Anyone else hate mornings? Not a morning person? Me either! In today’s episode I’m sharing HOW you can create a simple morning routine that works for you. We’re all in different stages of motherhood and we all have different needs, so a morning routine isn’t always a one size fits all. That’s why it’s important to create something that works for you right where you are. I’m going to share with you how I started waking up earlier and a fool proof way to make sure you create a morning routine you can actually stick to! Grab some coffee and headphones as we walk through this episode together and don’t forget to join the FREE 5 Minute Morning Challenge here!
If you missed the December series, check it out here!
You can catch Episode 9 for three reasons you need a morning routine.
Link to Episode 22 here for help structuring your time and schedule!
***Take a screenshot as you listen and tag me in an Instagram story: @heyitscason***
>>>If you enjoyed this episode and found it helpful, please rate and review the podcast! It helps more mamas find messages of hope and encouragement just like this one. As always, I appreciate your support and help spreading this message!<<<
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FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPTION:
(0:00):
Hey mama. Welcome to another episode of the podcast. Happy new year! New year, new you, right? Because you’ve already been cultivating that change in your life throughout December. You’ve been following along with the series. If not feel free to go back and catch up. You can binge listen to all four parts, it’s so amazing.
(0:20):
It’ll be super helpful and motivating for you, especially at the beginning of this new year. And if you’re just joining us, that’s okay too. This year is going to be your year. Claim it, believe it. Stick with me. I’ve got you and stick with Jesus, obviously. But I’m always going to point you to him. So if you continue to show up, I will continue to show up.
(0:38):
And before you know it, you’ll start to see change in your life, if you’re actually implementing what I’m sharing with you here. And if you missed the announcement, I’m now releasing two episodes per week! And I’m so excited to share all that God has placed on my heart. I’m just overflowing with content, to be honest, and ideas and episodes.
(0:56):
So it really felt like the perfect time to transition into two episodes a week, starting January of a brand new year. So make sure you are subscribed to the podcast. So you do not miss any of the episodes we’ll release on Tuesdays and Thursdays. And I’m also going to be adding a bonus episode on one Wednesday, each month. More to come on that because those episodes will have a specific purpose and I absolutely cannot wait to share even more encouragement with you.
(1:23):
One more thing. We are kicking off the new year with a challenge! Who doesn’t love a challenge? But please don’t let the word “challenge” overwhelm you. This is going to be the simplest challenge you have ever done. Who is it for? I’m glad you asked. If you’re listening to this podcast episode, that means you are looking to revamp your morning time, and maybe you need some help and accountability in creating a morning routine.
(1:45):
This five minute morning challenge is for the mom who wants to create a morning routine, but isn’t really sure where to start. Maybe you just need to create a buffer between the time your child wakes up and the day gets going. Your mornings can be sacred and it doesn’t have to be elaborate and complicated.
(2:01):
So if you’re ready to create a simple morning routine that works for you – when you can actually stick to one, you can implement these things we’re going to talk about every single day – then join us in the free challenge for support and accountability. You can go to heyit’scason.com/challenge to get signed up.
(2:18):
And I’ve also put the link down below in the show notes. So I’m so excited about this. Go get signed up! So let’s get started with today’s episode. I’m talking about one of my favorite things in the entire world. Yes. This is coming from a lifelong morning hater. Hopefully no kids are listening because that word is a really bad word in our house, but I have hated mornings.
(2:40):
My entire life I’ve never been a morning person, ever. And I’m still not really a morning person now, in that I’m not usually bright and bubbly and talkative, but my morning routine has changed my life. And I want this for you too. And don’t worry. It is not as complicated. It’s not as hard. You don’t have to get up as early as you’re thinking, just stick with me, grab your tea if you’re anything like me. Or reheat your coffee, grab some headphones and let’s jump right in.
(3:12):
So if you’ve been hanging out with me for any amount of time, you know, that with my morning routine, it really has changed my life. I’m going to link to episode nine. If you need some convincing, I’m going to give you three reasons you need a morning routine in your life. You can find that below. It’s going to be linked in the show notes, but look, the perfect morning routine is one that works for you.
