How to create a new morning routine when life completely changes.

I’m going to be blunt here: Sending my kids back to school full time REALLY messed up my morning routine. 🤣

Over the summer, I had a GREAT routine going. I’d get up, exercise for 30-45 minutes, shower, study my Bible, and then make my way downstairs. While I was doing that, the kids would mosey on out of bed, and then make themselves breakfast downstairs. By the time I got down to them, we’d all be ready to start school.

It was amazing. And slow. And peaceful.

And now we’ve all gotta be out the door by 7:15am most mornings – hair done and lunches packed and bellies full. Some mornings, it’s 6:45.

(You guys, this is not what I was expecting.)

All of this has rendered my trusty morning routine an absolute JOKE. It requires everything in me to shower, get my kids fed, and get us all out the door with a relative amount of peace.

There is no time for exercise.

There is no time for Bible study.

There is no time for SLOW.

And I’ll be real honest – this sent me into a funk for the first few weeks of school, because my morning routine has sustained me for the last year, and now it is GONE.

But now, we’re a month in and I’ve learned some things about creating a new morning routine when your life completely changes. And I’m here to share them with you!

Step 1 // Let go of the old routine.

That beautiful, perfect routine served you for a season. Or maybe it didn’t, and you’re ready to break up with it anyways. Either way, it’s time for something new, and that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Let it go, and allow yourself to start fresh.

Step 2 // Get clear on what’s MOST important.

Since my season had changed, the most important thing had changed too. No longer is my morning routine for ME, now it’s for MY KIDS. And that’s okay!! But it required a shift in thinking that took me a while to really own.

Some questions I asked myself…

1. What’s the most important thing for this time of day? For me, this shifted from “getting my head on right” to “creating a peaceful and joy-filled start to the day for my kids”. Getting MY stuff done was no longer priority – making sure THEY are ready and set up for the best possible day is the priority.
2. What MUST get done? Again, for me this shifted to the kids’ stuff, not mine. Our MUSTS include a protein-filled breakfast, a checklist of everything they need for the day, and a peaceful, happy mom who isn’t rushing them around. << that last one was the most important, I found out very quickly.
3. What can wait? I am a die-hard morning shower person, every day. But now, my morning shower is optional. Is it necessary for all the MUSTS above? No, it’s not. If I get up early enough to shower and still do breakfast and help oversee packing, great. But if it’s going to make me rush, I just wait till after drop-off.

Step 3 // Make a plan to simplify even more.

Getting out of the house by 6:45, or even 7:15 is a true challenge. The kids were only excited to wake up for the first week! So, the question then became this: How can I make the mornings even easier? Here are a few questions I used to figure this out:

1. What can be done the night before? We pack backpacks and fill water bottles the night before school – this helps check two things off the list before we even start the morning! And the kids actually make all of their lunches on Sunday afternoons, and we store them in the fridge in these containers for the week ahead.
2. What can be systemized? During the first week of school, I jotted down what needed to be done each morning – and every day there was something new to remember. Once I’d gathered that info for a few days, I made a repeatable checklist that I now keep on the pantry door – it’s laminated and gives the kids a way to check their own stuff before I check it with them each morning.

Step 4 // Experiment with what’s left, till you find the right fit.

For me, what’s left is all of MY stuff – exercise, Bible study, and a little quiet time. I am now doing all of these things AFTER I drop the kids off. I’m lucky enough to get to come home after drop-off, so I have this freedom. If I had to go to an office to work, I’d probably have to save all of these things for the evening time.

I don’t yet have this part of my routine (let’s call it my second morning routine!) nailed down, but here’s what I’ve tried so far:

• Tried: Come home, make breakfast, do Bible study, work, and then workout after lunch. Result: I never get to the workout because I’m so engrossed in work.
• Tried: Grab breakfast before I leave, come home, exercise, Bible study, then work. Result: I don’t get enough work done.
• Tried: Come home, eat breakfast, work. Result: Lots of work gets done, but my body and mind are not taken care of.

I’ve got two more options still to try that I think are going to work a little better. Here’s what’s up next:

• Listen to Bible in the shower before drop-off, come home and go on a walk with the dog + pray as I walk, work, then spend time reading and journaling after lunch. (I’m more motivated to wrap up work for reading/journaling than I am for working out.)
• I got a standing desk and a walking pad for downstairs. If I use this, I can come home, do my Bible Study, and then work WHILE I’m walking. I grabbed this desk and this pad (yes I did get the rose gold one!! it had a coupon!) for less than $200 total, and I’m excited to get them set up and tried out!

Starting a new season is tough, plain and simple. When everything changes – especially if you’re not a fan of change – even the most basic things can feel overly complicated.

So if you, too are entering a new season, and need to mix up your routines out of necessity, I hope this post encourages you, and gives you a bit of support as you’re figuring things out.

I’ll leave you with these three tips that are helping me:

1. Don’t rush it. Sometimes change includes a little grief. Give yourself time to ease into what’s new.
2. Do the most important things first. Lots will slip through the cracks as you change seasons – that’s just the nature of it. Let the things that slip be the things that matter less.
3. Be flexible. Your first routine isn’t going to be your final one. Try a few different configurations before you settle into the routine that’s going to stick. Give yourself the grace and freedom to do things differently than your don’t them before. You might discover a new routine you really love!

Here’s to the figuring-it-out stage. I’m right there with you!