One of Flylady’s habits is to have a morning routine – making the chores that you have to do first up, every morning, a habit.  

Over the years I have tried to find a morning routine that works for me but other stuff always gets in the way.  Recently I have come to realise that if this other stuff happens regularly then maybe it should be a part of my morning routine.  So I have set about to write a routine that works – one that really happens in my day.  The challenge is always to reach your goals, not to copy someone else’s routine.  So what do I want to achieve in the mornings?  What is needed for our day to go well?   How do I function the best?  What is already happening that is working?  These are the questions that I had to ask before I wrote up my morning routine.

Why write a routine – to be honest because it isn’t routine yet!  It is yet to be a firmly placed habit.  That is my goal to get up and do the things that I know I should do.  But I don’t – I get distracted.  I want to change this.  I know that my morning – my whole day actually, works so much better if I get going on the things that I need to in the morning.

Even though this routine is written in my Control Journal/Diary I have found that if I write myself a list every day I stick with it.  The action of writing a list keeps me focused.  It is written in my Control Journal/Diary so I don’t have to think about it but I make my list every morning and it works for me.

I now get up and get dressed in tracks, do my teeth and head for the kitchen.  I don't make my bed.  This is no longer a stumbling block full of guilt.  I start a load of laundry, I grab a cuppa, my diary/control journal and refresh myself of my routines and to-do list.  I then sit down and have my Devotional time with God.  Another load of laundry.  I then make fresh juice for the family and review the menu.  Then I head out for my walk leaving the kitchen free for the kids to get their own breakfast.  (I know this part of my new routine has been able to happen because the kids are older.)  I come back and hang out all the laundry and start another load.  I then head back to my bedroom for shower, swish/wipe and make my bed!  When I leave I am dressed and my bedroom/ensuite is clean.  I am ready now to face my day.

Previously I would try and be “ready to face the world” as soon as I woke up…. For me this was very unrealistic.

So my routine in list form is…

Dressed in Tracks

Laundry

Diary

Devotions

Laundry

Juice / Menu

Walk

Shower – get dressed

Swish/Wipe – toilet, handbasin, dusting, floor – I do one of these a day

Make Bed

Check on Kids

Devotions with Daniel

Breakfast (often read my emails while I eat)

Hotspots

Office – Those important tasks only