Morning Routine: The Key to Being Consistent with Daily Quiet Times

Inside: How a morning routine (and evening routine) are key to establishing a habit of daily time with God

Full disclosure: I am not a morning person.

I don’t believe in getting up before the sun is out
I have a hate-hate relationship with alarm clocks
The early bird can have the worm, I’m fine with bacon and eggs

Mornings were a struggle for me.

I woke up, after hitting snooze a few dozen times, and already felt behind on life. My boys needed something right away. Everyone was hungry. And there were homeschool lessons to get started.

My Bible went unread and I never had any time for prayer. Most days it would be snack time before I even had a chance to brush my teeth and get dressed for the day.

I knew that spending time with God each and every day was important. That I needed that time in order to make it through the ups and downs of life.

My emotions were completely out of control. I felt so overwhelmed and frustrated that I lost my temper at the smallest thing. My children deserved better than that.

That was not the kind of mom, friend, or woman that I wanted to be.

Something had to change.

I needed peaceful, unhurried mornings. Mornings where I didn’t wake to complete and utter chaos!

I wanted to have time to wake up, get myself together and have time with God before tackling my to-list and caring for my family.

And I needed to still get a good night’s rest so getting up at 6 o’clock was not an option.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure if any of that was possible. Until I heard about a course called Make Over Your Mornings by Crystal Paine from Money Saving Mom. Crystal is a little cray cray for my taste. She likes to get up at o’ dark thirty and insane ‘o clock, LOL. But she is someone that is very productive. So when she started talking about morning routines I listened.

Creating a Morning Routine that Works

Do you ever wake up in the morning and feel like you are already behind for the rest of the day?

Often I wake up and never seem to catch up. It’s really hard to enjoy your day when you feel behind before you even get started. I have learned that having a morning routine really helps me start my day off right!

Here’s what my morning looks like (usually)

Get up before the kids

This one is actually funny because it almost never happens. My boys are very early risers. It’s one of the reasons that they go to bed at 730. I tried to get up before they did but that meant getting up at 5 am most mornings and that just wasn’t going to work for me. Instead, I have trained my boys to play in their rooms until 7 am when it’s time to get ready for breakfast.

Make up the bed!

I don’t know about you but if I make my bed as soon as I get up in the morning I’m less likely to climb back under the covers. And honestly, it also gives me something to check off my to-do list each day.

Freshen up

This step will vary from person to person. Decide what you need to do each morning to feel awake and/or put together. If you want to shower and do hair and makeup each morning then make sure you leave enough time for that. I like to wash my face, brush my teeth and put on some essential oils first thing in the morning. I typically don’t get out of my jammies until after morning devotions.

Time in the WORD

I know I say this often but it is very important to have at least a few minutes before your day starts to talk with God about your day. I like to read through a quick devotion or read a Psalm and a Proverb in the morning. If I have more time I will work on either journaling or a bible study. I also like to pray for my day.

Look over the plan for the day

Our days are pretty routine and I try to make sure that we are not too busy but I still like to take some time to look through my calendar and see what I need to get done. I sometimes write out a to-do list for that day so that I can be sure not to forget something really important (like starting dinner early if we need to be out).

Usually, by this time my boys are chomping at the bit for breakfast so I head to the kitchen to get that meal ready. Or I join them at the table (because they have fed themselves) for family devotions.

Having a morning routine in place helps me make sure to get those important things done first, so the rest of my day can go smoother.

My Morning Routine was NOT Enough

My morning routine is pretty simple and it went a long way in helping me reign in the chaos each day. But it wasn’t enough.

Yes, I had a plan in place for my mornings. But that plan was useless if I didn’t get to bed at a decent hour, or if I couldn’t find what I needed for Bible time.

Most evenings I was so exhausted from the day that I collapsed on the couch when my boys went to bed for a while, tried to catch up housework or work-work, vegged on Netflix for a few hours and then crawled into bed where my mind was so busy that I couldn’t fall asleep.

I was still waking up exhausted and I wasn’t able to focus on my morning routine at all because I could drag my butt out of the bed.

I realized that my evenings needed some attention ASAP! I just needed more help with getting my evenings in order.

I needed to pinpoint the things that I needed to do each evening to have some time for myself, get some much-needed rest and be ready to face the morning!

Wondering what my evening routine looks like?

Once my boys go to bed (around 730-800) I have about 2 hours to myself to

Do one final sweep through the house to make sure it’s tidy and ready to go for tomorrow
Take out anything that I need to defrost or prepare for breakfast or dinner the next day (sometimes when I’m really on the ball I through the next day’s dinner in the crockpot)
Sit down and make my to-do list for the next day
Spend an hour just relaxing (watching TV, reading, listening to a podcast, soaking in the tub)
Take 15 minutes to journal and pray before going to bed at a decent hour
Getting my much needed 8 hours of sleep

It’s a simple routine but it really makes all the difference.

2 things to help you carve out time for daily devotions

Peaceful mornings that allow me time to pray and read my Bible before starting my day would not be possible without Make Over Your Mornings and Make Over Your Evenings.

My days were overwhelming and I felt completely out of control. My emotions were all over the place and I struggled to feel like I actually accomplished something by the end of the day.

Tired of being a grumpy and miserable mom I decided that I needed to make a change. Creating both a morning and evening routine changed my attitude and the entire atmosphere in my home for the better.

And it only took 15 minutes a day for 2 weeks!

Crystal Paine taught me how to prioritize my time so that I could get things done, take care of my family and have time for myself every single day.

If it weren’t for Make Over Your Mornings and Make Over Your Evenings I wouldn’t enjoy my life, my work, my kids and my faith. Who knew that a few changes to my routine would make such a difference!

You don’t have to stay overwhelmed any longer. You don’t have to sacrifice daily quiet time with God to chaos and crazy! You can skip right to the easy way to peace and a closer relationship with God.

Here’s a sneak peek of what’s covered in each course —
Make Over Your Mornings:

Develop a morning routine and before bed routine that actually works—and that sets you up for amazing success!
Streamline your morning tasks so that the biggest priorities are accomplished first.
Learn how to make to-do lists that support your day, instead of strangle your life.
Create realistic, but stretching goals and then follow through with them.
Discover the power of accountability and how to implement it into your life.
Establish internal and external motivations to create perseverance in your new routines.
Find time to refuel your tank and make space in your day for things you love.
Experience much more focus, organization, and clarity in your daily life.

Make Over Your Evenings:

Establish a Realistic Evening Routine that works—and that sets you up for amazing success!
Design a Prioritized To Do List for each day—one that you’re actually excited to wake up and tackle!
Create a “Best Stuff” List of the most important activities and commitments you should be investing your time, life, and energy into right now.
Eliminate calendar conflicts once and for all—and how to do so without guilt or frustration.
Nourish your body, nurture your soul, and no longer put your health on the back burner—even in the middle of a busy and full life.
Assemble a wardrobe of simple outfits you love and that make you feel great—so you can finally, as Dear Abby Leigh says, “Dress for the day you want to have, instead of the one that’s trying to have you”!
Develop a contagious, positive attitude—so you can experience and express more joy in your everyday life.
Stop sleepwalking through life—and start stepping into the fulfillment that comes from living up to your full potential.

Each course is only 14 days and only takes 15 minutes a day to work through the video and the worksheets. Crystal even gives you an inside look into her morning and evening routines.

If you are looking for a way to carve out time for devotions, a shower or just space to have a quiet moment you need these courses! I promise your life will change for the better.