I have a tendency to want to be seen and rewarded for my efforts. I struggle with comparison and thinking I need recognition. When I’m busy striving for greatness, I forget where my worth comes from. (Whoa! No easing into this post!) Theses tendencies come out when I’m not implementing a morning routine.
Jesse has a tendency to work too much. He struggles with FOMO and that jeopardizes boundaries we’ve set for our life. We both have a tendency to want to be right. We have strong personalities and sometimes lack patience and grace.
YIKES! We’re a mess. True story.
And, it gets soooo much messier when we let these things fester and dictate our days and rule our life. When left to their own devices, these flaws have the potential to wreak havoc in our business and marriage. We’ve been there and done that and have no desire to go back.
That’s why we have a morning routine. That’s why, even though for years Jesse was a self-proclaimed night owl, he decided to read The Miracle Morning and give it a whirl. Guys, my husband used to lay in bed until 9:30am, now he wakes up before 6am!
But, it’s not about being a morning person. It’s about how being a morning person, how taking charge of your mindset before the sun comes up and filling every ounce of your being with truth instead of lies, it’s about how that sets you up for gratefully and peacefully watching the beautiful sunset at the day’s end.
“By implementing a morning routine, you’re choosing to set the tone for your day. You’re making a decision about how you will respond, think, speak, act, work, love, etc. You are no longer reacting to the world but intentionally living out who you want to be as an entrepreneur, a spouse, a friend.”
We all know that being an entrepreneur can be a tough gig. Same goes for being married. (If you’re reading this and you’re not married, no biggie, this totally applies to having any kind of relationship with another human being!)
A couple years ago, I made a quick video talking about the morning routine that will change your life. But, today, I want to share with you how having a morning routine transforms our business + marriage and, if you’re up for the challenge, how we know it can transform your business, marriage, ___________ (whatever you’d like to improve), too.
This is what our life (business + marriage included!) looks like…
When we don’t start the day with our morning routine:
- We are quick to argue, because we both feel entitled to being right.
- We feel like ships passing in the night…like roommates who work in the same house.
- We are impatient with each other and easily irritable because we’re busy with our own projects.
- We are easily distracted and our productivity suffers.
- We feel rushed to accomplish tasks and stressed out that there’s so much to do.
- We feel disconnected and overwhelmed.
- We complain, feel jealous and are easily angered.
- We lack purpose and clarity.
- We are quick to react and judge.
When we do start the day with our morning routine:
- We feel closer to Jesus, like we are seeking him and his will for our life.
- We are on the same page with each other.
- We support each other.
- We are more focused and determined.
- We persevere more easily and react less emotionally.
- We are confident in our business decisions.
- We mind our own business, paying attention to our next move, not everyone else’s.
- We feel inspired in our work.
- We feel inspired to do nice things for each other.
- We listen to each other.
- We make things happen quickly and smoothly with our business.
The difference is night and day. It’s like, “Duh! Do your morning routine, guys!”
Curious what these morning routines look like? We got most of this from the book The Miracle Morning…
This is what our morning routines look like…
Jesse’s morning routine:
- 5 minutes of prayer/meditation
- 5 minutes of affirmations/visualization (includes reading his monthly goals)
- 20 minutes of reading (usually a business book or the Bible)
- 15 minutes of journaling (writing out thoughts and little pieces that could someday be compiled into a more substantial piece)
My morning routine:
- 5 minutes of prayer/meditation
- 5 minutes of affirmations/visualization (includes reading my monthly goals)
- 20 minutes of reading (currently reading + LOVING Uninvited by Lysa TerKeurst)
- One hour of writing (working on my book)
Our morning routine, together:
- Make + eat breakfast. Jesse usually makes the eggs. I usually “make” the coffee (aka: Pulling the handle down on the Keurig and adding lots of creamer to the mug.)
- Read the Bible + pray together.
- Talk about what we’re grateful for.
- Exercise (usually later in the day as a work break)
Do we do all of this every single day? Nope. Is it glaringly obvious when we skip our morning routines? Yep! More than anything, for us, our morning routine is a guideline for helping us be the best we can be for our clients, for our audience, for each other, for our families, for our friends, for everything we do.
And, when we’re operating as close to 100% as humanly possible, in all these categories, we know that’s when we are living out who God has created us to be. That’s when we become increasingly aware of all he is and is doing in our lives.
It’s easy to let our icky tendencies take over. It’s easy to make excuses and say, “Ah, well, that’s just me.” It takes effort and discipline to wake up every morning and choose to be the best you. But, life, business, marriage, all of it, is so much more rewarding when you do.
Do you have a morning routine? Can you tell a difference in the days you implement it and when you don’t? Let us know in the comments below if you’re ready to give a morning routine a whirl and/or if it’s time to dust it off and bring it back to life and serve it up strong with your morning coffee.
Comments 28
Holy cow this was a great post Becky! I feel the exact same way when I get us with a morning routine. Even just waking up to the alarm I set and not snoozing it makes me feel in control of my life which trickles down to more better, productive, and thoughtful decisions throughout the rest of my day! My wife works overnight as an OB nurse so my morning routine starts the night before with writing down the three things I want to accomplish the next day and then waking up early enough to complete them before the kids wake up so I can be more present with them. The morning routine is real and a key to my happiness for sure!
