Because, who has time, right?
All my life I’ve had to reinvent my mornings. New school, new job, new home, or a new family member. I can’t count how many times I ditched routines and started over — nothing seemed to work, even what used to… It made me wonder: Mornings are just not for me. Maybe I’m just a hopeless case? Will mornings ever get easier?
Self-Care, Mindset & Growth:
Why Mornings Can Feel Impossible
There are plenty of reasons we ditch routines:
- Life changes from new job to moving in with a partner, having a baby, or parenting teens
- Too tired to get up on time because you want to watch your favorite series
- Realizing a full shower, workout, and a warm breakfast before work isn’t realistic within an hour
- Dishes piled up so there’s no space for lunch prep… I can already feel the chaos waiting later in the day
- Kids making toothpaste art right before you leave, or searching for their other sneaker again
You don’t need another stack of calendars, sticky notes, or motivational quotes.
Your Routine is About You: Your Essentials, Non-negotiables, and Realistic Timing
You don’t need another stack of calendars, sticky notes, or motivational quotes. What you need is a routine that actually fits your life and covers your needs. This will require some investigation if you really want to work — and your commitment to giving it a try, tweaking, and adjusting as you go.
Here’s a 5-step setup that works:
- Write down why mornings matter to you. → Example: “I want to leave the house without feeling stressed.”
- List what’s essential in your ideal morning. → Workout, coffee, quick tidy, hair, pets, dishes, shower, news, fresh air — whatever is truly important
- Note your non-negotiables. → Leave the house put together, after breakfast, and on time
- Block your time realistically. → Alarm at 6:00, kids up at 6:30, out the door at 7:30
- Slot your essentials into that framework. → Between 6:00–6:30: wash up, get dressed. After kids are up: coffee, tidy up. Done
Our lives, needs, and circumstances are all very individual. There is no one size fits all.
For me, with teenagers, it looks like this:
6:00 I wake up, get showered and dressed.
6:30 My kids wake up and get ready by themselves.
7:30 My kids leave for school.
Between 6:30 and 7:30 I can take care of breakfast and get ready for the day.
Make it Fit: Adjust, Tweak, And Stay Kind To Yourself
During summer break, I reinvented my routine once more to start my day relaxed and motivated, giving me structure without the usual schedule. My original plan was to get up at 5am, squeeze in 30 minutes of workout, shower — just like I used to when the kids were small and our lives were completely different.
First thing I noticed, I really like having a slow start to my day. I enjoy having the bathroom to myself and a warm cup of coffee in silence. What I didn’t like was feeling too sleepy to focus on the workout. Especially with sleepy kids waiting after all this, if I have to force myself too much, it won’t happen. So I decided to keep it minimalistic and try adding the workout once I get good at handling the 6:30–7:30 timeslot.
This is why I decided to ditch that, get up later, and give that first half hour to myself. Once I check on the boys at 6:30, I can prepare school snacks, make my bed, and quickly tidy up the living room, reading the news while I finish my coffee.
On these days, when I leave with the kids, I’ll be putting on make-up and doing my hair — any mess can wait. My mood and how I send off the kids has more impact on my day than yesterday’s mess.
Managing your own expectations (and shutting down negative self-talk) is the first step to success. If some parts don’t work out, that’s fine — adjust the timing, swap things around, keep testing. You’re worth that effort!
Let’s figure this out together.
So — what works great in your mornings, and where do you still struggle? Drop a comment, I’d love to hear.
