My Complete Morning Routine: From Renewing My Mind to Powering Up For a Productive Day

Hey Friend!

It’s Monday, but not my typical Monday morning routine because my kids are out of school for the summer. I officially have a first-grader and a fourth-grader. Even though I know it’s not, I feel like my fourth-grader is a senior in high school.

What is happening? Why does time move at exponential warp speed the second you have children? It’s not fine! If you have friends whose kids are graduating into sixth or ninth grade, please check on them. I’ll put money on it, they’re not okay.

In this post, I’ll walk you through my morning routine. Over the years, it has shifted a bit. I want to encourage you, especially now in the summer, to create a morning routine. Renew your mind and power up for a productive day, even in those chaotic summer weeks. So grab a notebook and pen. This is a tactical post as I walk you through exactly how I rock my morning routine. Let’s get it!

Let’s Talk Morning Routine

I haven’t mentioned my morning routine in a long time. I don’t know if you know this about me, but here’s a fun fact: I once created a journal about my morning routine. That journal didn’t take off or make me a bestseller.

However, my morning routine does precede me. Why do I believe we need a morning routine? I believe you need a morning routine because it helps you get into a productive and purposeful mindset. When we get right with God, we:

• Renew our minds
• Get into the Word
• Live our life guided by the Holy Spirit

The difference in how my day goes when I do my morning routine and when I don’t is night and day. I would opt for the morning routine version of Stefanie because I’m:

• More patient
• More joyful
• Less stressed
• Super intentional

It flows from a place of having my cup full, “My cup runneth over,” ~Psalm 23:5. It flows into my family, my work, and my team. My morning routine is a must.

The Evolution of My Morning Routine

Let’s dig into the evolution of my morning routine and what it has become. I’ll share what I do so you can develop a morning routine of your own.

This began a couple of years ago. I started getting up around thirty minutes before my family because I noticed that when I got up with everyone else, I felt chaotic.

When I wake up, I need coffee before I can handle tiny humans. If we got up at the same time, they asked for breakfast before I could make my coffee. Then I forgot to make their lunches. That left me feeling stressed and running behind. The day was moving, and I couldn’t keep up with it. I was in reactive mode.

So, I decided to get into a productive space before my kids got up. My morning routine began with me:

• Waking up and saying a quick prayer
• Prepping for the day
• Getting the kids’ breakfast ready
• Making sure lunches were packed, etc.

I noticed a real difference in my demeanor, mood, and ability to be the kind of mom I want to be.

Then I backed that up by about fifteen more minutes and started sitting down with Word. I’ve talked to you about my tips here before. As I began studying scripture, I needed to start in a place that made sense. That was the New Testament. I would pick a page, start reading a verse, and dissect it. That’s all I had time for.

A Deeper Difference in My Morning Routine

I started to notice an even more profound difference in my morning routine. It was my peace, presence, and ability to navigate stress. It was different. I was able to think before reacting. I felt more positive about how I was parenting and leading my team.

So I backed it up even further. In three or four years, it has evolved into a two-hour morning routine. Don’t worry, I‘m not waking up at 2:00 a.m. If any of you are freaking out, I’ll walk you through every detail and then tell you how I think you could start to create a morning routine like this for yourself.

I‘ll repeat it, this has been an evolution. Everything takes time. Remember, God makes “Everything beautiful in its time,” ~Ecclesiastes 3:11.

What’s the First Step in a Morning Routine?

Whenever you hear me talking about my morning routine, I don’t want you to feel inadequate or think you can never do it. As with anything you hear from coaches or mentors you trust, ask yourself, “What is the first step?”

There’s a journey in every successful person’s story. There are chapters about the things they had to do to reach the final pages of their story. I think we have to remember and recognize there’s always another level and another thing we can do to grow into who we are becoming.

It’s the practices, habits, and routines we are creating in our lives. It’s okay to start with step one and let it evolve. I am giving you full permission to begin here.

Here’s a tip to get you started. Put your phone far enough away so you‘re forced to get up. I typically wake up at 5:30 a.m. Once in a while, I’ll hit that snooze button, but I try not to. The other day, Boots, our Sheepadoodle, got wrapped up in my phone cord and pulled my phone off the nightstand. When the alarm went off, it was out of my reach, close to his bed. So I had to get up to grab my phone. I said to myself, “I guess I’m up now.” Try it and see how it works. You can thank Boots!