(3:34):
It’s one that you can actually stick to. So we’re going to talk about how to kind of uncomplicate it and do something that works for you for your season, where you are in life. It may not be what I do, or it may not be what someone else does, but I’m going to share with you what my morning routine looks like most mornings, because again, perfection doesn’t exist.
(3:53):
So there are some days and weeks that my mornings don’t start as early as I’d like for them to. And they don’t always look as structured as I’d like for them to. This is what I mostly stick to, what I’m going to share with you, whenever outside factors don’t affect, you know, my evenings or even my mornings.
(4:08):
So first I want to share with you how I started this whole thing before I tell you what I do now. Because one thing we often forget is that it didn’t always look like what it looks like right now. Right? So everyone has a starting point. Everyone has a beginning and usually we don’t do it exactly how we want to or “perfectly” the very first time.
(4:31):
And I have “perfectly” in air quotes here because we are never doing anything perfectly. But in our minds, we have this idea of what we want our mornings to look like. And it doesn’t always start like that. And so we feel like that if we can’t do it exactly how we want to do it the very first time, like say, if I can’t get up for an hour and do the things that I want to do, then I’m just not going to get up at all because we don’t always see the value in starting where we are and with what we have.
(4:58):
So this is what my beginning looked like. It looked like tiny baby steps. The first thing that you have to do is to actually set an alarm. So my kids used to wake me up. My kids used to be my alarm clock. And if your kids are now your alarm clock, you know, and you understand when I say that you hit the ground running, it is not a great way to start your days.
(5:21):
It is not a great way to start the morning. It makes you super reactive… If you’re anything like me. Because you have, they’re asking for things or they want things or they need things and you haven’t even gotten up and gotten your feet on the floor. You’re literally not even grounded. And you already have people either whining or fussing or asking you for things.
(5:41):
It just depends. Honestly, it depends on their mood and how they wake up as to how you’re being woken up. And what I did was I guessed about the time that I thought they would wake up and I set an alarm for five. Yes, I said 5… 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 minutes, five minutes before that. And when I tell you that there’s power in baby steps, I’m being dead serious.
(6:07):
I remember at first I had no idea what to really do. So I would either sit there or read my Bible through the app on my phone, or get up and go ahead and start getting ready to get them up. Honestly, I just didn’t even know what to do with myself, because I was like, this is so weird being up before my kids.
(6:21):
I don’t know how to act. It’s kind of like whenever you’re, they’re away from you, for whatever reason, like whether grandparents have them or you have a babysitter or whatever, and you have that free time and you’re like, “What do I do?” Or they nap for like the first time ever. You’re like, “what do I do with myself? I don’t know what to do.”
(6:37):
That’s how I felt in the mornings. But over time I did get more intentional about what I was doing during those five minutes. So when I tell you that you really can start small and you really can just start with what you have, I hope that you believe me.
(6:54):
And I hope that you’ll try it because there’s really not, like I told you in December, the December series, there’s no magic to change. Like there’s nothing magical about change. You just literally do it. And you do what you can with where you are. And for me not being a morning person, literally hating mornings, like I said, setting an alarm for an hour earlier than what I was getting up at, did not sound like anything I wanted to be a part of.
(7:18):
So five minutes felt more manageable for me. I was like, “I can do this.” So I started with five minutes and it was imperfect. Obviously I was inconsistent, but I did my best. And I grew from there. I would back the alarm up over time. So I’m getting a little bit ahead of myself because I do want to tell you what my mornings look like now, the best morning routine is the one that works for you.
(7:44):
And one that you can maintain, and that is sustainable because you remember your success should never be measured by someone else’s results. We can’t look at what someone else is doing or what we think they’re doing, or even what we know they’re doing and try to mirror their life. Okay. So exactly what I do in the mornings, more than likely isn’t going to serve you because it’s not what you need, but I’m going to give you a rough outline.
(8:08):
And again, I have to just plug that perfection doesn’t exist. So sometimes life happens. Sickness happens. I tend to not get up as early when I’m on my cycle. That’s just a personal choice because I feel like my body needs extra rest during that time. So I typically don’t set my alarm as early during times when I feel like I just need more rest. I just try to use common sense.
