How you control the first hour and last hour

make a big impact on your day.

Before I knew what a morning routine was, this is what my mornings looked like:

• The alarm clock went off
• I snoozed it
• The alarm clock went off
• I either snoozed it or begrudgingly got out of bed.
• Picked up my phone and scrolled the social media and emails.
• Headed to the bathroom.
• Brushed my teeth
• Woke kids up
• Made sure everyone ate, had their stuff for the day
• Scrambled to get out the door.

Sound familiar?  I spent the whole morning in reaction mode instead of proactively starting my day the way I wanted to.

I then took Mel Robbins‘ course the Power of You.  She is the author of the 5 Second Rule , host of The Mel Robbins Show, and a great motivational speaker.

Stop snoozing In the course, she taught us to get out of bed the second the alarm clock goes off.   You can make yourself do this by counting down from 5 and launching out of bed.  Snoozing just allows you to start a sleep cycle that you can’t finish and will actually leave you feeling groggy for the first part of the morning.

Get phone out of room She also taught us to get our phone out of our room.  You don’t want to start or end your day on someone else’s agenda (emails/social media).  Put your phone on do not disturb except for your favorites.  I promise you won’t miss anything.

Create not consume Use that first 30 minutes to an hour to create not consume.  I’m a big believer in gratitude journaling, devotionals, and planning my day.  Don’t use this time for social media and emails.

I’ve always been a morning person. I do love the morning, but it started whenever I got up. When I started to create a morning routine, I started making huge progress on my outlook and my goals.

My routine is evolving, but here is what I do consistently to take massive action in my life.

• Get up at 6:00 AM every day. I started getting up 15 minutes earlier. Once that became a habit, I increased it another 15 minutes.
• Brush my teeth, drink a glass of water, and go to the bathroom.
• In the winter, I go to my cozy chair. In the summer, I go out on our back porch.
• I start by reading my Bible and/or a devotional. (I read the Bible from Genesis to Revelations for the first time. It took me a year and a half, a few scriptures/day.)
• I write down 5 things I’m grateful for. I started this habit years ago after an Oprah show. When you look for the good, your focus changes and you find so much more to be thankful for!)
• I then write my goals down as if they already happened. For example, I AM HEALTHY!
• I plan my day before I open my phone. Create before consuming!
• I then work out or work on my goals/business.

I’ve recently been using Rachel Hollis’ Start Today Journal for gratitude/goals and I use Chalene Johnson’s PUSH journal to track my 90-day goals, plan my day and track my healthy habits.

You need to be purposeful of how you spend your morning and evening to set yourself up for success.

You can google “morning routine” and you can see tons of ideas of what people have found works for them.

Start thinking about which part of a morning routine you want to work on first:

• phone out of bedroom
• wake up 15 minutes early
• stop snoozing the alarm
• gratitude journal
• your own habit you want to add