Recently I’ve started implementing a morning routine into my day.

And I have been loving it! So much in fact that I made a free printable Morning Routine Checklist for you to print out and use yourself!

And checklist is all well and good, but I also wanted to take a minute to sit down and share with you the specifics of what I do for each item on that list to hopefully give you some concrete way to center your day on prayer and peace.

A Super Simple Morning Routine for the Busy Mom

1. Wake up - Weather that’s before the kiddos or with them!

   Before my feet hit the floor I try to remember to offer a prayer of praise to God for the day and the sleep that I was able to get last night. Sometime this is a Hail Mary or sometimes just a “Praise God for a new day!”

2. Rinse My Face

   This one is pretty self explanatory, I just splash some water on my face. But my dream is to have some rose water or maybe some green tea that I put on my face with a cotton round to make it a little more special.

3. Drink a glass of water and start heating up the hot water for tea.

   I’m a tea girl (yuck to coffee!) so I like to get some going first thing in the morning while I’m drinking a big glass of water. There’s a bunch of research about why a big glass of water is good for you in the morning, and I won’t go into that here, but basically hydration is good, and you haven’t been drinking anything all night so your body needs a top up. Especially if you were nursing in the night at all.

4. Prayer

   I have been loving the Hallow App for my prayer time in the morning. They have prayers and meditations that are as short as one minute which make them super easy to to pray while the girls are eating breakfast.

   I’ve also been liking the book Searching for and Maintaining Peace by Jacques Philippe it’s not a hard read and you don’t have to spend a long time with it to have something to think about and implement in your day to day life which is perfect for a quick bit of morning prayer.

5. Stretch/ Move your body!

   Getting my body moving in the morning is so important because in the morning I feel so stiff, and when I take the time to stretch or exercise it makes a world of different for how my body feels. Because we can’t just get our minds ready for the day without getting our bodies ready too! Sometimes I just do some general stretching and few times a week I do a Fitness Blender exercise video with my mom via FB video chat.

6. Get Dressed

   I don’t know if I’m the only one, but before I officially added this to my routine it would be 1 o’clock and I would still be in my pajamas. When you’re staying home all day it technically doesn’t matter what you’re wearing right? I would argue that getting dressed (even if it’s just changing out of your pj’s into a fresh pair of sweats) does a world of difference for my own outlook on the day. So before my husband heads to his office for work I make sure to snag a few minutes to brush my teeth, put on deodorant and some fresh clothes.

I’ve made a pretty morning routine checklist to make going through your morning routine even easier! You can CLICK HERE to download my morning routine checklist as well as one of my favorite Dorothy Day quotes as a cute printable perfect to inspire you on the roughest of mornings.