My Morning Routine

I've been struggling for a while to get a morning routine that works for us. I've tried to schedule it, bullet points, to do lists, etc. Nothing seemed to work. I always seemed to not get through everything I wanted to.

One day, while I was reading yet another blog post about having/scheduling a morning routine (and feeling rather like a failure), I realized I already had a morning routine that works for us! It's not a formal, written routine, but I do the same things every morning.

Here's what my current morning routine consists of:

• Nurse Bumblebee
• Start coffee pot
• Put clean dishes away if there are any
• COFFEE!!! while fixing breakfast
• Breakfast
• Get Bumblebee and myself dressed

This is how we start our day, every day. No, there isn't any devotional time. I tried doing it in the morning. That doesn't work for me. I get more out of my devotional time when I do it at night. And, no, I don't have exercise on my list. I try to do yoga every day, but the timing changes depending on when I can fit it in. I shower/bathe at night, so I don't need to add that to my morning routine.

If you'll notice, I said, "Put clean dishes away if there are any." This is because 1. I run my dishwasher at night, and 2. I don't run it every day. There are only the three of us: Hubby, Bumblebee and myself. I usually run it every other day unless I bake.

BONUS!!!!! Here's my nightly routine.

• Dinner
• Bath time
• Play, read a story and nurse
• Bedtime 8:00pm
• Work on blog for 30 minutes (this is not the only time I work on my blog, it's basically my edit and publish time)
• Clean kitchen and load dishwasher
• Prep coffee pot for next day
• Clean dining room and living room
• Time with Hubby
• Shower/bath
• Run dishwasher if it's full
• Devotional time
• Read
• Bed

My night routine starts at 6:00pm, that's why there's so much. I love cleaning during my nightly routine because I love waking up to a clean house. This makes me feel like I'm prepped and ready for the day.

As the summer progresses, our routine will change slightly. We are working on weaning, and I am hoping we will be down to just morning and night by the time I go back to work in August. It really won't effect our morning and nightly routines, but it will effect our routines throughout the day. After our morning routine, I try to do an activity with Bumblebee. We usually nap before naptime. After lunch, we play or go to my parent's house to do laundry. Again, we nurse before naptime. These will change, as she'll more than likely move to just one nap a day, and less nursing. I hope to be down to just nursing at night by the end of the year.

Anyway.... These are our routines. They work for us. There are some things I'd like the add to my routines, like making the bed, that I haven't managed to add quite yet. I'm working on it, but it hasn't become habit yet.

If you're struggling to get your own routine down, don't stress about it. Take a look at what you're already doing. You may be surprised at how structured your mornings and evenings actually are.

And, for the love of sanity, don't compare yourself to other parents! Your struggles and needs are not theirs, and vice versa. What works for one person may not work for you. So, like I said, take a look at what you're already doing. Right it down I you need to, and see where improvements can be made. Make them one at a time. Don't overstress yourself trying to make too many changes.

Wishing you love, joy and happiness!

How is your morning routine structured?