Photographer mama of 3, sushi lover, ADVENTUROUS-HOMEBODY, and believer in unconditional love.

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My Morning Routine!

Personal

I am so happy to share my morning routine with you! As soon as I had my kids sleeping through the night (at least most nights), I started waking up early, around 5:00am to get a head-start on my day. Becoming an entrepreneur and a mother at that same time has been a struggle because it has always felt that there is not enough time to do everything, well at least do it all well. And even though I still can get overwhelmed, I can say that when I do my morning routine, my days go much better and feel way more satisfied. Some days, the routine goes out the window, mainly because children and life is unpredictable, it at least grounds me and reminds me of the things I have to do at some point in my day.

If the morning goes as planned, I do all of this before going on social media or checking email.

1. QUIET TIME

This is where I mediate, pray, read, journal, and pause before the day gets going. The days when this is the true start to my day are the days where I feel most peace and joy! If I wake up too late or the kids wake up super early, I then will find quiet time in the little pockets of the day; nap-time, while the girls are eating, etc.

I love to write down at least 3-5 things I am grateful for that day, 10 dreams I made happen (writing them down as if they are already accomplished). Also, I personally journal to God, talking about my day(s) and praying in writing for whatever is on my mind, then I create quiet space to allow Him to speak to me, then write it down as I hear or feel.

I have found it hard to concentrate and create space for my quiet time, just entering into silence, so I tend to place song instrumentals. This really helps me focus on what I’m doing and shut off the noise in my brain.

Also, if you would like a guided meditation, I absolutely love the meditations done by The Healing Circle that are linked below!

Meditation 1: You are Beloved.

Meditation 2: The Wilderness

 

2. MAKE MY BED

This usually cannot happen right when I first wake up because if others are sleeping in my bed, I have to wait, but I always do it at some point in the morning. There is just something about starting your day with the simple task of making my bed and seeing it made through out the day! If I wake up at the same time as my daughter and she asks to go downstairs, I make her wait till my bed is made before we can go downstairs.

Now that she sleeps in her own bed, she loves to make her own now too, and it just affirms the old saying, “more is caught, than taught.”

 

3. EXERCISE

I do five, 30-40min workouts every week. This is a commitment to myself that I am very strict with and because I workout from home, there is no excuse. As a mom, there are so many factors fighting against me to get my workout in, so I knew finding a workout plan that I could do from home would be the key to keeping this commitment to myself. A big barrier to people not getting their workout in, is not knowing which work out they are going to do. It’s super important to decide that before the morning that you are going to do that. I personally do not want to have to think anymore than I have to at this stage in life, so I prefer workout plans where there is an instructor telling me exactly what to do, who is counting for me, etc. I do not like those workout plans that you just follow along a chart and have to set your own timer.

Exercise helps me be a better woman, mom, and entrepreneur because I regain the strength I need to keep up with it all. Long wedding days, carrying lots of heavy gear, takes its toll on your body, and I am also always moving into various positions. Also, since I work from home and stay with my girls inside most days, exercising truly helps with my mental health, uplifts my mood, and brings joy to me when I am done. I have had a chronic, hip/lower back issue from a sports injury from middle school, so it vital that I keep my core and body strong, or it becomes more painful.

Here is the link to the Youtube video of the home workout plan instructor I use: Hannah Eden    When I stumbled upon this her workouts on youtube and tried it,  they were exactly the type of work outs I was looking for (high-intensity, 30min, minimal equipment, lots of core and own body strength), I knew it would be worth the investment of buying the actual workout plan through bodybuilding.com, since I do not have a gym membership. She first created a 30 day fitness plan (5 weeks), called FYR that I use to keep repeating after the 5 weeks were up. Then she came out with a new, 8 week fitness plan, called FYR 2.0, which is a little more advanced and she includes bonus workouts to them. In all of the plans, the work outs are high-intensity and 30 minutes. I am currently almost finished with my second time completing the 8 weeks of FYR 2.0. The first time I went through it, I did not do the bonus workouts (each are 10 mins long), but this second time through the 8 weeks I have been committed to doing the bonus work outs as well and I have seen quite a difference!

Here is the link to the: 7 day free trial   (Just a disclaimer, if you have young kids, she does swear a bit, so I just keep the volume down if I am working out while the girls are awake and in the room)

 

4. LISTEN TO SOMETHING MOTIVATIONAL

Whether it be a youtube video, audible book, or podcast, I am CONSTANTLY listening to other brilliant minds. In this time, we have access to a wealth of FREE information that can change our lives!!! It is insane how much helpful resources and information is out there. We honestly do not have an excuse to stay where we are in life, but choose to because we aren’t willing to put in the work. So when I am exercising or editing, I listen to something!