Thanks for sharing your morning routines! I REALLY need to get started back up on mine. I’m feeling the same feelings as the “not doing morning routines” category right now! It’s bad! My mood swings this week and lack of focus is HORRIBLE! I was trying to stick really close to how the book said to do it and it wasn’t working for me so I stopped doing it. I like how you guys made it fit for you and how you left the exercising together for later in the day as a work break. Good motivation to get the work done so you can go out and play for an hour or two as a break!
So glad you liked it! I love how you put that…”trickles down…” So much truth there! And how even just snoozing starts the day off not the best way! Rise + shine!!!
Kayla! Yes, make it work for you! You know what you need better than anyone 🙂 Get back to it, even if it’s only 20 minutes! You got this! Keep us posted! xo
Oh my goodness I need this in my life! I’ve been struggling with sticking to a morning routine because I’d describe myself as a night owl too. But I do notice when I wake up early and get moving I feel SO much more productive throughout the day.
I 1000% needed to read this this morning!!!
Love this.. my morning is like this:
10 min of prayer
Then 5min of prayer with my girls
Get children ready for school.
I know I totally need to add some reading in there and also more time with my hubby.
Thank you for this post!
It sounds like I need a morning routine! Right now it just consists of getting everyone where they need to go on time. I think we could really benefit from taking a little time to implement some of these things.
If Jesse can convert from being a night owl, there is so much hope for you!! Ha ha! Give it a whirl, even if it’s 15 minutes!
YAY! That makes me 1000% happy to hear, Erica!
Love the prayer time with your girls! <3
Give it a try! I know it’s easier for us right now without kids, but a lot of our clients with kids improvise and they say it helps their family SO MUCH! Let me know how it goes!
Absolutely love my morning routine, it is so integral to my day and starting off on the right foot. I completely agree with you! Morning smoothie, match green tea, and I am ready to go! xo
YAY! Smoothies are part of mine, too! Somewhere in there…whenever I get hungry 😉
I read Lysa’s book, Uninvited, when I moved to CA last August, and I found myself relating to pretty much every word she wrote! Such an incredible read, I might even go and re-read it now! I absolutely love this post Becky, my word and goal this year is to do everything with “intention” and morning routines fit right in with this!
I practically devoured Uninvited! So much beautiful truth <3 LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your word for 2017, Shari! Let me know how the morning routine goes!
Great post! Totally agree it’s easy to become roommates when you work with your spouse. Although we still haven’t implemented our morning routine it’s important to center yourself and remember where the worth comes from. So easy to forget and think it comes from blog hits or instagram likes! Yikes!
Totally! Those icky days are really telling. But, it’s also so encouraging to see how quickly you can turn it around when we pour our energy into what matters most 🙂
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I’ve also recently adopted a morning of less delirium and more devotion, and it’s changing my minutes and days {and thus eternity}. Thank you for the reminder of how important it is to start your day with these things!
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Hi, Suzy! I love that you mention minutes, days + ETERNITY!!! So true <3
I need this in my life ASAP!! Thanks for sharing and being so raw with the reality of life without a morning routine. I read “The Miracle Morning” and loved it but failed to stick with the routine and need to get back on that train. I’ve realized that with my schedule being all over the place, a morning routine would give me the structure I need to focus and be waaaay more productive as well as stick with my main priorities daily. I swear I’ve struggled with being a night owl since college and have such a hard time going to bed early (prime example–writing this at 1:30am). Any advice from Jesse about how to change my ways is much appreciated. I’m going to start a routine tomorrow! Wish me luck.
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Krystal! It will TOTALLY help with the structure! Even, at first, if it’s only 15 minutes! Jesse says, “I just had to start. Legitimately give it a try!” Let us know how it goes!
As a new mom, I have lost any & all routine in my life – I had never thought how that la k of morning routine was affecting my marriage but it is crystal clear. Thank you for the reminder that just an hour of routine every morning can change our world. Love this post!
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Congrats on your new family member, Alex! I’m sure the transition changes all sorts of routine in your life right now. Even if you can get 10 minutes of this in and the babe is wrapped to you, I bet it helps! Thanks for reading!
I’ve really been working on this in my own life! It’s hard because Icarus gets up super early and Sparrow wakes up whenever I do (we cosleep and she knows when I get out of bed because she’s that much of mamas girl). I’ve started trying to get out of bed the first time I wake up (usually around 6) and getting in a few yoga moves and a morning devotional before I’m slammed with the energy of my five year old extrovert and I notice a HUGE difference. Also, true story, how are you still doing keurig? I want to buy you guys a French press and make you join our coffee snobs club. ????
I am grateful to you both because you are the ones who told me to try a morning routine. It has changed my life and the direction of my business, as you two have seen! I am so grateful for my morning time now! Thank you!
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Natalie! LOVE hearing about and seeing how this is changing things for you and your business!! Keep it up, girl!! <3