My Morning Routine

Home Science Tools Banner
* This post may contain affiliate links or sponsored content. *

Did you like this article? If so, please help by sharing it!

Lately, I’ve seen a lot of bloggers talking about their morning routines and sharing tips to make mornings go more more smoothly and you know what? I’ve found myself feeling a little guilty and getting defensive. Why? Because of what they’re doing that I’m not. They share their reasons and I start feeling like their choices are a commentary on my choices.

Sound familiar? (If not, check out numbers 6 and 7 here.)

Y’all, why do we do this to ourselves? I’m guessing that all of those bloggers shared about their morning routines because it works for them. I bet none of them were implying that I’m a slacker if I don’t do what they do. Do we ever let go of the comparison trap and the unnecessary feelings of guilt and defensiveness that accompany it?

With that in mind, I thought I’d share my morning routine with you for what it’s worth. No tips. Nothing deep and meaningful. Just another perspective.

My Morning Routine

I try to get up no later than 7:30 most days. I’ve figured out that that’s my sweet spot. If I sleep later, my productivity takes a big hit.

Workout

If I don’t workout first thing in the morning, it’s not going to get done. Period. My workouts aren’t as intense as they used to be. (Which is probably why I’ve regained some of the weight I lost…but I’m still plugging away at trying to get back down to where I was). Still, I feel better if I do something. So, most days I walk on the treadmill while indulging in a little Big Bang Theory on DVD or do a yoga workout.

Most days it’s walking because I’m still on auto-pilot first thing in the morning, but yoga is excellent for relieving the back and hip pain I sometimes have.

I typically spend about 30 minutes working out. That’s down from what I used to do, but I’m guessing it’s more than some of you feel you have time for right now. If you want to add a workout to your day and all you have time for is a 15 minute walk around the block, take that walk and be proud of yourself for moving, not guilty about not doing more.

Personal care

You know how some people can’t function without their morning coffee? I can’t function without my morning shower – and I’ll take that just shy of scalding hot, thank you very much.

I wash, dry, and style my hair most days because that’s what it takes to make me feel ready to face the day. I usually choose Monday or Tuesday as a ponytail day, but the rest of the week, I fix my hair. I often say I can have no make-up or bad hair, but not both at the same time, hence the fixing of the hair.

Getting dressed means Capri jeans and a tank top or t-shirt in the summer and jeans or yoga pants with t-shirt (usually long-sleeves) in the winter. No shoes in the house. Ever. I’m a Southern girl, y’all. I have sandals by the door that I’ll slip on to go outside, but in the summer half the time I don’t even bother.

My Morning Routine

Bible study

Bible study is like exercise – if I don’t do it first thing, it doesn’t get done. I’m very happy to have finally gotten in a good Bible study routine. About a year ago,I started an accountability group with some friends. That along with finding a Bible study method that I actually look forward to doing each day has resulted in the most consistency I’ve had in this area since becoming a mom.

I am enjoying Journal and Doodle Through the Bible so much that I know have to give myself a cut-off time most mornings or I run out of time to work before getting the kids up for school. I love listening to Our God radio on Pandora while I work on the doodling part of my Bible study.

Work

As a work-at-home mom, I’ve tried to develop some consistency with my schedule so that I’m not working all the time. I try to make sure that I have an hour to work before waking the kids most mornings.

Because my kids are both teens working independently now, I do tend to continue working throughout the day while they’re doing their schoolwork, but I try to make sure that I do what absolutely has to be done and what requires the most uninterrupted focus before they get up.

I wake the kids around 11:00 each day. Yes, 11:00. I know many of you are almost done by that time, but that’s the time that works best with my teens’ internal clocks. They’ve been night owls who focus best after lunch for many years…but this is about my schedule, not theirs. I’ll tackle theirs next week.

Did you notice some of the things I don’t do each day? I don’t make my bed. Yes, I like the way my room looks better when it’s made, but my husband works a weird shift and often likes to come home and take a nap in the afternoons. He feels like he’s messing up the bed if it’s made, so I assuage his guilt and save myself a few minutes in the mornings by not making the bed. We’re okay with that.

