Morning Motivation {and a Free Printable}

Here's a beautiful reminder to begin your day. It's also available as a PDF to print out.

Start each day PDF

Get Morning Motivation and Wise Words delivered to your inbox

Sign up here

Make Over Your Morning: What About Weekends?

Even if you are sold on the merits of rising early during the week, there is always the question of how to handle the weekend. Do weekend days count? Must you rise early every day of the week?

I rise at about 4:30 each week day. For a long time I rationalized that it was simply not necessary to rise that early on the weekend as well.

So I slept in.

Here’s what I’ve learned.

Our weekends are often just as busy as our weekdays. Usually the weekends are full of activities that we enjoy and that allow us to spend time with those we love. But they are busy nonetheless.

I don’t usually get up at 4:30 on the weekends. But I often get up at 5:00 or 5:30. Rising early, even on the weekend, is the only way that I am guaranteed time for the activities that are important to me.

Also, weekends are usually less structured and more spontaneous. If you get your priority work done in the early morning, the days are free for whatever activities present themselves.

So plan for weekend mornings, too. Time with family and friends is more relaxing and enjoyable when you have had productive morning time.

Make Over Your Morning: How Will You Handle Interruptions?

One of the great reasons for rising early is that you will encounter fewer interruptions in your work if others in the house are still sleeping. But that doesn’t mean that you will never be interrupted.

Today, Andy encourages us to think ahead as to how we will deal with interruptions that may occur so that we won’t be completely sidetracked. If your household includes small children, there is always the possibility that you will be surprised by another early riser. Do you have a plan to deal with that? How could you share your morning time with another person if it became necessary?

Everyone’s circumstances are unique but the point is that you should consider the possibility of interruption now, before it happens, and make a plan for when it does occur.

I’m not likely to be interrupted in the morning. It is more likely that I will have issues at night that will prevent me from getting to bed at my target time.

Such was the case recently when my teenage daughter took the car out for the evening. I hadn’t thought of it when I gave her permission to go, but as it approached my bedtime, I realized that I would not be turning in until she was safely home. As a result, I was awake much later than I wanted.

I began to get annoyed by the situation, but luckily I was in the middle of reading (or rather listening to) the wonderful book Unglued: Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions by Lysa TerKeurst. If you are not familiar with the book, I highly recommend it. I began to think of all the strategies I was learning from that book that were supposed to prevent me from becoming unglued in a situation such as this.

What did I want? I thought that what I wanted was to be able to go to sleep. But the more I thought about it, what I really wanted was for my daughter to get home safely and for me to be able to complete the work that I had planned for the morning.

I decided that instead of becoming annoyed by the situation, I would get some of the work done right then and there. It wasn’t what I had planned, but it worked.

I ended up sleeping in about an hour later (it was a weekend) and then taking an amazing nap in the afternoon.

In the end, I completed my work and I avoided becoming frustrated by the unexpected situation. I didn’t sacrifice any sleep and my daughter got home safely.

How will you deal with the interruptions that may affect your morning time? Come up with possible solutions before it happens.

My Alarm Clock and Me: We are not yet friends

The Money Saving Mom Early to Rise Challenge is based on the book Early To Rise: Learn To Rise Early in 30 Days by Andy Traub. One of my favorite features of the book is the option to receive each day’s write-up via email. The write-up is the same as what is in the ebook, but I appreciate the gentle reminder and often reread the information for motivation later in the day.

My other favorite feature of the ebook is the audio. Again, it’s the same information as the ebook, but hearing Andy read it to you is like a personal pep talk—and who couldn’t use that in the morning?

On Day 2, Andy talks about making friends with your alarm clock. I’m still working on this one. I am not yet friends with my alarm clock but I have hopes that the day will come.

I love the idea of waking to music. Music inspires me and with all the technology available, it seems that I should be able to wake to some uplifting music. I just haven’t arranged it yet.

Right now, my alarm clock is an old Sony Dream Machine and I wake to an annoying buzz. On the up side, it’s so annoying that it wakes me up. But I am searching for a more pleasant and inspiring solution. One day soon, I hope to be able to say that I am friends with my alarm clock. I’ll keep you posted.

In the meantime, check out my post on what to do when you are simply exhausted. I was planning on running this post later in the series (hopefully you aren’t exhausted already!), but I think that being proactive and preventing exhaustion in the first place is probably a better overall strategy.

What gets you out of bed in the morning? Do you have some special music that inspires you? I would love to hear your suggestions.

