Day 5: Morning and Evening Routines

Image by DeaPeaJay, Flickr

Morning and evening routines can help calm the chaos associated with beginning and ending the day, and they can create a sense of peace and predictability on an otherwise hectic day. Creating morning and evening routines and making them habit can make a big difference in how sane your day is, particularly if you have children at home. Not only can routines instill a sense of purpose and ritual to the day, they can also ensure that important items on the To Do List get done. If you’re trying to create a new habit, such as exercising daily or preparing healthy brown bag lunches, adding these items into your morning and evening routines can ensure you’re taking the time to work on your goals. Routines don’t have to be complicated; a simple list of items you do each day can go a long way to creating peace during the day.

A morning routine should be simple. You can include a wake time, maybe some exercise, then follow it with your morning shower, breakfast and head into work or drop the kids off at school. Maybe you’d like to include an early morning meditation, Bible reading or a morning kitchen clean-up post breakfast. The important part of the morning routine is including the tasks you and your family need to accomplish to be prepared for your day.

An evening routine includes tasks that can wrap up today and prepare you for tomorrow. It can include doing a quick pick-up of clutter so the house is clean for the next day, checking your calendar for tomorrow’s events, packing a healthy lunch for yourself and the kids, reviewing your day and writing in a journal, evening prayers and Bible study, washing dinner dishes, getting clothes ready for the next morning, setting your alarm, and bathing children and reading them goodnight stories.

“Try a lot of stuff, and keep what works!” ~Unknown

Spend some time jotting down items for both your morning and evening routines, and try them out for a few days. You can add and subtract tasks as needed until you find the right balance of preparation, ritual and relaxation for your best days.

Tomorrow: Streamlining the Bathroom

This post is part of the Fresh Start Series, 31 days of tips and tricks to simplify in the new year.