I don’t eat breakfast. Yes, I know it’s the most important meal of the day, but I’m not hungry when I first wake up. By the time I get hungry, it’s almost lunch time, so I just eat an early lunch most days.

I don’t put on make-up and I don’t get dressed down to my shoes. I do count yoga pants as getting dressed some days, though I change to jeans if I need to go out.

I don’t get up and feed, change, and dress babies which gives me more time to workout or work than those of you who do. I do feed the dogs and cats, but that’s really not the same at all.

What I do and don’t do shouldn’t make you feel either superior or inferior. It definitely shouldn’t make you feel judged or guilty. You know why? Because you’re not me and I’m not you. My morning routine consists of the things that this season of life allows me to do to feel productive and ready to face the day. That’s all your morning routine needs to consist of, too.

What are one or two things that you have to do each morning to feel ready for the day?

This post is linked to the Hip Homeschool Hop.

images courtesy of deposit photos

+ posts

Kris Bales is a newly-retired homeschool mom and the quirky, Christ-following, painfully honest founder (and former owner) of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She has a pretty serious addiction to sweet tea and Words with Friends. Kris and her husband of over 30 years are parents to three amazing homeschool grads. They share their home with three dogs, two cats, a ball python, a bearded dragon, and seven birds.

Did you like this article? If so, please help by sharing it!

25 Comments

  1. This was a great article and very fitting for me this morning! My husband left super early for work today and so I got up, made a cup of coffee and crawled back into bed to enjoy doing something I rarely get to do as much as I like, and that is reading blogs. (I’d like to be more consistent at writing too and maybe if I keep getting up this early, I will be.)

    This was a great post and a good reminder not to compare myself to others. By the way, no matter how hard I tried in years past, I had the hardest time starting my kids school before 11am because I just enjoyed the quiet morning time to myself soooo much and I just couldn’t bring myself to wake them! This year, both of my kids are in online schooling and so their classes start around 9am which is still a win for me because their online teachers are teaching them at that hour instead of me. It’s weird… even though I can wake up at 5am …. my brain really doesn’t seem to be very productive until about 11.

    Anyway, great article and thanks for sharing. I really enjoyed reading it!

    1. I knew we weren’t the only late starting homeschool family out there, but it’s nice to hear from my fellow late morning folks. 🙂 That quiet alone time in the morning is so hard to give up – especially when you have teens who stay up later than you do. I know that once I wake them, that quiet time is gone until tomorrow morning. It is very hard to give up.

  2. Thank you. Thank you. I have carried a guilt since my oldest two graduated, married and moved out. All the other HS moms used to label me super mom. I raised to two per-teens I acquired from my husbands previous marriage, raised and homeschooled them into amazing women; all while rising a baby too. People think you have to experience empty nest syndrome when ALL Kids are out of the house. Not true. I think my youngest, 5 then, experienced it too ?. Our entire lives flipped upside down. My husband became ill, placing me back at our company 6 days a week for two years. I felt like my youngest lost our perfect family routine and was hit with all the bricks life could hit her with. She will be 10 in October. I am now at a point where I be at our office just 3 days a week. This school year I have hollered at the top of my lungs that Monday and Wednesday are our SAM DAY to do our mommy daughter school and just chill time. Tuesday and Thursday are office days due to my daughter having a full schedule online with Veritas press. I can work while she schools. Friday’s are HER DAY. She attends group till 1. We head into the office, I work for 2 hours and I take her to a Minecraft group from 3-5. She plays, I hang out with some other moms-for my downtime! Not a typical HS family. I do miss our complete STAHM schedule I implemented years ago. Life throws wrenches, seasons change. We cannot carry this guilt of trying to be the ideal HS family. We can on feel blessed that no matter what season it is, our children are still with us through it all- growing, bonding, feeling constant love, attention and affection due to our choices to persevere through the trenches of life with them along side us. This our season. We have had many. We will have many more, I am sure of it. Your season sounds fantastic right now. Be blessed.

