What’s your morning routine like?  Slow and relaxing, or rushed and stressful?  Are you an actual “morning person”, or does it take at least two cups of coffee for the sleep cobwebs to clear and for you to even consider uttering a word?  Are you productive in the morning?

About 18 months ago, I began a morning routine that has drastically changed my life for the better.  I began waking up around 4:30 a.m. — on purpose!  Why on earth would a sane person do this?

For me, the driving force was my desire to write.  My daily routine and choices at the time didn’t allow me time in the day or evening to write, so I had to create some brand new space within the existing 24-hour period.

If you’re cringing at the idea of getting up before the crack of dawn even thinks about cracking, let me share my three favorite things about this time of day (or is it night??).  First of all, it’s the most quiet and peaceful time of day.  There’s really nothing like it.  No one’s calling or knocking and if you have kids or animals, they should still be sleeping.  Second, your will-power and focus is super strong early in the morning because you don’t have anything else pulling at you, and you’ve not exhausted many brain cells yet. And lastly, whatever you accomplish during this time feels like a bonus.  It’s as if you’ve created a few extra magical hours in the day that no one else knows about.

Well, I want you to know about these magical hours!  I want you to experience the good that can happen in your life by creating an early-morning routine.

By creating this new space in my day, I had to make some life changes.  In order to get up at 4:30 a.m., I had to go to bed earlier.  I do best on 7-8 hours of sleep, so that means lights out at 8:30 or 9 p.m.  This was a big adjustment for me because I really enjoyed settling down and watching television about that time.  So much so, that we decided to go ahead and get rid of the television altogether.  This may sound severe, but taking that distraction away and saving on the Cable bill worked for us.  (P.S. Don’t worry, my husband was on board…he didn’t watch the tube much anyway.)

So now I can’t tell you what’s happening on HGTV, Food Network or Bravo, but I get to write, and that’s been such a valuable outlet for me.  And, because I choose to get up extra early, this also allows me time to work on other things that are important to me, both spiritually and physically.

If you don’t already have an early-morning routine, I strongly recommend you try it out.  Just try for one month and see how it works for you.  I’m telling you–it’s life-changing!  I’ve heard from several die-hard night owls, that switched to an early-morning routine, and they say they will never go back to their night owl ways.

A few tips to help you as you think about trying this out:

1.  What’s your why?  What’s important enough for you to make this change?  I choose to focus on mind, body, and soul stuff.  When I put these three areas at the top of my priority list, everything else in my life is better.
2.  Don’t cheat yourself on sleep.  A proper amount of sleep is critical to your well-being.  The National Sleep Foundation recommends 7+ hours/night for adults.
3. What gets written down, gets done.  Write out a schedule for your morning routine and follow it.  Making your morning routine a habit helps you to stick with it.
   Here’s my schedule as an example:

Monday – Friday

4:40 a.m.: Wake up and give thanks for three things before getting out of bed.
4:45 a.m.: Make coffee and do neck exercises.
4:50 a.m.: Pray and Bible study.
5:30 a.m.: Write.
6:15 a.m.: Exercise 3x/week.  Read for fun 2x/week.
7:00 a.m.: Feed dogs.
7:05 a.m.: Make/eat breakfast.
7:20 a.m.: Play Bananagrams.
7:30 a.m.: Shower/dress/tidy/fetch the dogs.
8:00 a.m.: Begin work day.

I’d love to hear about your early-morning routine, if you already have one.  How is your life better because of it?  If you don’t already have an early-morning routine, I’d love to hear that you’ll give it a shot.  Let me know in the comments below.

Have a happy day!

Jill xx