I am a few weeks into my brand new morning routine where I wake up at 5 AM every day. Pre-COVID, I woke up early everyday, but since then I’ve struggled to maintain a morning routine that I’m excited about. So let’s talk about my morning routine as a work-from-home mom, because I’m not a night owl anymore!
My MORNING ROUTINE as a Work-from-Home Mom | I’m not a night owl anymore!
Want to watch a video version of this post? I’ve got you covered!
I’m NOT one of those people who naturally wakes up at 5 in the morning… or even someone who wants to get up at 8 in the morning. I’ve had to train myself (and have kids, ha) to wake up that early.
And after waking up early every day, I honestly DO feel better. I feel way more productive and I know I’m getting my day started on the right foot.
My alarm clock starts chirping at 5:30 AM
I have a sunrise alarm clock that wakes me up at 5:30 AM. I’m planning to move this back gradually, but for now 5:30 is working for me.
I currently have the Philips SmartSleep alarm clock, but I just ordered a Hatch Restore to try out because a bunch of you recommended it on Instagram. As someone who’s NOT a natural morning person, the sunrise alarm clock really helps me get going.
I’m REALLY slow to wake up in the mornings.
This is important for you to know about me when we’re talking about my morning routine as a work-from-home mom. I don’t just jump out of bed and go about my day – it takes a lot for me to wake up.
Instead of trying to force myself to be the kind of person who jumps out of bed, I give myself the time I need to wake up. So I grab my phone to turn off my alarm so I don’t wake up my husband and head into the kitchen.
I immediately grab a full glass of lemon water (or just water, if I’m short on lemons). Lemon juice makes me feel like it really invigorates me. I don’t know if it actually does, but it does make a great start to my day.
And then… I legitimately go sit on my couch with a blanket for a few minutes.
Seriously! I need a few minutes to not feel like I’m going to fall back over. It doesn’t matter what time of the day or night it is – I’m a heavy sleeper and I’m pretty incoherent when I wake up.
We had a pretty big earthquake where I live back in the fall. The epicenter was close to us, and it happened at 8 AM on a Sunday when we had decided to sleep in. It jolted both my husband and I awake… but my husband was up, with pants on, and yelling commands at me before I even realized what was going on.
So like I said, regardless of how much sleep I’ve had, it takes me awhile to get my bearings. So I give myself time in the morning to wake up and get ready to actually move.
Next, I do some type of energizing meditation or energy-giving practice
I think energizing meditations really help me get my day started! I’ll either use the Peloton app meditations or look up meditations on YouTube for about 15 minutes.
Tony Robbins’ priming exercise is probably my favorite thing to do in the mornings. Full disclosure – I don’t even like Tony Robbins, but this particular thing is great. You can check it out right here.
The key here is to ALWAYS figure out or bookmark the meditation you want to do the night before. That way, you aren’t stumbling around in the morning figuring out what to do or scrolling on your phone. You have the YouTube video saved to your watch later or the meditation bookmarked. This part really helps in my morning routine as a work-from-home mom.
Now, I grab my notebook and my pen
What I write down every morning is different depending on how I feel. But I always make sure to write my goals down every single day. I’ve done that for awhile, but now it’s being done at the 5:00 hour.
I also write down things that I’m grateful for. It doesn’t have to be a certain number, but I want to think about gratitude! And right after I finish my writing practice, I say a morning prayer. Since I’m not fully functioning in the mornings, it helps to write down the gratitude so I can include it in my prayer.
Other times, I’ll write down business ideas, brain dump, or do other business-related things. Most of the time I do this at night, but sometimes I need to do it in the morning, too.
At this point, I feel fairly good in my morning routine.
I’m being serious when I tell you this routine was life-changing for me!
Anytime when I had tried to maintain a morning routine before, I got stuck in the “what do I do” mindset.
Even after I do everything I just did, I still have about 30 minutes before I need to wake my kids up. And if I’m just sitting there for 30 minutes, it doesn’t feel like I’m doing my best routine.
So before COVID, I struggled with what to do with that time. A lot of people will tell you to work out, but my body isn’t ready to work out that early in the morning. Plus, my Peloton (which is what I use most mornings) is right next to my kids rooms so I wake them up anyway.
I really need to get my morning routine done alone when the house is quiet. So instead of using that 30 minutes to work out, I use it to get some work done!
I spend the last 30 minutes before my kids wake up to bust through some admin tasks.
My team generally works later than me in the day, so I always have quick tasks that I can get through in the morning. And from about 6:15-6:45, I’m busting through those tasks!
I make sure to prioritize things that don’t take up a ton of my brain power in the mornings.
Then, I get my kids up, get them ready, and my husband takes them to school on his way to work.
At this point, it’s around 7:30 or 7:45. Some days, my body is totally ready to work out at this point, and other days it needs some more time.
Once everybody heads out the door, I usually sit back down and work until 8:00 or 8:30. And that was something I really had to change my mindset around! Not only did I have this mindset that I absolutely had to work out that early in the morning, but I also had developed the mindset (during COVID) that I couldn’t sit down and start working until I was READY for the day. I needed to be showered, makeup on, hair done before I got started.
So even when I was getting up early, I wasn’t getting anything done until I worked out, showered, and got ready. And that’s for SURE not productive.
I busted the myth in my own head that I have to be or look a certain way to sit down and do things. And as soon as I busted that myth, I am getting more done by 8 AM than some people do all day. I KNOW that I’m getting more done by 8 AM than I was a few weeks ago.
Typically I set up my entire work week on Sunday so I have a to-do list for each day already planned. That way, I know exactly what I’m doing when I sit down to work.
Now I work out!
After I’ve already accomplished some work in the morning is when I workout. And since I’ve already gotten a lot done, I don’t feel bad if I end up taking over an hour for my workout.
And then I actually get ready for the day
So I shower, do my hair and makeup, get dressed – all the things. And I carry on with my day, whatever that looks like for that day.
After the morning routine, everyday looks a little different. I might have a bunch of calls, I might be going into the office, or I might be staying at home.
And there you have it! That's my morning routine as a work-from-home mom. It has revolutionized how I get stuff done and I'm feeling a LOT better!