    1. Thanks, Christina! Some seasons are rough, aren’t they? Still, I’ve found that the difficult seasons make me appreciate the more peaceful ones that much more, so I guess they serve their purpose.

  3. I enjoyed this post. I too feel like sometimes I am not doing enough compared to others, but then I read this and I remember that I am not them in their situation. My mornings are closer to yours…and less stressfull than they could be if I tried to follow other families’ routines. Thank you for writing this!

    1. You are so welcome, Lisa. That’s exactly what I hoped to accomplish with this post – to show people that comparison and guilty are just unnecessary stressors in our lives.

  4. I start my day slow. I have to do my devotional and then take my time to make a big breakfast. We dont start school until after lunch because we have 2 l ittles. It just works out better to do school while they nap.

  5. Morning routine…what’s a morning routine?? I find that what I WANT to happen in the morning does not anymore. I WOULD LIKE to wake up at 6 to do devotions , drink a cup of coffee, take a shower, and straighten up, BUT nothing even close to that has been happening lately. For several months now, I’ve been waking up around 2am and not falling back to sleep again until 5:30 or 6 almost everyday. (Could this be a perimenopause sign? I am 40, so perhaps.) So, because of this my mornings lately have been survival-mode. TRY to wake up at 8:30, make a quick breakfast (unless the kids get impatient and make their own), work with the kids to straighten up, browse some of my favorite blogs for quick inspiration, and school starts at 10. So, many days the kids and I aren’t dressed til after lunch (if at all) and devotions occasionally happen at night IF I can get enough quiet time. What can I say? I’m in a rut and DESPERATELY praying for better sleep and mornings.

  6. My twin girls are just starting 4th grade. We are also just starting our second semester of home schooling. I am not an early riser myself so we are a late starting homeschool too! Thank you for helping me to see that I don’t have to be like everyone else and having a different set of priorities is ok. I am also just starting a holistic battle with cancer so my schedule this year will be even later due to juicing, etc. I figure afternoon school is just fine!

    1. Praying that you are resoundingly triumphant in your battle with cancer. Yes, afternoon school is just fine. My philosophy is that I don’t care when (during the day) it gets done as long as it gets done.

  7. Thank you SO much for sharing this and being so honest! I needed to hear this today as I’m frantically trying to get my homeschool game on! I love that it’s okay that your teens wake up so late and you just do what works for you! Thank you!

  8. Thanks for the reminder that there is no one right way to start the school day! Different kids have different biological clocks. Can’t wait to learn more about the Journal and Doodle book.

  9. I have littles and this is only our 2nd semester homeschooling (after removing from K at Christmastime). If I let them do ANYTHING other than have breakfast, they don’t want to sit and do ANYTHING, so we have to school first thing. Lol.

  10. That made me smile, I was expecting something totally chaotic, but you’re actually pretty organised!
    Here’s mine, wake up around dawn, 5am ish. Flick on kettle ( filled the night before because our water supply is unpredictable…we live in a remote village in Romania).
    Flick on computer.
    Make and drink coffee while checking email/facebook/twitter/Pinterest ( I’m a blogger).
    Glance at the sunrise, the birds and the village waking up.
    If it’s cold, put on jeans. If not, sit around in whatever T Shirt I’ve slept in.
    Make myself some breakfast, usually involving eggs. I don’t eat gluten or dairy after a nasty parasite I picked up in India destroyed my digestive system.
    Put bunny outside, he comes into the covered porch area at night because it’s cold. Maybe go get him a big bunch of clover from the orchard.
    Sweep porch floor.
    Go back to computer and consider doing some work.
    Assess time of awakening of kids and husband and consider making them some pancakes or something nice for breakfast.
    Maybe clean teeth and swipe face with a wet wipe. Showers happen during the warmth of the day here.
    When kids wake up, usually younger first, serve breakfast. He tends to read until his brother wakes up.
    Wash up, sweep some more, feed everyone, consider getting dressed properly and looking respectable if we have to go out.
    I LOVE it!
    Rock n Roll!

