The Morning Routine

Our routine in the morning may not sound like the most exciting topic in the world, but we have found that how we start our day can make or break the rest of the day and sometimes even the week.

Since we have been married, Brandon and I have constantly been striving to get up earlier in order to get more accomplished. Once we got home from school or work, we were so tired and ended up in front of the television all night, getting nothing done.

We have started off slowly for the past two years, resetting goals about when to wake up and what to do. In the the old apartment, 6:00 a.m. was the goal and we would try to do ab exercises. This would perhaps last one or two days out of the week and we would fail the rest of the week and start all over again. Eventually, I think we just gave up and tried to get as much sleep as we possibly could.

That original goal has been reinstated and expanded since in our new house. Where getting up before just 7:00 a.m. was the ultimate (and often unacheived) goal in the apartment, our bodies have grown accustomed to the early morning and getting up at 6:30 a.m. has been the norm since we moved in. Our closer proximity to work has allowed us to get more done in the mornings than ever before.

However, we still needed more time in the morning to get all we wanted to get done. So the wake-up time was moved up to 5:45 a.m. This was mostly to accomodate morning runs because it is just too damn hot in Utah to exercise any other time besides early mornings.

The morning routine has been in effect for the past four weeks. Week 1, we successfully accomplished the task on Monday and failed miserably throughout rest of the week and was late for work Tuesday through Friday. Week 2 was similar. Week 3 brought renewed committment over goal and we successfully woke up Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Three out of five was marked as first success. We are currently in Week 4 and we are one for one - success on Monday, slight setback today. Brandon actually woke up on time but had some work to do and so skipped normal routine. I, on the other hand, woke up half an hour later and skipped out on exercise but followed remaining routine.

For those of you who are curious as to our rigid morning routine, here it is:

5:30 a.m. - Wake Up
5:45 a.m. - Run/Ab Exercises (we switch off every other day)
6:15 a.m. - Stretching (very important for Brandon who suffers from back problems since St. George Marathon '03)
6:30 a.m. - Breakfast
6:45 a.m. - Scripture Study/Sunday School Lesson Prep (Brandon and I both teach every Sunday at church - 14-19 year olds for me, 19+ year old men for Brandon)
7:00 a.m. - Shower/Get ready
7:40 a.m. - Leave for work

When we actually follow the schedule, it works out perfectly and though tired, our day goes smoothly. And before we even "start" the day, we already feel like we have accomplished so much. And mornings really are beautiful in Utah. How I wish I was a morning person! But it's never too late to train yourself to be one.

It's funny how your desire for something else can actually have a positive iinfluence in man other areas of your life. We commenced this goal mostly because we wanted to excercise more. The result that have stemmed from this also include more regular gospel study which in turn produces better prepared Sunday school lessons, better sleep and more energy among other things.

There are sacrifices involved - bedtime is a non-negotiable 10:00 p.m. which requires some coordination on our part of what needs to get done after work. There is no mindless tv watching allowed - TV shows that we desire to spend any time on are usually discussed in advance so we don't get into the habit of just turning on the tv and vegging out. We actually mark on our calendar when we want to watch a show. And we refuse spending money on tv - there is more than enough TV with bunny ears alone and I can't fathom spending money on cable or a dish. Evenings are often concluded with an evening walk in order to relax us before bed and clear our minds. Sleep doesnt come as easy after watching TV or playing on the computer.

We are in the constant process of recommiting ourselves to this goal but the hope is that it will eventually stop being a goal and become a way of life. We're constantly struggling on this one and the rules are never hard and fast - some flexibility must be maintained in order to accomodate other things like social endeavors, work at times, and bad days.

Brandon was telling me that there is an old ranch saying, "One hour before 9:00 a.m. is worth two hours after it." Never were words so true.