I recently read a book called My Morning Routine: How Successful People Start Every Day Inspired by Benjamin Spall and Michael Xander. You can read my review on Goodreads if you’re so inclined. I enjoyed it (I LOVE books on routine and habit, so I’m a sucker for this sort of thing), though I thought it was a little lacking in the non-rich, people-with-kids department. Most of the interviewees were wealthy (aka successful) and weirdly kid-free. There were all of zero teenagers mentioned in the book. And I mean, sometimes I don’t feel like mentioning my teens either (just kidding; I love them), but still…where were the parents of teens? At their therapists office? Anyway, it got me thinking about routines and how we regular folks manage them (and what we do for them). It got me thinking about how to be more productive (one of my strength-weaknesses is that I’m constantly thinking about how to be more productive, and sometimes feeling sad that I’m not as productive as I want to be even though I am–in fact–pretty productive). It got me thinking about how we can be productive with children or spouses who don’t always bring us warm drinks in bed in the mornings, and then proceed to stay out of our way while we do our morning thing (am I the only person who has a spouse who likes time with me; many of the successful people in the book spent almost no time with their spouses during their mornings). Anyway, it got me thinking about how to be more productive, and how to refine my own schedule.

And so, I thought it would be fun to share my own morning routine.  I am fairly productive, and fairly morning-y, and am not going to be a trend-bucker who sleeps in and doesn’t exercise till afternoon and writes late into the night and encourages–I don’t know–not having a morning routine while writing about her morning routine. So if those morning routines and the people who love them annoy you to death, stop reading right now.

I dig mornings. I dig routines. I’m always trying to refine my routine. I’m always trying (too much so) to squeeze more out of it. I’m always trying to balance my needs with the needs of people who love me–to be productive without totally ignoring all the lovely people who love me.

This is my morning (and the rest of my day too–I couldn’t stop once I started writing). If you don’t dig reading about other people’s routines, you may find it hopelessly boring…

I wake at 5:40 on weekdays. I used to wake at 5:50 and am aiming to edge this earlier slowly until I wake at 5:00. I don’t dare just jump in because this summer I struggled with horrible insomnia and am barely getting my sleep back to a healthy place, so I don’t want to go an wreck it. Anyway, I wake at 5:40, pray with my teens who are awake, feed the kitten (and try to make sure she potties in the right place–she’s doing great!). Then I pray alone and do a four-minute exercise routine (you heard me–four minutes). I have three fast routines that I switch up: 1) core, 2) yoga (really just some basic stretches), and 3) weight (7 30-second exercises for all the major body parts; it’s surprisingly challenging and fun). I just started doing this because I my tutoring required me to sit in the morning and I wanted to move for just a tad before that time of sitting. And it’s been a great thing. It loosens me up and gets my blood flowing just a bit before I sit down to do my tutoring. I teach Chinese kids English for 1-1 1/2 hours. It’s a bit of a side hustle that I really like. During my tutoring, 2 of my kids go to school. After tutoring, I check my email and book sales. Then I head up to help my youngest get ready for school. My oldest is also home because he goes to an engineering program in the mornings and doesn’t have to leave as early as my girls. We eat breakfast together and try to warm up because our house is COLD. I usually start a fire in the woodburner. Sometimes I tidy the kitchen; sometimes I don’t. I take Emma to the bus stop, then come home and let out the ducks and chickens, checking their food and water.

Then I may have about 30 minutes before my husband is home or awake. I used to clean, but now I try to take that time to do things that are more important to me. Why waste 30 quiet me-time minutes washing dishes? So I will write or read my scriptures or do something else important to me. My husband and I then go to the gym and workout together (he’s a paramedic and works non-traditional hours).

I always intend to get home and start writing by 11, but the truth is that the rest of the morning is spent doing errands (in the Morning Routines book, no one ever did errands. I’m not sure how they ate or clothed themselves or took care of bills or took kids to the doctor, but no errands were performed). Sometimes, I do laundry or clean with my husband and we talk. Sometimes we just talk. Sometimes I schedule a meeting about something or an activity with a friend. And sometimes I really do get that extra hour of writing in. Also, lunch.

I write/edit from 12-3 every day, sometimes a little longer. I almost always take a 10-20 minute power nap in the middle.

After school I teach piano most days (W-F). Then it’s dinner and kid stuff and family time if we’re lucky. We aim to all be home by 9 and we usually spend a little time together in the evenings. The last hour of the night is spent with my husband. I used to try to do work at night (and in a different life phase when my children were young and he worked nights, this was my most productive writing time–I’d write from 9-11 or 9-midnight). That had to change when the kids started going to school much earlier (high school here begins at 7:25 and is 30 minute away–arg) and my husband’s job changed. It was tough to make the change from being “productive” at night to being there for others at night instead, but I’m getting used to it. I take a bath before bed and try to go to bed between 10-11.

It’s a good morning/day, but I want to make it better. I aim to wake at five (I considered 4–I was wanting to cram in a couple of hours of writing–basically get every important-to-me thing at least halfway done before anyone woke up, but as I thought about it, I realized that for this to work I’d have to be in bed by 9 at the latest, and that that just wouldn’t work for our lifestyle. Half the time, it literally wouldn’t work out and the nights when maybe it could, my children and husband would want (and deserve) that extra hour of my time. Anyway, I hope eventually to wake at 5, walk on the treadmill while doing my religious morning reading/study, and write for 30 minutes. But if it leaves me exhausted or wrecks family time the night before, it will have to be adjusted.

So…are you guys routine people or not? Do you want to be? Do you rebel against such ideas and just take it as it comes?