  11. Actually there is now evidence that skipping breakfast is the ideal way to eat for optimal metabolism! And btw, I live in NY and we don’t wear shoes in the house either and saddles only if we have to outside in the summer… but winter we have no choice unless we no longer want our toes!

  12. Oh gracious. I REALLY needed to hear this today. So thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I’m on the verge of making really big changes in how I school my middle child and am really nervous about it, so I sincerely appreciate your comment “I’m not you, and you’re not me.”

  13. Thank you!!!! I’m very different from all the homeschool moms I’ve met so I always wonder if I’m doing it all wrong. For me to feel ready for the day I need a cup of coffee and a “how you doing” conversation with my three wonderful kids. Almost everyday we do this we laugh together…..that’s so important to us, laughter! 🙂

  14. OMG! I love this article! So many homeschooling mom’s look at me like I am crazy because I don’t have a “proper” schedule. I love the fact that what we do works for us! Thank you for giving me the confidence to not care what they think! It’s great to hear of others who do home schooling differently!

  15. Must have my morning coffee and furbabies time, along with my time in GOD’s word. I too use Journaling and doodling through the Bible, found it through one of your posts and I am so glad I did. Thank you. We–God, me, and the dog spend about an hour sitting in the morning air before it gets too hot, which in the state of Alabama means about ten in the morning. So 8:00 I normally get out of bed and that gives me about two hours to have some quiet me time and get the kids’ schedules written down about what they have to do for the day. They both have small dry erase boards about the size of a piece of paper. Their assignments are written on them and they check them off as they go. It has worked well for us. Thank you for sharing your blog with all of us. I look forward to hearing from yours every day. 🙂

  16. It is so refreshing to see that I am not alone in having a later start. My husband, almost 8 year old son, and I are all night owls and so mornings are not easy. I can wake up earlier but my son does not very well. He generally sleeps 10-12 hours. We like to get up around 10-11am, snuggle, do our devotions, I let him play with his legos or read a book to fully wake up, we start on a subject, and somewhere he will get hungry. He can do school in the afternoon and evening much better than pushinghim to get done before noon.

    God didn’t make us all the same! I am thankful for this. I need to get into a better routine but right now that isn’t working well. We’re in the process of doing an international move so things are unpredictable. We’ll get there!!

    1. I’m guessing that even a local move would throw routines way out of whack, so I can’t imagine what an international move would do. Give yourself some grace. You’re right – you’ll get there.

  17. I LOVED reading your article. I’ve never been one to ‘wake’ our kids up…much prefer them to wake-up on their own. Now that they’re teenagers I still don’t wake them. I’ve often felt like the odd man out because we never seemed to get started with anything before 10-11am when they were younger and we still don’t. Not to mention now that they’re older and up later I really treasure that quiet morning time to myself. I LOVE it!!!

    My must-haves in the morning are … feed the dogs and head over to livingroom for some quiet time with my Bible & coffee 1st. I’m usually up by 6am and have a good hour to myself while dh is on treadmill & gets ready for work. Once he leaves I shower/dress, eat breakfast & make more coffee. Then I spend another hour or two on the computer (also work part-time from home) before the kids are up checking emails, etc 🙂

  18. I LOVE THIS!!!❤❤❤ I have been trying for years, without success, to get my family on an early morning wake up routine, but my fourteen year old does best when he gets up at 9:30. I wake up naturally at 6:50. My older two, both college students now, get up somewhere in between. Since I thought it was super important that we all eat breakfast together, our mornings always start off kind of poorly because I am waking up sleepy kids and I get soooo hungry, and eventually cranky, as I wait for us to all come together. Your blog inspires me to work with our natural rhythms, though. Thank you for pulling me out of this guilt thing I have placed on myself and which has pushed me to work against us.

Leave a Reply to Candy Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.