8 Tips For a Stress-Free Morning
Did you know that there are things we do unknowingly that sabotage our mornings?
When we do these things, our day gets off to a wrong start, and sometimes we never get it back on track.
Do you wish you could have a stress-free morning every morning as a way to set the tone for your whole day?
After several weeks of waking up tired, unmotivated, and dreading my day, I began to pay attention to these signals that something was off.
I began to pray about why I no longer felt excited to greet a new day.
Why I didn’t feel motivated to write and connect with my readers any longer.
Why I felt a continual sense of overwhelm at the thought of…well….anything.
Does this sound like you?
8 Tips For a Stress-Free Morning
It was about this time that my husband began asking me to step away from the computer and sit with him over tea.
Part of me loved the break away from work.
Another part of me felt the pressure to get work done.
However, I knew that those times were important for our marriage, and I needed someone to tell me to stop, take a break, and slow down the pace of my life.
I was reminded of a book my brother recommended: The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry.
I began reading this book, and realized that my days were overwhelming because I was doing three big things that started my day off wrong.
- I would scroll on my phone before I even got out of bed
- I would hurry through my devotions, because I had so much work to do
- I refused to take breaks during the day because I wanted to get work done.
- I try to compensate for my overwhelm with greater and greater levels of dopamine, with constant listening to podcasts and YouTube videos
These are three very bad habits that took a lot of effort to break.
They were keeping my cortisol elevated, my sense of being overwhelmed constant high, and my emotional and physical energy drained.
I needed to make a radical change.
Maybe you need a radical change too?
That is why I want to share with you these eight tips for a stress-free morning that have helped me lower my sense of being overwhelmed and increase my physical and emotional energy, so that I am able to be a joyful wife and mom to my family.
1. Start the Day with a Quiet Time
There is no better way to start your day than to start it off with Jesus.
This will set the tone for the rest of your day.
Are you worried about something? Do you have a huge meeting or a packed schedule? This is your opportunity to lay it all at Jesus’ feet at the start of your day.
During this time, I do not use any of my devices.
- I don’t scroll on social media
- I don’t check my messages
- I don’t read my Bible on my phone
I have my devotions old-school: A physical Bible, a pen, and a paper journal.
I begin with prayer walking. I walk around my kitchen and pray, because that gets me moving first thing in the morning while I am waking up.
Prayer walking has been a game-changer in helping me get my body moving and my metabolism going right from the start.
After that, I read and study the Bible. Then, at the end of my quiet time, I sit quietly in God’s presence, listening for His voice.
The keyword here is “quietly”. This means I have no other sounds on, not even worship music. Total silence.
This starts my day peacefully and sets a very calm, peaceful tone for the whole day.
If I miss this step, nothing else will go right.
2. Get Up Before The Rest of Your Family
If you’re going to have a successful quiet time at the start of your day, you will need to set your alarm for however much time you feel you need to have a quiet time with Jesus alone.
I set my alarm for two hours before the rest of my family is awake and moving around. You may not need two hours. Perhaps for you, 30 minutes is enough.
If you try to do your quiet time after everyone else is already awake, you will likely be interrupted multiple times, and your time with Jesus will not have the same impact as it would if you could just sit with Him alone in silence.
3. Bring a Notepad and a Pen to Your Quiet Time
Do you find that as you pray, you start to remember a bunch of things that you forgot you need to do?
Perhaps new ideas come to your mind that you don’t want to forget. Or maybe you recall the name of someone you feel you need to check on or contact.
There is nothing like a busy mind to derail your quiet time. The enemy knows this and will use it against us every time.
That is why I always have a notepad and pen handy so I can write these things down for later.
There is nothing more important to me in that moment than Jesus, and I don’t want to be worried that I’ll forget whatever has come to mind, so if I write it down, I am at peace, and I can continue communing with my Heavenly Father.
4. Meditate on God’s Word
Do you find that sometimes when you read God’s Word, you forget what you’ve read?
Maybe God showed you something profound as you read, or spoke something to your heart, and later in the day you had trouble recalling what it was.
My dad shares a powerful tool to help remind you to meditate on God’s Word throughout the day so that we don’t forget the wonderful things He’s speaking to us in our quiet times.
It’s so simple and easy to do – and only takes mere seconds.
Take a small piece of paper or an index card and write down what you learned from Scripture, fold it up, and put it in your pocket.
This way, as you go about your day, every time you put your hand in your pocket, you’ll feel that piece of paper, and it will remind you to think about what God is speaking to you.
5. Put On Worship Music
Now that I’ve had my quiet time and sat in silence with my Heavenly Father, I like to put on worship music to fill my home with praise.
I personally love to put on one of these Dino Peace Series playlists:
I have found that playing worship sets a beautiful atmosphere in my home, and I will often find myself with tears in my eyes as I sing along — sometimes even raising my hands in a moment of authentic worship.
6. Greet Each Family Member With a Hug
Now that you’ve had your quiet time with Jesus and worship music is filling your home and heart, your family is up and getting about their day.
They’re coming into the kitchen and asking, “What’s for breakfast?”
I like to greet each family member with a big hug and wish them a good morning.
There is truly no better way to start their day and my day than with a big hug. I feel it is important that their first contact with me each day is warm and inviting. I look them in the eye and give them my attention.
It is very easy to get caught up in my tasks and just offhandedly give them a distracted, “Good morning”, but I believe it is important to start our day with friendly smiles and warm hugs.
7. Have a Schedule
This will likely look different from person to person.
I tend to be a very rigid and schedule-oriented person, while others may prefer routines that are not locked into time slots.
Personally, I tend to go back and forth between the two, but I gravitate more to a schedule than a routine.
However, I have found that no matter which you choose, there should be anchor points in our day that are more-or-less locked in that help to give structure to the day.
If you do not have a schedule or a routine, the chances that your day will end up off the rails are very likely.
You know the saying, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”
There are those who plan to fail every day because they simply do not have a schedule or routine that guides their day and helps filter out the unnecessary or unimportant interruptions.
If you are more of a routine person, here are four anchor points that are necessary for health, well-being, and structure:
- Get up at the same time every day. This helps your body learn a rhythm, and you will wake up better
- Have your quiet time at the same time every day. This will keep you from falling into the temptation of putting it off for later.
- Eat dinner as a family at a specific time. This helps your family to plan around mealtime because it is a priority
- Go to bed at the same time every day. This is for the same reason as #1. You will sleep better and wake up more rested.
8. Make Meal Plans Ahead of Time
Do you know what you’re having for dinner today and tomorrow, or do you wing it as you go?
I have found that if I have a meal plan in place, it keeps me from spending my whole morning trying to figure out what to feed everyone.
Each Friday, I sit down and plan out our meals for the following week, and then I write them on my Weekly Spreadsheet Planner.
This way, I know exactly what to take out of the freezer to make for dinner later on.
Having a meal plan in place at the beginning of each week has resolved so much stress in my day, because I’m not trying to figure out what to make. I already know what to make and I know I have everything on hand to make that meal.
These 8 things have made a significant difference in my mornings.
Perhaps not every one of these will fit your family’s needs, but play with them and structure them in a way that your day starts off relaxed and joyful, too!