(8:28):
But typically I do set my alarm for 5:30 at this point, like in this season of life. And when it goes off, I go ahead and I get up. That’s important. Like you can’t continue, for an hour and snooze and snooze and snooze or else it’s pointless. Okay. But sometimes I have, and sometimes I still do so it’s okay.
(8:46):
But the point is that you want to go ahead and get up. So I use the restroom, I sit at my little makeshift desk in our bedroom, which is actually what I’m sitting at now, recording this episode. But I will bring awareness to my body. And this was so key for me to becoming more self-aware, to becoming more mindful.
(9:02):
I asked myself how I’m feeling, what I’m thinking about. And then I pray before I read my Bible. I read and study for about 15 to 20 minutes, and then I choose an affirmation. I don’t really do affirmations like you probably think of them traditionally. I really need to do a whole different episode on this.
(9:19):
But what I do is I choose a truth from the word of God, either about me, about who He says I am, His promises, just one truth that I can cling to and think on throughout the day. And usually it comes from what I’ve read, but I also have a list that I choose from if nothing really jumps out at me through the text of what I read.
(9:37):
Then I’ll pray and journal for a couple minutes after that. And at that point I usually get started on a work task. So I’m answering emails, editing emails, outlining podcast episodes, outlining the course that I’m revamping. There’s literally so much to choose from if you work for yourself, if you work from home.
(9:54):
So, you know, if you know, but there are so many things I can choose to work through that next 30 minute block. And I try to choose the tasks that are the most pressing. Maybe just one task that I’ve been putting off for a while to just go ahead and get it done right then. Because like you, if I put things off, I tend to forget and then they continue to be pushed back.
(10:13):
And before I know it ,weeks have gone by and I still haven’t done that one thing when really it’s just, it’s probably not even that difficult or complicated. I didn’t want to do it for whatever reason. So I try to get those things done in the morning, first thing.
(10:28):
So it gives you a little bit of that dopamine hit to feel accomplished and productive, you know, even the whole morning routine, like I’ve gotten a few things done before my kids wake up. I feel better. I feel prepared for the day. I feel grounded. I’m ready. That’s not to say that it does not, like, turn into a train wreck the first hour after they’re awake, you know, life still happens.
(10:50):
What you do with your mornings, doesn’t really like, it’s not going to affect how your kids are when they get up. It just kind of helps you to be more grounded and more mindful for the rest of the day. And be a little less reactive, a little better at responding instead of reacting, when the toddler throws a fit, because you know, you didn’t let her pour her own milk into the cereal or whatever it is that they lose their absolute minds over.
(11:15):
Um, one thing that I do before we go get kind of get them up and get them ready for school is, I do like to just take one more deep breath, because like I said, you never know how it’s going to go. Um, repeat the truth or the mantra, the affirmation, whatever you want to call it. It’s go time. Like it’s time to get them up, get things ready to take them to school.
(11:33):
And that’s pretty much what I do every single morning. It will vary, you know, sometimes, and sometimes I will get to reading or I’ll journal or be praying and it takes, you know, a little bit longer than usual or maybe a work task doesn’t get done. It’s okay. Like I said, over the years, I’ve really learned how to be more flexible and kind of just go with the flow a little bit more.
(11:55):
My skin is cringing at even saying that because that’s not how I’ve always been. I’ve been a very like strict by the book, time frame, you know… If I say that I want to do something for 20 minutes, I don’t want to go for 20 minutes and five seconds. I want to be done within 20 minutes. I’m just, I’ve always been a very perfectionistic type person and learning to let go of those things has really just given me so much freedom.
(12:21):
Like I’ll walk in so much freedom now just knowing that, okay. Like if the morning doesn’t go how I want it to, or how I envisioned it in my mind. It’s okay. And really, that’s all about a mindset shift and reminding myself that it’s okay. It is what it is. And just knowing that I can reset. I can try again.
(12:42):
It doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s okay. Okay? So how can you create a simplified morning routine? What can you do to actually get started? I want to give you some practical tips, hopefully some help so that you can actually start doing this in your own life. The first thing that you need to do is evaluate your time.
(13:00):
So check out episode 22, I’ll link it below in the show notes for more on time-blocking and setting your schedule up. But you have to decide how early you want to get up, but remember you have to make this reasonable. You do not want to go too big or too early. In this case to where you can’t maintain. The point is to feel productive and accomplished.
