The Truth About Morning Routines (21 Super Easy Solutions)

You overslept.

Again.

Rushing through the house, you hunt for your phone.

Here.

Keys?

Now, sprint to the car. Darn it! Lunch’s out today.

Could’ve used that extra Hamilton. 

Heavy traffic. Cue shocking music, images, daydreams. There’s a calendar, schedule, daily plan book.

Is that bullet holes?

It’s all sinking fast and falling to the underworld.

Wake up! Can’t you start your day off, right for once?

Millionaires rise early. Why not you? Oh, you tried that. This time is different. Peek at the truth. Here are twenty-one issues you’ll face adopting morning routines and how to solve them.

Twenty-one Lurking Problems

As a professional, your schedule is invaluable. Before you begin a morning routine, you wonder. Are you making the best decision? Well, it depends on your focus and your children’s ages.

So, keep reading to see if this practice fits your situation.

1. Time Turn-off

Your first hang-up is time. That’s practical. Do some study.

A survey of websites shows successful followers settle into a common time window. Morning routines take place for about an hour between 5 am-8 am.

Some routines may last a bit longer. Expect routines to change your current bedtimes and wake times. If not, you risk falling asleep at work or worse driving.

2. Fumbling Through Routines

You want smooth morning routines. Routines become efficient with prior evening preparation. If you set bedtimes between 8:30 pm–11 pm, you’ve set yourself up for a productive morning routine.

Do what you can that night. Doing these small tasks will clear time for your full morning routine.

Preparations may include readying lunches to chill in the refrigerator overnight.

Need short-cut ideas? Click here.

3. Too Many Interruptions

Are you concerned about interruptions? Most morning routines are flexible. If the dog’s whining at the backdoor, let her out. Then, carry on with your interrupted activity.

Sometimes, it can take a long time to resolve an interruption. There’s a helpful strategy called bookending.

Read more about it here. So, if you get off-track, shuffle that activity to your evening routine.

4. Breaking the Habit

So, you skipped a day. Some matters are beyond your control. Stay consistent following your routine. But if you skip, get back to it the next night.

Entrepreneur, Hal-Elrod explained, habits follow a lifecycle before they become permanent.

Click here to read more about the lifecycle of habits. Understand this tendency of habit-forming. Then, you’re ready for these obstacles. 

5. Much Too Busy!

Think you’re too busy for a productive morning routine? Start slow. Save ten minutes a day for self-care. Let go of concern considering the amount of time devoted to your routine. International speaker, Matthew Kelly explains how steady attendance affects your self-improvement progress.

Do something good for you. Kelly argues, in his book Resisting Happiness, behavior-change is a gradual process.

Kelly illustrates his point by talking about weight loss. Stand on a treadmill. Then, set a time limit. Return the next day to stand on it again. This time double the amount of time. Continue this process the next day. Kelly argues you’ll soon be running and losing weight on that treadmill.

Behavior change is about persistence and attendance. 

6. No Clue of Best Activities

Successful people follow a morning agenda. Elrod’s book, Miracle Morning, recommends saving an hour to go through his S.A.V.E.R.S. routine. 

The Miracle Morning acronym explains this suggested order for each activity: 

• Silence (Meditation)
• Affirmation
• Visualization
• Exercise
• Reading
• Scribing (Journaling)

Hal tells his readers to spend ten minutes on each activity. Elrod’s Facebook group for Miracle Morning also recommends his order. They adapt S.A.V.E.R.S. as they read through his book. You can, too. If you have Kindle, his book is free to download.

7. There are Too Many Activities

Don’t have time for all those activities? If S.A.V.E.R.S. activities intimidate you, do a couple at a time. Fit them in as time appears in your day.

For example, practice affirmations on your drive to work.

Adjust your morning routine to fit your skill level. If you’ve never meditated before, save more time for it. It’s okay if you can’t complete all the S.A.V.E.R.S. activities. Remember to be fluid within your schedule.

You’re climbing the crest of commitment, not following a foothill of fads.

Be patient. Everyone matures at his own pace.

A survey of morning routines reveals these popular activities:

• Pray, meditate, or do a scripture study.
• Review your day’s activities and goals.
• Read for self-improvement.
• Drink a glass of water after waking.

8. No Space

You need space for a morning routine. This area will change with the seasons of your life. Raising children may shrink your space options. Be ready to adjust.

Get creative with space. Use a closet. for example.

9. Bothering Spouse/Other

Want to keep everyone rested?

Try this:

• Set an Android/I-phone alarm.
• Switch the phone to vibrate.
• Go to sleep with earbuds in.
• Don’t snooze.

If you wake your spouse getting up, do something kind for her/him throughout your day. Make the routine a positive experience for everyone.

10. Spouse/Roommate Tags Along

You get up early to enjoy some time alone, but today your spouse/roommate joins you.

What do you do?

Becca is a blogger for Dating Divas, a marriage enrichment blog.

Becca believes she has the answer.

She recommends sharing part of your routine with your spouse/roommate. Share breakfast together. Then, start your routine.

For spouses, check out Becca’s post here.

Becca explains these inclusions can take zero time away from your routine.

The Dating Diva claims if spouses take a shower together, it satisfies many purposes.  It’s quick, saves water, and adds a bonding moment.

11.Unrealistic Expectations

Hal Elrod claimed for his routine to work, he got up at 4 am. Others have tried this and found that this lack of rest could cause you to fall asleep on the job.

