that. It feels so nice to wake up and start my day with my Creator. Everything seems a bit more manageable after that.
Until next time.
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