Morning routines are the life blood of Rock Paper Sisters! Honestly, they’re just the life blood for us period. Having a solid morning routine is the best way to start the day off on the right foot, and quite frankly, get some things accomplished before the rush of the day. Whether you have little ones under foot, a job to head out the door to tackle or you’re a college student doing all the things, having a solid morning routine will surely set you up for success.

Several weeks back, we took a poll on our Instagram stories and asked our followers to share more with us about their morning routines. What works? What doesn’t work? What do you do each morning that you can’t live without? How are you making your morning routine work for you? We heard it all! In fact, we heard from some folks who are just struggling to get up and get out the door on time, much less accomplishing a full routine. So here are our best tips and tricks for starting the day off right.

Get up an hour before you have to!

If you have little ones, don’t let them be your alarm clock! If your little ones are 6am risers, you need to be up at 5am. If you need to leave your house for work at 7am and it takes you an hour to get ready each morning, then you need to be up at 5am for an extra hour of “you” time! In any case, set yourself up to get an extra hour each morning. Struggling to get up in time for that one extra hour? Start small! Allow yourself 15 more minutes each day until you’ve worked up to an hour. You’ll love having the extra time to accomplish all the things!

What to do in your extra hour?

You’re up! So now what? Make this time about you. Use this time for tackling anything that needs to be done in your day. You can fill this hour with whatever makes you feel most accomplished in the day! Before you go to bed each night, try making a list of things you’d like to accomplish in your extra hour. Or think about creating a schedule for how your morning routine will go each day.

Here’s how we tackle the morning!

Because our days look very different, we each tackle our morning routine in different ways. One thing is constant though - warm lemon water and coffee! We can’t start the day without them. After that, it’s time to get to work. We love the Hollis Co. Start Today Journal, and it’s become a staple to our mornings. Additionally, we take some time for Bible and devotional reading, and we love to get in at least a 30 minute workout or some yoga. Lastly, we make sure to throw in a load of laundry or start the dishwasher (because this gives you a real sense of accomplishment that you’ve started the day by checking something off your to-do list!).

Work if you need to!

This is a bonus round! If you find that you’re able to get through all the things on your morning routine list and still have time before the kids wake up or it’s time to jump in the shower, get some work done! This is particularly important if you have a side hustle that needs some attention. Be sure to carve out some time to work on a project, check your email or get started on your to-do list for the week. This just adds to your productivity level for the day!

All the final things

Lastly, be sure to make your smoothie or favorite breakfast, take your vitamins, get started on your first glass of water for the day and pack your lunch! You’ll feel set for the day and ready to take on the world.

None of this is groundbreaking information, but it works for us. It takes some discipline to get started, so don’t get down on yourself if you fail in getting out of bed the first morning. Heck, don’t get down on yourself if you struggle in the first week! Just keep at it, and you’ll start to notice a difference in how you feel each day with a jump start to your morning. Let us know how you’re doing or what works for you in the comments below. (But P.S. don’t ever forget the coffee - it’s the most important part!)

Start with a Great Morning Routine