At first, I would recommend allowing your morning routine to give you a little space. If you wake up and try to get into a routine, it may feel stressful and rushed. You’re creating the wrong environment. When I get up at 5:30, I make myself a nice cup of coffee.

Why Your Morning Routine Is a Sacred Space

My morning routine is all about creating a slow, sacred space. My life is anything but slow. I’ve got:

• Two littles
• A dog who’s barely out of puppyhood
• A house needs to keep up with
• Pickups and drop-offs
• Sports, trips, and camping

It’s a lot! My morning routine is like a beautiful pocket of time where I can sit, rest, and connect with myself and God. Give yourself space at the beginning of your morning routine to soak it in. For me, my joy is getting a hot cup of espresso and making a latte. I love some warm, frothy, steamed oat milk with a little splash of vanilla. It’s a form of self-care to sit and have a slow-paced moment.

Start Your Morning Routine With a Devotional

When I wake up at 5:45 a.m., I begin with a Bible study. I’m the type of person who, if you throw me into a gym, I’ll stare at the equipment, completely overwhelmed. I don’t know which weight to pick up, and I wonder if everyone will make fun of me for the way I work out.

Sometimes the Bible can feel the same way. I’ll grab my Bible, open it, and have no direction. I enjoy devotionals. I know some people like them and some people don’t. But I think there’s a time for devotionals, and there’s a time when you just want to allow God to lead. I think either way is fine. There’s no right or wrong answer.

I enjoy the Grace Co Devotionals. I’m currently going through the Bible in a year. It’s been great. I love being able to open a devotional and know what chapter to read. I’m reading and discerning scripture. The devotionals have been very helpful for me. It typically takes about thirty minutes to do a devotional with the chapter and workbook. Then I’ll journal about what I’ve learned and apply it to my life.

Morning Routine Prayer Time

Around 6:15 is prayer time. Some of the things on my prayer list are:

• People I’ve been asked to pray for
• My business
• My team
• My friends
• My husband
• My boys
• The sick
• Friends struggling in their marriages

After prayer time, I take a moment to ask God if there’s anything I need to know about today. “Holy Spirit, is there any guidance you have for me on what I need to do to prioritize my day?” Sometimes we get laser-focused on what we think we should be doing that we miss an opportunity of what God is asking us to do or asking us not to do. I allow about fifteen minutes to hear from God. I’ve talked about this before. Sometimes we’re so busy that we don’t get quiet enough to hear. I hear a lot these days.

Morning Routine Journaling

I know there are different ways people can hear and connect with God, but my favorite is to journal. I’ll journal and tell God about what I’m struggling with, how I’m feeling, and the questions I have.

It’s funny because I’ll look back in my journal and see that almost everything I’ve journaled about has been answered. Things are clear and needs have been provided. It’s a cool part of my morning routine. I would like to encourage you to try it too. It’s now approximately 6:30. I’ve been up for an hour.

Morning Routine Power Hour

I’m done renewing my mind, and now I’m moving into a business space. I call this part of my morning routine the power hour. It’s about forty-five minutes, but I still call it the Power Hour because I love anything that has to do with rhyming or alliteration. And Power Hour is way more catchy than Power 45.

The Power Hour is where I move into the productivity space and begin reviewing my day. What’s happening today? I check in with my team. I check the operations system we have set up for the business. You can listen to episodes about that. I also check my planner to see what’s happening. I want to get a pulse on the day.

Then I sit down and address my emails. We call them quick hits in the company. The team members correspond with each other inside our operating system on cards. We add anything we need quickly to those cards. Then I go through my inbox and I’m done.

So by the time my kids wake up, I have:

• Had a cup of coffee, maybe two
• Renewed my mind
• Sat with God
• Gotten focused

I know what I’m doing today, and I know exactly what’s coming up. I’m ready to be a present mom. There’s nothing else on my mind that needs to be urgently addressed at this time.

Morning Routine With My Kids

At 7:15, I prep the kids’ breakfast and go wake them up. I love to have breakfast already prepared before they get up, so they can sleep longer. But also, as soon as they get up, they’re doing something. My kids are still young, and bickering is at an all-time high.

Another fun morning routine hack is to teach my kids a lesson from my Bible study. You’ve heard the verse, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” ~Proverbs 22:6

I am constantly trying to think of new and exciting ways to instill Scripture into my kids. The world is a more difficult place even than when we were kids. I think the best thing we can do is to:

• Instruct our littles
• Guide them
• Mentor them
• Teach them the word of God

I create an analogy related to what I learned in the morning and teach it while they’re eating breakfast. It’s been a lot of fun to do this with my kids. That’s it, my morning routine is done.

