For days when time is lacking, it can be super easy to just skip a morning routine altogether. Maybe you rush to get ready, taking the shortest possible route to get from point A to point B and out the door.
But what if there was a better way to spend the mornings when you don’t have much time? What if you had a 30-minute morning routine that could give you a little boost for the day without forcing you to wake up earlier?
Let’s go over some ideas for 30-minute morning routines that you can implement into your life to help you stay on track for your goals even on busy days.
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We’re going to break this into a few different steps so that you can figure out the best path forward for you. There are a couple of different things that will affect your 30-minute morning routine, so let’s figure those out first.
Do this first: Figure out what your 30-minute morning routine will be for.
And by this I mean, what are you trying to achieve during this 30 minutes?
The term ‘morning routine’ for some people is the whooole process of waking up and getting ready for the day (brushing teeth, getting dressed, eating breakfast, etc.)
Others use morning routines to describe a dedicated period of time to do the ‘extra’ types of things and some self care (a skincare routine, stretching, doing a bible study, etc.). This is separate from the time they spend getting ready for the day.
So figure out what this 30 minutes is for you. If you only have 30 minutes from the time you wake up to the time you leave for work, then obviously getting ready for the day will need to be a part of that routine.
But if you have a ‘get ready’ period of the morning, plus a 30 minute window for the ‘extra stuff’, then there’s a little more wiggle room.
We will go over some ideas for both situations below.
The 30-minute ‘everything’ morning routine
If you only have half an hour to get alllll of your morning stuff done, then this one’s for you.
I am going to give you a solid example of a 30-minute morning routine, but keep in mind that you might have to switch out some things depending on your individual lifestyle.
For example, if you have pets like I do, then taking them out might be something you HAVE to do in the mornings that others may not have to worry about making time for.
The 30-minute morning routine:
Wake up
Make the bed (2 minutes)
Stretch (2 minutes)
Quick journal or meditation (2 minutes)
Eat a quick breakfast, or make one to take with you (5 minutes)
Hygiene tasks (6 minutes)
Brush hair & put on face cream (3 minutes)
Get dressed (4 minutes)
Pack bag and/or pack lunch (3 minutes)
Review your to-do list or planner for the day (3 minutes)
Out the door
This routine takes roughly 30 minutes (times listed are estimates), but still allows you do most of the things that are non-negotiables for your morning.
Tips for fitting all of your morning tasks into 30 minutes:
If you are worried about fitting everything into a 30-minute window, then preparing in advance will help you a TON. Here are a few ways:
- Do some prep the night before
- Can you pack your lunch the night before? Pre-make some breakfast or put the coffee maker on a schedule?
- Lay out your outfit so you don’t have to spend forever stuck in decision fatigue
- Keep your home tidy so that when you’re short on time in the morning, you aren’t stuck looking for things you need amongst clutter and wasting time.
- Try habit stacking
- Find some ways to ‘multitask’ your habits to fit more into your short period of time. Journal while you’re eating breakfast. Check out your to do list while you’re brushing your teeth. Find ways to do multiple things at once so that you don’t have to leave anything off of the list.
Note: I do not recommend that multitasking your habits becomes a part of your daily routine, because it can lead to burnout and actually hurt productivity.
However, on the hopefully not so frequent occasion that you have an extra busy morning, it can be helpful to multitask a bit.
If you want to learn how to do the opposite of multitasking and instead slow down your mornings, you can read about that here: How to Create a Slow Living Morning Routine
The 30-minute ‘self care/extras’ morning routine
If you have a dedicated period of time to getting ready, plus an extra 30-minute window to devote to self care and being intentional, then this morning routine is for you.
With this one, you don’t have to worry about squeezing in all of your regular morning tasks, so you have a lot more room to do things to kick your day off to a good start.
Pillars of a morning routine:
Something to make you feel cozy
Something to make you feel confident
Something to make you feel physically ready for the day
If you aren’t sure where to start with a morning routine, the three pillars above are a great guide.
Doing some self care and activities that meet one of the three pillars is a great way to make your mornings more meaningful. Let’s quickly run through these.
Pillar 1: Something to make you feel cozy
Whether it’s lighting a candle, or taking a bath, or wearing your cozy robe while you do your morning routine, finding something that makes you feel cozy is important.
Here are a few of my favorites:
- Keep the lights low throughout the routine
- Turn on some relaxing music to help me slowly wake up
- Light my favorite candle
- Stay in my coziest PJs or robe for as long as possible
- Cuddling with my dogs for a few minutes on the couch
Pillar 2: Something to make you feel confident
Everyone finds confidence from something different. But doing something to make yourself feel good is going to give you a leg up on the day.
Whether it’s styling your hair a certain way, or writing out 3 reasons you’re proud of yourself, or reading a little mantra, find what works for you and make it a part of your 30-minute morning routine.
Pillar 3: Something to make you feel physically ready for the day
Our bodies play a big role in how we feel mentally, so taking care of physical needs in the morning can set us up for good days.
Taking care of yourself physically can come in many different forms. Take 5 minutes to stretch. Make it a point to drink a big glass of water. Or even just do 5 minutes of a mindfulness exercise that helps you get in tune with your body.
Obviously with only 30 minutes in the morning, you may not be able to do a full workout, but there are still ways to get your body ready for the day.
Here’s how to incorporate the pillars:
The 30-minute self care morning routine:
Wake up
Make the bed (2 minutes)
Stretch (5 minutes)
Journal and/or meditate (5 minutes)
Skincare by candlelight (5 minutes)
Drink a big glass of water (3 minutes)
Do hair or makeup (5 minutes)
Do a morning tidy of the house (5 minutes)
Drink a big glass of water throughout this entire routine
You might notice that some of these items are also on the ‘get ready’ morning routine.
If you want to keep those two routines completely separate, that is totally fine! However, if you have a dedicated ‘self care’ morning routine, it can be a great opportunity to get deeper into some of the ‘get ready’ habits that you may not have much time for.
For example, spending longer on skin care, or getting to journal more, or actually style your hair instead of just doing a quick brush.
When setting up this self care morning routine, make sure you’re at least partially filling it with items that make you feel good in your own skin and ready for the day ahead.
Not every morning is full of time and gives us the ability to be as productive as we can be. So having a simple & quick routine we can turn to is a great way to keep ourselves working towards our goals.
Without having a ‘quicker’ version of a morning routine that you can turn to, you might be left feeling overwhelmed on busy mornings, or just be tempted to skip a routine altogether.
By setting up your 30-minute morning routine now, you’re doing a huge favor for yourself.
Let me know in the comments, what is your morning routine for busy days?
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