FAVORITE PODCASTS

For Business:

The Jasmine Star Show

Boss Mom

The Goal Digger Podcast by Jenna Kutcher

RISE podcast: Rachel Hollis

For Motherhood/Life:

The Purpose Show by Allie Cassazza

A Well-Rounded Life

The Healing Circle Podcast

Black, Married and Debt Free 

Redefining Wealth Patrice Washington

 

5. LAUNDRY (or any daily home task you need to accomplish)

Usually while I’m waiting for a bagel to cook, I then throw in a load of laundry (laundry room is off the kitchen). By throwing in a small load every morning or every two days, laundry does not get backed up and by the end of the day, it is all done and ready to be folded. As a way to keep myself accountable and not leave the clothes unfolded for days, I will dump the clean laundry basket on top of my bed, then hubby and I cannot go to bed until it is put away. We usually will fold the load together while we are catching up about how our day went or if one is putting the girl’s down to sleep, the other is folding the clothes. (we also use this method with our night cleanup, while one is putting the kids down: Click here for my night time routine)

Mopping the floors in the early morning is also something I do, depending on the day, because the chairs are already off the floor from the night time routine. I like to mop before everyone wakes up so that I don’t have to worry about stopping anyone from walking on the wet floors and then they are usually dried before anyone comes downstairs.

 

6. DO MOST IMPORTANT TASK

Being a small business owner, there can be many projects and tasks I need to accomplish, but it is important for me to figure out what is of the highest priority or what has to be done without interruption of children. Depending on what day it is or what the task is, it dictates if I just get the task over with first thing when I wake up, or wait to do it after the first 4 steps. I give myself this flexibility just because when I first wake up, I am at my best, and most alert. If I wake up early enough before the kids, I can squeeze in even more work time. If one or even both of the kids have woken up already, I cannot do work and just go right into my work out to get that over with. My oldest daughter knows that if she wakes up and I didn’t do my workout yet, that she has to wait to watch her tv show until I finished my work out.

I love how she gets to see me taking care of myself, making me a priority because I use to just let her watch what she wanted and then I wouldn’t get my work out in. I have learned that a better me, helps me be a better mom to them, and is showing her how to take of herself! Then when I am done exercising, both girls are pretty occupied with the tv show and I can do number 6, of my routine, and take a quick shower in the shower that is downstairs, right next to them in the other room.

7. SHOWER/GET DRESSED

Seems simple enough, but if you are a mom, you know this can be hard. If you stay or work from home as well, you know this can be put on the back burner as well, since hey, you aren’t leaving the house. So with both, motherhood and entrepreneurship fighting against me, I make sure to do this for myself. Sure, getting dressed may not be anything crazy, but the fact that you aren’t in the same clothes you slept in is very important. There is a psychology to this and it is very necessary for you to do so to feel confident, taken care of, and just ready to tackle your day.

Now, if you are a man, this probably isn’t an issue for you… I hate to say that, but it is true. I’m not sure I have ever heard of dads struggling to take care of themselves by taking a shower. So mama friends, I don’t care what you need to do to get that shower in, but DO IT!

The days I do not do this are almost ALWAYS the days I feel the worst and my mental health is not well. It usually does not happen if I say I will postpone my exercising to later in the day if I have to, so then I postpone the shower. That is why I am a big fan of morning workouts and getting all of that out of the way, to start my day fresh and it allows me to get dressed.

 

8. EAT BREAKFAST/HAVE COFFEE

I have and always will be a breakfast eater! I need food first thing in the morning, especially if I just worked out. I’m usually an avocado and mozzarella cheese on top of toast/bagel, or just toast with eggs (I put veggies in with my scrambled eggs). Some times my breakfast time turns into my journaling, devotional time as well if the girls woke me up and I didn’t have my early morning time. I use to buy Dunkin iced coffee almost everyday when I was in the sleepless, newborn phase, but after adding it up (it’s obviously not good financially) and being annoyed with that need to always go there, I started just brewing my own coffee at home. I buy a big pot of Columbian coffee and have a french vanilla creamer, that has sugar in it, so I just pour in the cream, then the coffee and I get that sweet fix I wanted from Dunkin. I honestly love my coffee more than Dunkin now and have gotten many compliments on how good it is!

A big rule for me is that depending on the day, all of these need to get done eat some point! This allows me the flexibility I need in this season of life because let’s face it,  I can’t plan when my kids are going to have a bad night and I can’t always wake up super early. If you have children, you can wait to do the quiet time, exercise, and/or your work during a nap time! Nap times are LIFE and you cannot waste them cleaning up if you actually have work to do. If you are not an early morning person, I believe EVERYONE can change if they want to, and there are sooo many youtube videos talking about the benefits of it, but hey if you do not want to, just do all of these things at night. It just seems, in my experience, most people do not follow through with doing these things at night and end up watching TV or Netflix instead.

When it comes to deciding what task to do or work on, a good question I ask myself is, “can I do this when the kids or my hubby is around?” If it is something I can do with them there, like dishes, folding laundry, etc. I wait to do those when nap time is over. Or say, if your spouse is working at home with you, but they are distraction, make sure to do your hardest and most important task during the time that they may be out of the house. Do the things you cannot do with distractions during the times you do not have those distractions. And for a neat freak like me, it is hard to just leave the pile of clothes or dishes, but you need to be wise with your pockets of time!

So I hope this helps! Leave a comment below if you do any of these or which tip you found most helpful, I would love to hear!!!

Much joy,

Charity HOPE

 

P.S I will be coming up with another post soon with a day time schedule you could start to implement!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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