Make Over Your Morning: I'm Exhausted, Now What?

 

You love your morning time. You love how productive you are in these quiet hours of solitude.

But come mid afternoon, if you find yourself yawning, it’s time to reevaluate your schedule. The simple fact is that if you aren’t getting the sleep you need, over time, you will become worn down and worn out.

Sleep deprivation is not to be taken lightly. Besides being unhealthy, sleep deprivation will affect your productivity both in the morning and throughout the day. You may be up and working, but if you aren’t doing your best work, it will likely take you much longer to accomplish your desired results.

If you’re exhausted, it’s time to take another look at your schedule. How much sleep does your body need? How much sleep are you currently getting? Remember, a great morning begins with a reasonable bedtime.

The whole point of rising early is to work on the activities most important to you. But it makes no sense to sacrifice productivity because you are exhausted.

Perhaps you just need to get to bed earlier. Do your evenings consist of television or other inefficient uses of time? Make changes to your day and evening routines that will allow you to get to sleep at the required hour so that you will be able to continue rising early.

Examine your entire schedule and eliminate any inefficient uses of time that cause your days to be longer than necessary. Or, perhaps you could schedule some weekend nap time. Weekend naps are a great way to rejuvenate and catch up on needed sleep.

One of the best books about finding more time in your day (and your week), is 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam. I have the audio book (available at Audible) and and listened to it several times already.

Your solution to getting enough sleep, and thus having a productive morning, might be to make a change to some other part of your schedule.

In the meantime, you need some sleep. Take a nap. Go to bed crazy early. Do whatever you have to do to catch up on your sleep. Try your best not to disrupt your early morning habit.

Listen to your body and don’t let yourself get worn down. Make the required changes now so that early morning productivity can be a habit that lasts.
 
For more of the "Make Over Your Morning" Series:

Make Over Your Morning Intro
Choose Your Spot
Drink Water First
Start with a Reasonable Bed Time
What Will You Wear?

Make Over Your Morning: Morning Stretch

It’s time to get moving!

Shuffling my feet from the bed to a chair is seldom enough to really wake me up. To be productive at whatever my task is for the morning, I need a good morning stretch.

After drinking a full glass of water and getting dressed for“work”, my next activity is some type of physical stretching to get my blood pumping. This doesn’t have to be strenuous, or even technically exercise. Since I usually spend my early mornings at a desk or doing computer work, I need some type of physical movement to get my blood pumping and prevent me from drifting back to sleep mode.

I usually run my dishwasher at night so it needs to be emptied before breakfast. The simple act of bending for a plate and then reaching to put it in the cupboard is enough to wake up my muscles so that don’t feel sleepy. You could, of course, do a more formal exercise but I usually save that for later.

So touch you toes, reach for the sky, do a few arm circles. Be sure your body is fully awake so that you can really get to work.

For more of the "Make Over Your Morning" Series:

Make Over Your Morning Intro
Choose Your Spot
Drink Water First
Start with a Reasonable Bed Time
What Will You Wear?

Make Over Your Morning: What Will You Wear?

When your feet hit the floor in the early morning, what will you put on them? Your answer will depend, of course, on how you will use this time, but let me offer a suggestion.

If your morning plan is to get to work, to get something done, putting on your comfy soft slippers will not get you motivated to get moving. Instead, choose something that signals your brain that you are ready for work.

My morning footwear of choice usually resembles running shoes more than slippers. I do have a pair of slippers I often wear (and am wearing right now, in fact) but they are more like supportive house shoes than plush comfy slippers.

If I am too comfortable (fluffy slippers, sitting on a soft sofa), I will go right back to sleep. It has happened many times! Choose your footwear wisely.

What else should you wear? That depends on what you will be doing, but I find that I am more productive if I get out of my pajamas and into some real clothes. Usually, I will choose very comfortable clothes (jeans, etc.) but I need to signal my brain that the day has started and that I am ready for work.

What will you wear? Choose wisely for a more productive morning.

Read more of the morning make over series here:

Make Over Your Morning - The Introduction

Choose Your Spot

Drink Water First

Start with a Reasonable Bed Time

Make Over Your Morning: Start with a Reasonable Bed Time

A consistent habit of rising early requires a reasonable bed time. This was the most difficult adjustment for me. As I mentioned earlier, I love the time at night when the house is quiet and I am alone with my thoughts. Finally some peace!

But rising early without a complimentary bedtime is asking for trouble. You may be able to do it for a while, but eventually, you will become so sleep deprived you won’t be able to function (ask me how I know).