(13:19):
So start with just five minutes. Decide on one thing that you want or need to do during that time. Whichever is most important to you. It may be more important for you that you get something that you want to do done, or maybe it’s more important that you do something you need to get done. You just need to get a jumpstart to your day.
(13:37):
The goal is that you feel a little more prepared, grounded, and ready, and that your kids aren’t your alarm clock because when they are, it forces you to hit the ground running. And for most of us, that causes us to be reactive and snappy. And that’s obviously not how we want to act. That’s not how we want to respond to our kids.
(13:55):
So getting up just a few minutes before them creates this buffer, just for you to do whatever you want to do. And if you’re anything like me, you’ll get addicted to that alone time. You’ll crave the quiet time and the freedom to do whatever you want. So that’s when I became more motivated to bump my alarm clock back another five minutes, then another 10 minutes, until I was eventually getting up an hour and a half earlier than I was getting up.
(14:19):
Like right now I get up an hour and a half earlier than I used to because like I said, they used to be my alarm clock. They’re very early risers. So when the sun rises, they are up and during the summertime that’s earlier than it is in the winter, but either way, it’s still pretty early for someone who’s not a morning person.
(14:38):
I want you to do something. That’s gonna feel very silly, but if you’re willing to do it, I want you to do it. I want you to repeat after me. “I will not overcomplicate this.” Okay. I don’t want you to overcomplicate it because it doesn’t have to be difficult. I know for me, whenever I wasn’t in the practice of getting up earlier, I would feel like it was so difficult and so complicated, and I didn’t know what to do, and I didn’t know where to start and I just didn’t know how to do it.
(15:08):
And the thing is you have to break through that ego and you just have to decide you’re going to do this and you have to have this reason why. So for me, it was that I was so tired of being so reactive. I was so tired of my kids running in and jumping on the bed and waking me up or scaring me by just standing there beside me.
(15:29):
Like my heart rate was already skyrocketing and I’ve just opened my eyes because they came barreling in and were my alarm clock. Or like I said, would silently be standing there and, or do like the tap. And it scares you, like whenever you are in a deep sleep. And so that’s not how you want to start your day.
(15:46):
So I got so tired of that. I got tired of being reactive. I didn’t like the way that I was treating them and reacting to them. I won’t even say responding because it was so snappy that I wouldn’t even count it as a response. It was a reaction, everything was reactionary. And I finally got so tired of it.
(16:03):
And I thought, “I don’t want to do this anymore. I don’t want to be like this.” And I also knew that for me personally, getting into the Word and having that quiet time of reading my Bible and prayer was something that I wanted to make a priority specifically this past year of 2021. And I wanted to make that more of a priority in my life.
(16:19):
So that was kind of my, why you have to have a, why you have to have a reason why, and you have to want that bad enough on the mornings that you don’t feel like getting up like that has to be in rotation to continue showing up. Honestly, there are so many free resources. There are so many things on Pinterest.
(16:37):
There are so many ideas. There’s so much motivation and things out there. But to be honest with you, like to just be completely honest, nothing is going to change until you just decide that you want to change. Like you, you just have to decide that you want it bad enough. And honestly, for me, looking back…
(16:57):
There’s not been any life change that has stuck, that I’ve continued to do consistently to continue to show up consistently for, until I decided it was something that I really wanted. Until I just decided I’m going to make this happen, and then I did. And once you do that, you really are unstoppable. I hope this is helpful for you.
(17:18):
If you are feeling stuck, feel free to send me an email or a DM. I know that I say like, this shouldn’t be complicated. It’s really not difficult. Just do it, but I know what it’s like to be in that place where you haven’t really seen it lived out in your life. Like sometimes, I was telling a friend the other day, sometimes we can’t really conceptualize what we have yet to see be fulfilled in our lives.
(17:38):
Like, I hope that makes sense. I said that kind of very oddly, but we can’t understand and grasp what we have not yet seen in our lives, like manifested, so to say. And I know that’s like a big term being used right now and woo, woo.
(17:58):
And that’s not really what I’m mean, but I mean, if we haven’t brought to life in our own lives. If we haven’t lived it out yet, then it can be hard to understand how to do something that you haven’t done yet. And it’s hard, especially for somebody like me. If you’re anything like me, I’ve tried to do the whole morning routine. Like I’ve tried to be a morning person and I’ve tried to do it a whole lot of times.
