The Morning Routine That Just Works!

My morning routine really has evolved over the last 12 months. It’s not coincidence that it has changed with the kids getting older, school drop offs becoming a thing and our third child demanding more attention as he gets older.

Typically for many, this would mean sacrificing commitments they had made to self. However, this does not have to be the case. It simply means re-visiting your structure, routine, delegation of tasks and investing in your evening routine as well.

The morning is by far the busiest part of the day for us and it definitely requires a team effort. But, it’s also the time of the day that I aim to get most of my (5 weekly) training sessions in. Personally, I found that I was feeling guilty if I would wake up and head straight out to the gym and leave my wife to cover many of the tasks below. Now, my preference is to wake up before anyone else, tackle many of the tasks, so I can train knowing there is order in the house and everyone is taken care of. So what does it look like?

• Getting up early at around 5:00am and aim to be productive.
  1. Don’t get caught up though in the ‘badge of honor’ the the 5:00am club. You are better off getting up at 6:00am or 6:30am, if you were not able to get to bed early enough. I will be in bed by 10:00pm at the latest, but aim for 9:30pm were possible.
  2. No TV (other than the music channel), no emails, no social media. Maybe some music. I do not have time for distractions at 5:00am.
• I get the fire started so the house is warm for when everyone else wakes up (CHORES).
  1. It is currently winter and the house is cold in the morning. I want everyone to wake up feeling comfortable and warm. It also removes the task (chore) for my wife of having to get the fire started whilst juggling the kids.
  2. This time (task) is also for tackling some of the chores that can be done quickly without children ‘helping’ and again, removes the need for my wife to do it. I fold the washing that has been drying over night. I also unpack the dishwasher and load in any dirty dishes.
• A large cold glass of apple cider vinegar (ACV) and water.
  1. When we wake up, we are dehydrated. So the first thing I want to consume is water to re-hydrate.
  2. I like to add the ACV as I am a believer in the fat ‘burning’ capabilities it has in addition to the potential fat burning capabilities of drinking ice ice cold water.
• After hydrating, I will now have a black coffee.
  1. This is a new inclusion, but I have made it part of my daily routine and do not notice any crashes in the afternoon.
  2. I will also prepare everything for my wife to make a coffee. So all she has to do is press the button.
• Preparing the school lunch boxes.

1.  This is a task (if I am honest) frustrates me as often what I put in (based on the previous day) can be pulled back out because they “don’t like it anymore”. KIDS! However, if I can start the process, it speeds up the morning rush.

This may seem like a lot of work, but it would typically take 60 minutes at the most. This 60 minutes means I am able to train without feeling guilty, which converts to a much better session and time to ‘self’. Will every day go to plan? No! But, do not let those days derail your progress. Accept the challenge and move on.

As for weekends, well they look similar. I aim to always be awake within an hour of the 5:00am weekday routine. By making this routine part of a seven day week and not a five day week, it flows well, it works and it enables mornings to be as stress less as possible.