How you spend your morning can often tell you what kind of day you are going to have.

Lemony Snicket

Mornings, I believe, are the most important part of our day. We can learn to leverage our mornings to give us the best start to our day possible. I believe the answer to a great morning is to develop a morning time routine you love.

Creating a Morning Time Routine

1. Get Up Early

This is by far the most important step. Getting up early is different for everybody, and it looks different in different stages of life. For now, let’s say getting up early is getting up at least thirty minutes before your kids get out of bed or thirty minutes before you start your regular day.

There is something special about getting up early. I have never regretted the mornings I get up early. The quiet hours in the morning before everyone else wakes up are what I call the magic hours. I love the peace and quiet with quiet music playing and my candle burning. I love seeing the sun come up. Where I live in the city, I can’t see the sunrise each morning, but I can watch as light begins to appear.

“The time just before dawn contains the most energy of all hours of the day. This has helped me become an early riser and an early doer…. When I wake to see that it’s light out already, I feel the world has started without me.”

Terri Guillemets

“The difference between rising at five and seven o’clock in the morning for 40 years, supposed a man to go to bed at the same hour at night is nearly equivalent to the addition of ten years to a man’s life.”

Philip Doddridge

During the school year, I get up really early because once my kids get up, we start school and I am busy the rest of the day. The hours I spend in the morning before my kids get up are the most productive hours of my day.

No one but you can decide what time you should get up in the morning. If this is something you struggle with, start small. Start with getting up just thirty minutes before your kids get up or before you get ready for work. Once that becomes easy, try adding another fifteen minutes. Keep adding fifteen minute segments until you reach your goal time.

A great book recommendation is Hal Elrod’s The Miracle Morning.

2. Light a Candle

The first thing I do when I come downstairs in the morning is to light a candle. My favorite candles for years have always been Bath and Body Candles. I wait until they are on sale, then pair them with a twenty percent off coupon. The best sale of the year is Candle Day in December. It’s estimated to be December 5th this year. Candles are at their lowest price on this day. You can buy up to 15 candles.

My friend, Keya, started Masterpiece Candles Co this year. So I’ve been using her candles as well. She just came out with her fall line of candles. I can’t wait to order some!

Lighting a candle with a scent you love creates the perfect background for a good morning time.

3. Make a Cup of Coffee

I love a little bit of coffee with my french vanilla creamer in the morning! Being a creature of habit, I pretty much make the same kind of coffee every morning. I usually make a cup of Wawa decaf coffee and put in French Vanilla creamer. My favorite creamer is Wawa’s French Vanilla creamer. My second favorite is Coffee Mate French Vanilla creamer. In the fall, I switch to decaf pumpkin coffee if we can find it. (I get headaches from caffeine, hence the decaf.)

4. Turn on Music

Matt likes to turn on worship music first thing in the morning. So usually, that’s what we listen to. If it’s just me in the morning, I usually listen to quiet piano music.

My Morning Basket

1. My Bible

This is pretty easy. You need a Bible that you love. Pick whatever version you are most comfortable with. Pick one that’s pretty. There are so many beautiful and fun Bibles to choose from nowadays that don’t cost a lot.

2. My Journal

Any journal will do. I used to use journals from the dollar store or Hobby Lobby. You can easily do that. Or you can order one of my Faithfully Stepping Journals, available on Amazon. The process is the same, whether you use one of my journals or your own.

• Prayer Time
  • Gratitude
  • Confession
  • Requests
• Bible Reading
  • Write down what you read for the day
  • Write down any verse or thoughts that stand out to you or encourage you

I’ve included a picture for reference. If you use a regular journal, just follow these same steps.

3. A Book

I always read at least a few pages in whatever book I am currently reading after I finish my Bible reading, journaling, and prayer time. Currently, I am reading three books. I just about finished reading You Are the Girl for the Job by Jess Connolly. I’m loving it. I am also reading Boss Up by Lindsay Teague Moreno and Love Lives Here by Maria Goff. (I left that book up on my nightstand so it missed the picture.)

4. My Planner

After I finish reading a few pages of my book, I write down what I need to accomplish for the day. The days I write down my goals for the day are so much more productive than the days I don’t. I love being able to cross things I accomplish off my list!

I use different planners every year. The one I am currently using is from Walmart. If you want to spend a little more, Erin Condren’s planners are great. You can customize them and get them personalized. I got Matt one with his name on it last year for Christmas. He’s already asked for one for this Christmas. He tells me all the time that it’s his favorite.

5. My Dream Journal

I always have a journal that I keep in my basket to write down goals, dreams, ideas, and more. You never know when an idea is going to hit you, so I keep it in my basket. I use it at the beginning of the year to write my goals for the year. Then I check it periodically throughout the year to see how I’m doing.

6. Pens

It sounds obvious, but having pens is important. There is nothing worse than sitting down and not having a pen to write with. My favorite pens for journaling are papermate colored-ink pens.

7. A Basket

Last but not least, I have found the easiest way to keep track of all my supplies for my morning time routine is to keep them in a basket. I keep buying the same pink and white chevron basket from Hobby Lobby because I love it.

Creating a morning time basket is fun. I love getting new books and supplies for mine. It’s also a really easy way to start developing a morning time routine. It makes the time more enjoyable and something to look forward to. This is the best time to develop a morning time routine because Fall Mornings Make the Best Mornings.

Creating and Implementing a morning time routine you love will be the best thing you’ve ever done. Give it a try and see if it doesn’t turn around your entire day!