For years I have seen posts on Pinterest about the benefits of a quality morning routine and I dream of a day when I will wake up, enjoy meditation, a glass of hot water with lemon, and some thoughtful journaling.

But, that’s just not me. I am a sleep-loving morning person. That means I naturally enjoy waking up between 6 and 7 AM, but only after I have gotten seven or eight consecutive hours of sleep. Any other working mom out there knows that doesn’t happen often.

Here’s the pathetic reality of my inconsistent morning routine:

5:00 AM – wake up, pack, and head to the gym
5:15 AM – eat breakfast and take pre-workout, in the car
5:30 to 6:30 AM – workout, the only thing I am good at being consistent with
7:00 AM – arrive home and start to run around frantically trying to get the toddler off to school

Depending on whether or not my husband can take our son to preschool, determines how consistent my routine will be. If he can, I sit down to my post workout meal and my power hour. If I have to drive to school, I arrive home around 8:30 AM and try to sneak in some food while I begin working on the computer.

WHAT TO DO?

I don’t know what the obstacle is to making a morning routine that lasts, but here is my plan to continue making mornings a better experience.

First of all, I am not going to spend time beating myself up about my pathetic morning routine. I do a lot to support my wellness, and I just haven’t gotten this one right yet. And that’s ok – I’m only human. But I also don’t think it’s good enough to settle on “I’m a night owl” as an excuse for my rushed mornings.

PREP AT NIGHT

I am going to first implement a nighttime routine in which I prep for the next day, to get myself off on the right foot! My hope is to lay out my workout clothing as well as my everyday clothes for the next day. I will prep my pre-workout and my breakfast for in the car. I want to look at my planner page for the next day and add any last minute ideas or tasks to the list. Lastly I want to journal or read one chapter in a book. This will be the ultimate level of success when I get into this bedtime routine.

AVOID MY PHONE

Grabbing my phone first thing when I wake is probably my biggest unhealthy habit. Sc

rolling Instagram first thing usually makes me start the comparison game all too early and also gives me a general sense of frenzy as I need to catch up to the rest of the world. So, my goal is to not login to email or any social media until my workout, meal #2, and power hour are all done! Wish me luck on this one, world!

WRITE IT OUT

I have a feeling I will be more successful if I literally put my morning routine to paper. Maybe write it out and tape it to my mirror so I see it every day and remember to follow it! Maybe a checklist format would even help me here while I build a habit. I want to include some affirmations in there as well, so I will write those all side by side! I am getting really ambitious here, aren’t I?

SET A TIMER

This one will be a rude awakening, I am sure. I want to set a timer for 60 or 90 minutes, and when I get home from the gym I will set the timer, allowing myself only that much time to shower and get ready, eat breakfast, and begin my Power Hour/morning checklist. That way I can’t get distracted by social media or emails alerting me to Old Navy sales, and I actually get the important stuff done. Then, after everything is finished, I will be off to the races!

I will continue to try to improve my mornings, even if I’m met with failure. Maybe I’ll try getting up just 5 minutes earlier than I did the day before. Or maybe I’ll try forcing myself up at 5am for a whole week and see what happens. I will not give up on my dreams of a peaceful morning routine.

Fellow morning sufferers – have you tried to change your routine? Has anything worked? Please leave a comment if you have wisdom to share!