Having a productive day starts with building simple morning habits into your day. Then these little daily tasks build on each other, creating momentum, progress, and then success.

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SIMPLE MORNING HABITS

I’ve found that certain habits help me to have more productive days. You might find some of these don’t work for you or other things work better. Your mornings will probably look a little different than mine depending on what season of life you’re in and what your daily goals are. The habits below are the ones that are currently working well for me (as a homeschooling mom with 3 teens at home). Of course, some days, morning habits will just fly out the window and that’s okay. The important thing is to be in the practice of incorporating habits into your days so that even if you miss a day or two, it’s easier to get right back on track to having successful and productive days.

1. RESET YOUR HOME EACH EVENING

A successful morning actually starts by preparing your home the evening before. (More about that HERE.) If you go to bed with a messy house and a sink full of dirty dishes, then you’ll wake up to a messy house and a sink full of dirty dishes. I don’t know about you, but this tends to make me feel stressed and behind schedule before the day even starts.

And if you have young kids that need your attention first thing in the morning, having a messy home right when you wake up, makes the morning even more chaotic. Not only will you have kids to feed and care for, but you’ll have extra housework from the day before to catch up on. Your time and attention will be pulled in multiple directions before you’ve even had your coffee.

Your dishes won’t be clean and ready for breakfast. You may have a harder time finding things like shoes, homework, and lunch boxes that weren’t put away the night before. And your dining room table may be covered with crumbs, homework, bills, and dishes from the previous day.

I’ve realized that I don’t do well if my home feels out of order right when I wake up. Taking just a few minutes the night before to do a quick reset and tidy of your main living areas, kitchen, and dining room will do wonders for making your mornings run much more smoothly.

KITCHEN TASKS

-Clear and Wipe-down Countertops

-Load Dirty Dishes into the Dishwasher

-Run the Dishwasher

-Rinse the Sink

-Prepare your Coffee

DINING ROOM TASKS

-Clear and Wipe-down Table

LIVING ROOM / FAMILY ROOM

-Pick Up / Put Away Shoes, Backpacks, Toys, Books, Lunchboxes, etc…

-Straighten Couch Cushions/Throw Blankets

-Pick Up Any Dirty Dishes/Snacks/Cups

Bonaire Flaxen Woven Wood Shades / Shop Pillow (Use Code : JAIMEJSCOTT for 10% off) / Linen Top Sheet / Linen Fitted Sheet

2. MAKE YOUR BED

As soon as you get up, make it a habit to make your bed. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it will give you an immediate sense of accomplishment and make your entire room feel calm and tidy. And every time you walk into your bedroom throughout the day, you’ll be glad you took the time to make your bed. It’s often hard to relax in a messy room because your mind tells you that you need to put things in order, so by making your bed, you create a restful space in your home that is visually relaxing and peaceful.

“If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter. If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right. And, if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made—that you made—and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better. If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.” – William McRaven – Make Your Bed : Little Things that Can Change Your Life… And Maybe The World

3. PUT ON WORK-OUT CLOTHES

By making it a habit to get out of your pajamas and put on your work-out clothes (pick ones you love and feel good in!), you set yourself up to be active and get things accomplished during the day. If I stay in my pajamas, I feel much lazier in the mornings. Or if I put on clothes that aren’t comfortable for working out or cleaning around the house, I know I won’t be as productive. But when I’m already dressed to be active, it motivates me to do the work-out, clean the house, or go on the walk because I’m already dressed and ready to go. Then even if I only have 10 minutes to squeeze in a quick workout, it’s much easier to go ahead and get it done.

According to a new study of 2,000 regular gymgoers, 9 out of 10 people feel motivated to break a sweat by simply putting on their workout gear. – Healthline

4. UNLOAD THE DISHWASHER

As soon as you walk into the kitchen to turn on your coffee, start unloading the dishwasher and putting dishes/silverware away. Now you’ll have clean dishes ready to use for breakfast and you’ll be able to load dirty dishes straight into the dishwasher throughout the day. This keeps your sink from filling up with dirty dishes all day and becoming an overwhelming task later.

5. START ONE LOAD OF LAUNDRY

A new habit that I’ve been working on is doing one entire load of laundry from start to finish each day. When I start a load of laundry first thing in the morning, it’s ready for me to toss into the dryer before lunch. And then all I have to do is fold and put it away by the end of the day. By doing one complete load of laundry each day, I’m able to stay on top of the laundry and not let it pile up and become overwhelming.

Chemex Pour-Over Coffee Maker / Electric Kettle

6. PRIORITIZE YOUR DAY

Every morning, I like to take a few quiet minutes to sit down and enjoy drinking my coffee. I use this time to read my Bible, pray, and plan my day. I check the calendar to remind myself of any appointments/plans we have that day, decide if we need to run any errands; and if needed, I make a short to-do list with any priorities for the day. This helps set my intentions and keep me focused on anything important or time-sensitive.

7. EXERCISE

And finally, it feels good to get my body moving. So whether it’s a long walk or a just a quick work-out, I like to get some exercise in after I’ve had my coffee. Movement clears my mind, wakes me up, and gives me energy to be more productive in my day ahead. And since I’m already in my work-out clothes, I’m ready to go! Once you get into the habit, exercise becomes an integral part of your day that you look forward to and try not to miss.

What morning habits do you have to make your day more productive?