making the mornings count

photo source: unknown. Please let me know if you come across the source and I'll link up!

Can you feel the summer starting to wind down? Three days left in July....two and a half weeks before I head back to work....crowded back-to-school isles in the stores...Yikes.

We are definitely feeling it over here, and while I am not even the tiniest bit excited about going back to work (those first few weeks back are always a little stressful), my body is starting to crave the routine that August brings. Our summers tend to be full of traveling, late nights, and a general disregard for schedules. Now that the boy and I have returned from our last road trip of the season, I'm feeling the itch to settle into a routine and start preparing for another school year.

On one of our trips this summer I read the book, What Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast. It's a really quick read (only 32 pages!), and I really enjoyed the brief glimpses into the morning disciplines of other busy professionals it provided. It got me thinking about what I could accomplish with an extra hour or two in the mornings and how those activities could shape and change my perceptions and attitudes during the rest of the day. 

So! I've decided to make a list. Because I love lists about as much as I love a good routine. This is my list of things that will help me be more successful, organized, and sane before the cooler weather moves in. 

• Over the next 5 weeks I will take my current morning start time from 7:30-ish to 5:00am. Each week I will move my morning alarm back an additional 30 minutes, leaving time for exercise, devotionals, and real breakfast. This week is 7:00am!
• Regular exercise will become...regular. Why is this one so hard? I feel so much better when I'm active and I'm much more pleasant. I've learned that afternoon exercise is a hit and miss thing for me. My work schedule can sometimes change rapidly, making it hard to plan for exercise. I'm often so drained when I get home that all I want to do is watch 30 minutes of something funny with a glass of wine...and there's really no coming back from that. Morning exercise is really my best shot at creating a habit, which is my goal. I'm currently working through a 10K training app, which I'm really enjoying. It keeps things easy (no equipment, no videos), making it a lot harder to come up with an excuse not to get moving. 
• Regular morning quiet times. Is there really a better time to be reminded of great love, grace, and self control? Taking a few minutes each morning to be quiet, read, and listen makes me a better at my job. It makes me a better wife. It makes me a better human. 

That's it. Three things. Not so much that it isn't doable, but enough to make a real difference in my day. The hardest part will be crawling out of bed while the mister continues to snooze..and snooze...and snooze. So here's to accountability! I'll report back on how things are going with the 7am wake-ups next week!

Here are some other posts from around the web about morning routines and such. 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6