If you experience this, you can assume some of these practices may not be for everyone. Use your best judgment.

12.Time Inflexibility

Most people who follow morning routines get up at 5 am. But the idea is to get up one hour earlier than anyone else in your home. This way, your chance of interruptions goes down.

13. Business Trips Hurt Routine

Business trips are not a reason to nix your morning routine. Staying in a hotel? Ask the front desk for a wake-up call. This will keep your work from spoiling your routine.

14. Vacation Hazards

Benjamin Spall of Business Insider learned how three hundred people altered their morning routines while on vacation.

This survey of top authors, athletes, entrepreneurs, and executives found the following tips:

• Schedule your morning routines into your agenda before you leave home.
• Be flexible. Substitute exercises you can do for the other activities you can’t do. For instance, weightlifting might replace swimming.
• Stop jamming so many events into your agenda that you’re over-tired the next morning.
• Take advantage of the solitude in a hotel room. Use it to be productive with few interruptions.

15.Time Inconsistencies

You love to sleep in on the weekend. Have an ideal time selected for beginning your morning routine. Work toward that goal. Become aware of your timestamps or non-negotiable limits. Due to work at six? That extra jog around the track might create stress later. Plan and execute.

16. I Hate Reading!

Not a fan of reading books? In late grade school, many learned to dislike the skill of reading.

Still, it takes lots of practice to become an effective reader. But if you don’t like reading, reach a compromise.

• Take in any form of positive media.
• Listen to YouTube’s audio-only.
• Be open to reading.

Choose reading media you enjoy. It’s okay if, at first, it has lots of pictures. Wean yourself off watching videos.

Reading is unique in the way it challenges you. On a single page, there are mounds of complex information to pick apart for meaning. Read for ten minutes. Then, shower or exercise. While doing that, think about the information.

It’s from these thoughts you create, innovate, and grow.

You can further process these ideas through the habit of journaling.

Download free books from public libraries, or listen to them through your YouTube app.

This technology helps you develop positive reading habits.

17.Nothing to Read

Can’t get to your local library? That’s okay. Bring many public libraries to you with smartphone technology. Also, subscribe to an audiobook service.

This service helps you to keep working out your reading muscles. Try out an Audible plan. It’s a helpful alternative to squinting at an e-book on your phone screen.

Always have a book that you’re reading. Sometimes businesses ask about books you’re reading in job interviews. Focus on positive self-improvement reading for your best results in these situations.

Here’s a resource to start.

18. Scriptural Problems

“All I read is the Bible.” That’s a great habit. Biblical stories unravel complex morals and universal themes to help us grow.

A study commentary is necessary.

Some biblical passages need cultural interpretation for better life application. Well-researched commentary takes away ancient barriers to help you reach a better understanding.

19. It Gives Me a Stomach/Headache

I get it. Your tummy is grumbling, and the headache is coming. You need caffeine and a bit to eat. Please, have a snack and a cup of coffee when you crave it. And right out of bed if you’re starving. Some use coffee as a motivator. It’s their last reward for workouts.

Commit to eating a healthy breakfast. Blend fruit and veggie smoothies for fast, rich energy sources when you’re going out the door.

20. No Way to Work-out

Severe weather and early work schedules can rob you of a strenuous workout. But you can do yoga or stretching exercises using apps on your phone. Watch an exercise session on You-Tube or through Prime if you subscribe.

But do exercise daily.

The most successful people follow regular routines and workout daily.

21.Terrible Night’s Sleep

Often people who have trouble sleeping are leery of beginning morning routines. But you shouldn’t be. Successful confidence coach, Eddy Baller of Conquer and Win Coaching explains:

Routines shouldn’t be based on how much sleep you get. If you have a bad (night’s) sleep, you would still work out or go to work. The routine is there to get yourself in a state of mind to be productive, regardless of sleep. After a bad (night’s) sleep it’s especially important to have a routine for this reason.

Eddy Baller, Confidence Coach of Conquer and Win Coaching

So, listen to Eddy. Muddle through the day and get back to your new routine the next morning. 

The field of medicine agrees. Get exercise, get sun, get hydrated, and try melatonin. See a doctor if sleep problems continue.

According to SleepFoundation.org, cut digital screen-time by two hours before bed. Keep consistent in following routines to increase sleepiness. Sleep problems often surface when evening routines are absent or inconsistent.

Click here for more advice on sleep.

Wrapping it Up

So now, you have insider information to create an effective morning routine. You know the challenges and solutions to commit and deliver. Bookmark this post for future reference.

Also, remember these highlights when doubt creeps into your mind.

• Be consistent by conforming to set bedtimes and wake up times.
• Be persistent. You’re building a habit. Know your challenges and prepare ahead of time for solutions.
• Follow evening routines to be available for effective morning routines.
• Relax, read, think, exercise, and write.
• Make it fun.

Morning routines build a launchpad for your growth. Save an hour of quiet time each morning to work on your goals and dreams. It’ll lead to a life change chain-reaction.

Plus.

• These healthy habits are a buffer when business slows or your career stalls.
• Thorough morning routines maximize your self-confidence.
• They connect with your greater purpose.
• But most profitable of all, as you review your day, it leads to better productivity.

If you liked this post, be sure to share it. Like anything new, when starting morning routines, you may run into questions. If so, add them below. Together we can build our community of support as you strive to be the top-shelf you.