My day begins at 4:30 am. I know that seems extreme, but if you knew what my day is like beginning at 6:00 am, you would understand. The time before 6:00 am is my time to think, plan, and work on my dreams. It’s the only way these things get done.

To maintain a schedule like this, however, requires a reasonable bedtime and often weekend power naps. A consistent bedtime routine is the first requirement of a successful morning routine.

For me, that means a warm shower, some inspirational reading (usually a review of the morning’s devotional), and lights out by 10:00 pm.

With that, I’m ready to hit the ground when the alarm sounds to begin the new day.

For more of the Make Over Your Morning series:

Make Over Your Morning

Choose Your Spot

Drink Water First

Make Over Your Morning: Drink Water First

 If you are familiar with my original morning routine post, you know that one of the first things I do in the morning is drink a large glass of water. This was a habit that I had to cultivate since I don’t really feel much like eating or drinking first thing in the morning.

But you don’t realize how dehydrated you are until you gulp down that first glass of water. It makes a huge difference in how I feel. Even before that first cup of coffee, I drink a full glass of water. It really helps me to wake up!

Recently, I decided my morning glass of water could use an upgrade. Since I love low cost upgrades, this was right up my alley. I recently discovered the pleasure of naturally flavored water and occasionally enjoyed it during the day.

Why not make a pitcher of flavored water the night before, for a refreshing treat first thing in the morning? It's a great way to make your early morning special.

 This cucumber lemon water is especially refreshing. Give it a try!

Make Over Your Morning: Choose Your Spot

   For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

2 Timothy 1:7

Since you may not have yet decided what exactly you will do once you get out of bed, you may want to include some planning time the first few mornings. I mentioned here that I am following along with Money Saving Mom and the ebook Early To Rise by Andy Traub.

Day 1 of Early To Rise involves planning for success. Get ready to succeed!

Prepare for morning planning time by choosing your spot, collecting your supplies, and setting everything out the night before.

While the idea of settling in on a soft sofa with a cup of coffee sounds great (and I have tried this many mornings), I have found that I tend to get sleepy again and the soft pillows are just too tempting so this is not a good place for me to start morning time.

For me, the most productive spot is the kitchen table. Another good option, if you have it available, is a desk. Whatever spot you choose for your first early morning, it is important that it be cleared off, made as pleasant as possible, and that all necessary supplies are set out the night before.

Whatever supplies you use for planning should be set out and ready to go. Many people use some type of computer program but I still prefer paper and pencil. The act of writing out my plans cements them in my mind. For me, typing into an electronic device just doesn’t have the same effect.

I have a planning binder where I keep sections for my daily schedules, weekend plans, short term and long term goals. I use a mechanical pencil because I often tweak and change things.  These are the items I have ready on a clean and cleared off table the night before.

What spot will you choose for this important time? Give it some thought so you will be ready to go in the morning.

More in the series:

Make Over Your Morning - The Introduction

Drink Water First

Start with a Reasonable Bed Time

  

Make Over Your Morning

 

When my children were younger, it seemed that the only time I could think straight was after they were in bed for the night.  I tended to stay up (very) late enjoying this quiet time.

The problem was that I then had a difficult time getting up in the morning. And getting up later was not an option. I had to get the children to school and myself to work.

I now realize the error of my habit. I had it backwards. The quiet time that I relished was available not only at the end of the day when my children were sleeping, but also at the beginning of the day, before they got up.

Now that my children are teens, their bedtime consists usually of “whenever the homework is done” and I have more freedom to establish my own bedtime routine.

Of course, in order to enjoy the quiet morning hours, my own strict bedtime is a requirement. As it turns out, this was the hardest habit for me to change when I decided that I wanted to wake earlier.

I have found the early morning hours to be priceless for getting important work done. By important, I mean the things that are most important to me.

But a productive morning requires a plan. 

About a year ago, I wrote about my morning routine and I have, for the most part, been faithful to this habit. But over the past several months, I have given much thought to how I use my mornings and what I could do to make them more enjoyable and productive.

Thanks to Crystal at Money Saving Mom, I found the ebook Early To Rise: Learn To Rise Early in 30 Days by Andy Traub. The ebook has really got me thinking about ways I can become more intentional about how I use my precious morning time.

Throughout the month of March, I will be sharing some enhancements I have made to my morning routine. I hope these will be an encouragement to you as you make the most of the special quiet time at the beginning of each new day.

What do you do to get the day off to a great start? Please leave a comment and let us know.