Being organized. As much as I enjoy organization, it’s not necessarily one of my favorite things in the world. I am organized because I have to be. I need organization to survive! That’s my reality. As soon as my schedule is off by just a little bit, all my routines go out the window and I feel like I’m living in complete chaos. And living in chaos is not the world I like to be in. It’s stressful and in turn, causes my productivity level to plummet. Admittedly, I have been functioning somewhere between complete craziness and semi-organized for the past couple of months. With the holidays now behind me, I know I need to get myself back on track and I need to do it quickly. So where do I begin? For me that’s simple. I need to get a hold of my morning routine again.
Here are some of the habits I have added for a more organized morning.
Get up early.
Getting up early was a habit that was added to my morning routine by necessity and not by choice. Here’s the thing. Now that Zach is in high school, his school day starts around 7:00 am. What does that mean for me? It means, I have to be up at 6 am to get my morning going so I’m ready to leave the house by 6:45 am to take him to school.
The first week of school I was about ready to die. No exaggeration. I was miserable, tired, and ready to write a letter to the school board about how unfair it was to start school so early in the morning!! After about a week of complete misery though, I started getting used to waking up early. It began getting easier. Even more, I started noticing how much I was getting accomplished in my days now that I was rising earlier.
I wish there was a way I could tell you that sleeping until noon would make you more productive in your day but unfortunately that is not the case. Start by setting your alarm for at least a half hour earlier than your normal wake-up time and I guarantee you’ll see the difference it makes in your day.
Fit in a workout.
With the all the extra time in the morning, I was now able to fit in a workout to my morning routine. Again, this wasn’t something that I was jumping for joy over in the beginning. I definitely enjoy working out, but doing it at the butt crack of dawn when I was barely awake wasn’t my idea of a good time. As much as I hated doing it, I LOVED how I felt after I was done working out so I knew I had to continue to commit to it.
What really helped me stay motivated to workout? Accountability! I have mentioned before that I believe one of the best ways to achieve any goal is to have accountability. That was exactly the case when I was trying to add fitness to my mornings. I had accountability two folds when it came to getting into a good workout routine.
First, my husband Patrick and I promised to do the workouts together. It was the perfect situation because we pushed one another to stay focused and on track. It always seemed like he was more motivated on days I wasn’t and vice versa. We really helped pushed one another.
Secondly, I was and still am a part of a Beachbody fitness group that I post photos to on a daily basis through a phone app. Again, having the accountability and the support from others who all have the same goal helped keep me motivated.
Eat a good breakfast.
Breakfast is said to be the most important meal of the day. I am guilty of skipping meals and the most common meal I skip is breakfast. Once I was working out on a regular basis, I started becoming more conscious of my eating habits and the importance of eating breakfast on a daily basis.
What’s normally on the menu for breakfast? An egg white omelet filled with spinach or broccoli and a just a little bit of cheese. Sometimes I like to get a little fancy and add a tablespoon of salsa on top! If I’m on the go, I blend up a protein shake instead. My favorite protein shake consists of Chocolate Vegan Shakeology, half a banana and a tablespoon of peanut butter. Yum!
Take time for yourself.
With getting up early, I am able to get everything I have mentioned above done by 8:30 am. Pretty impressive, don’t you think! That still leaves me some time for myself before the craziness of my day begins.
The way I choose to use this extra time changes depending on the day. Sometimes I choose to read my email and get caught up on all the news going on around the world. Sometimes I like to just sit with a cup of coffee and think about my goals for the day. What I do with this time is completely up to me and I look forward to it each and every morning. It allows me to clear my head and prepare myself to tackle the day ahead of me.
Life is amazing, isn’t it? Each day the sun rises and falls and we get a new set of 24 hours to do with them what we choose. How do you use your 24 hours? Are you using your time wisely? These habits have helped me have a more organized morning and an even more productive day. What habits do you use to help organize your mornings? I’d love to hear from you.
Curious what I do every night to make my mornings even easier? Click here to find out.
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