Morning Routine Recap

Here’s a quick recap. I get up at 5:30 a.m. and make coffee. If you don’t drink coffee, I would try hot tea. Maybe try some lemon water. Get something that will awaken your senses. Something that brings you comfort, peace, and joy so that you can get into the right headspace.

The rest of the breakdown for my morning routine:

• 5:45 a.m. Bible study
• 6:15 a.m. Personal application and prayer time. Hear from God
• 6:30 a.m. My forty-five-minute power hour for work
• 7:15 a.m. Prep the kids’ breakfast, wake them up, and fifteen-minute Bible study

Maybe you’ve tried a morning routine in the past, but you can’t get in a groove. Perhaps you’re inconsistent. You have little kids, and you’re not getting much sleep at night, so it seems unrealistic. While I think a routine is best in the morning, it doesn’t have to be.

If you’re in a season with young kids, do this routine over a lunch break or in the evening. Find your own beautiful space to sit with God. That’s okay. The decision to commit to a morning routine takes discipline. There’s nothing easy about consistency. It’s a choice that you make.

Discipline gets easier with repetition. The first week of waking up to a morning routine might feel a little tricky, but the second week, it gets easier. And by the third week, you’re craving it.

If I Miss My Morning Routine

If I miss my morning routine, I’m off. I’m not at my operational best, and I‘m not a high-level performer that day. I crave this routine, but it took consistency and discipline to create this neural pathway in my mind. This is what I do. Friend, your language is super important. When I wake up for my morning routine, I’m going to:

• Be productive
• Be intentional
• Renew my mind every single day

It’s something you say, do, and become. It’s amazing. Committing and telling someone else about it will help you with accountability.

Six Tips to Position Yourself for Morning Routine Success

I said it earlier, but I want to reiterate that this is an evolution. When I started my routine, it was fifteen minutes before my family woke up, not two hours. How can you tiptoe in but get consistent with whatever commitment you’re making? Maybe you start ten minutes early. Then do fifteen and then thirty. What are you going to do? Here are six tips to set yourself up for success. Make sure:

• Your phone is away from you
• Your coffee is ready
• Your Bible isn’t in the car from church
• Everything is where it needs to be
• You’re set up for success
• You partner with God

Maybe order a new Bible study. It’s so fun to have something new to sit down and work on. I know that at Daily Grace Co., they have five-dollar sales all the time. Head over to their website and grab a devotional. All of them are amazing.

How to Create a Morning Routine That Works for You

While you might start with a morning routine that looks like mine, be open to creating one that works for you. Some of my friends enjoy working out in the morning. I like to work out at night, so I can work out with my husband. You can make this whatever you want it to be.

Maybe you want to take a walk outside and spend some time in prayer or play worship music during your walk. Feel free to create a morning routine that helps you feel energized.

Don’t think your morning routine has to be a certain way. If it doesn’t feel exciting or joyful, give up on it. So lean into joy? What are the things that bring you the most joy? Is it:

• Worship music?
• Doing a devotional?
• Quiet prayer time?

I don’t know what you want to do for your morning routine, but you know. You know the things you love. And if you don‘t know the things you love, start playing with this. Start exploring. Try some different things out. The worst thing you can do is do nothing.

Successful People Have Morning Routines

The most successful people I know, and the most spiritually grounded, are those who are close to God. They have incredible marriages and next-level friendships. They are salt and light.

When you look at them, you can almost bet that they have a morning routine and are disciplined in their practices to become the best version of themselves. When they fall off, they’re not afraid to get back up again. They don’t give up on themselves because they made a mistake. They just get up and they dig in.

How can you start doing these things? I know you have it in you. Tomorrow is a fantastic day to begin your morning routine. I want to hear how this goes for you. Let me know inside our Facebook community. I’d love to hear from you. You can also leave me a SpeakPipe.

I pray this blesses you!

APPLE PODCAST | SPOTIFY | YOUTUBE

---

---

RELATED EPISODES:

How to Pray to God Over Your Business (My Prayer Routine)

Biblical Business Advice From a 7-Figure Christian Business Owner

Is Your Business Aligned with God? 6 Signs of a Kingdom Business

---

WATCH RELATED EPISODES:

How to surrender your business to GOD (and still grow faster)

How to use the bible in your business

---