(18:18):
And I felt like I tried and failed and tried and failed. And honestly, when I set this as a goal at the end of 2020. So I wanted this to be like, my morning routine was going to be something I did all of 2021, and honestly set the goal of thinking that it wasn’t going to be something that I stuck to.
(18:34):
But I think that the reason that I was able to stick to it is because as I started small. I started where I was, what made sense for me and with what I had. Like, I just, just start where you are and start with what you can and do what you can because every other time I wanted to jump from 7:00 AM to 6:00 AM or 5:00 AM, and that’s not realistic.
(18:59):
You can’t just expect yourself overnight to become a morning person and love mornings and wake up an hour and a half earlier. It doesn’t work like that. Usually with most things, you’re not going to be able to maintain something that is, there’s such a gap between where you are and where you want to be.
(19:17):
Okay. You have to like, take the baby steps to get there. But like I’ve said over and over, we don’t believe there’s power in baby steps, especially if you’re a perfectionist, like we don’t think that there’s any growth in doing things small and starting small, and that’s where we’re completely wrong. We are totally wrong.
(19:39):
If you would show up every single day and do your best and do, and I know some of you were like “Cason, I am doing my best. I really am,” but I mean, you know, your season. And what I’m saying is if you’re ready for more, if you want more in a certain area, then just show up and do what you can with what you have.
(19:56):
Start small. Start with five minutes, start with two minutes. I share a ton of things on how to create goals, how to maintain goals in the December series. So if you missed that, go back and listen to all four parts. I’m telling you it is so, so good. And I don’t want to repeat all of that here because I’ve already covered it, but you really do have to start small and there’s power in baby steps.
(20:20):
And once you get some of that momentum, that’s going to propel you forward and it’s going to have the snowball effect, like I’ve talked about in the past. So please just start where you are. Okay. Just start with five minutes in. Try it. Your brain is going to convince you that five minutes is not going to do anything, but I am here to convince you otherwise because five minutes will make all the difference if you do it consistently.
(20:43):
And then before you know it, you’re going to bump it back another five minutes and maybe another 10 minutes. And like I said, what you have to do is what makes sense for your season. If you don’t need to get work tasks done, then you don’t have to you know, try to aim for an hour and a half morning routine.
(20:59):
Like, what do you need? What do you want to get done? And how much time is that going to take you? And then before you know it, you’re going to be rocking it. You’re going to be loving your morning routine and you might not love mornings. That’s okay. I still don’t really love mornings. But I love my time in the mornings.
(21:14):
I’m telling you that I love the quiet time. I love the freedom. I love that I can do whatever it is I want to do. Your morning is the first opportunity you have to decide how you will show up for the day. So instead of waiting for negative thoughts or overwhelm to consume, you, let’s get proactive. Take control of your time.
(21:31):
Take control of your thoughts in your day. Decide what you will focus on if only for that small window of time. First thing in the morning, during your morning routine. This five minute morning challenge is going to be bomb and I cannot wait to see you in there. So go to heyitscason.com/challenge, or see the link below in the show notes to get signed up.
(21:51):
I hope that this has been helpful. Take a screenshot. If you’re listening right now. Take a screenshot. Tag me on Instagram @heytiscason. Let me know that you’re going to start small. In fact, use the hashtag. #startsmall. And we’re going to do this together because we’re all working on different goals and regardless of where you are and what you want to pursue in your life, you can start small and you can take these concepts and these ideas and apply them to whatever goal it is you’re working towards.
(22:16):
So I look forward to connecting with you on Instagram. If you haven’t already take a second, maybe and rate and review the podcast. It shouldn’t take longer than a minute, seriously. And this helps other moms, like you, find episodes like this one to encourage them, to help them and their journey, and maybe create a morning routine in their life that doesn’t have to be complicated and difficult..
(22:38):
our support means the world to me. I appreciate it so much. Don’t forget to come back on Thursday. There’s going to be a podcast episode. A second episode this week and from now on, two episodes each week. So make sure you hit that plus button. Subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss any episodes in the future.
