6 Steps To Achieve A Productive Morning Routine
Surely, there are many blessings in that which we do in the mornings.
The Prophet (PBUH) prayed to Allah to grant abundance to the Ummah in their early mornings:
"O Allah, bless my nation in their early mornings (i.e. what they do early in the morning)"
(Sunan Ibn Majah:
From this hadith we can see that the early morning is a blessed time and getting up early is one of the most powerful habits you can utilise to increase your productivity in shaa Allah. Hence creating a morning routine for yourself is essential to a successful life. Waking up earlier than usual will give you ample time to focus on your goals and conquer the day with more energy, mindfulness and strength. In shaa Allah.
Now I will share with you my 6 steps on achieving the best morning routine!
1 - Correct your intention
Every morning have some time to contemplate on your purpose in this life which is to worship Allah alone! To do that which pleases Allah and to keep away from that which displeases Allah. Correct your intention from the moment you awake . . . Why are you homeschooling? Why are you with your children?
"Actions are according to intentions, and everyone will get what was intended.
(Sahih Bukhari)
Knowing that Allah will reward you for your intentions will allow you to stay patient with the difficulties to come in the day and focus on your purpose.
2 - Sleep Early
Being productive in the early mornings cannot be easily achieved unless we 'sleep early'. This is a blessing which most of us deprive ourselves of because we prefer to be in the bed for long after the sun has already risen up. To grab our share from these blessings it is imperative for us to wake up early. And the only way to achieve this is to 'Sleep Early'.
"And We have made your sleep as a rest."
(Qur'an 78:9)
3 - Have a plan
Have you ever heard of this quote
"A goal without a plan is just a wish"
Having a plan of your morning routine, goals, commitments and any change you want to make will help you stay motivated and will allow you to focus on your priorities. Write all the tasks which are really important today. Not the things you do daily as part of your routine, like praying your salah unless that's a struggle for you, then write it down of course! Just any priority you need to tackle in that morning. It is also helpful to have a morning routine sheet on somewhere where you can see. Routine is something you do daily hence after some time it will become a habit.
This is my Morning routine;
Wake up before the kids
Drink water
Pray
Have coffee with my husband
Recite the Quran for 20 mins
Arabic studies for 20 mins
Review the plan for the day
Get done whatever work that needs to be done i.e quick toilet cleaning etc
*I must mention that this changes little during the weekend!
4 - Start the day before
Although it's about morning routine the best homeschool morning routine actually starts the day before. The day before once we have completed our 'formal' school work for the day, I take about 10 minutes whilst the kids play to prepare our work and lessons for the next day. I load their 'formal' daily work basket which includes handwriting, English, Arabic, math, reading/ phonics and whatever extra lessons / activities they're doing for the day. Doing this daily allows me to be ready for the next day and it gives me more time to do other things in the morning. It also allows me to evaluate their progress each afternoon.
5 - Early bird catches the worm
As Muslims we pray our first prayer in the early dawn which is perfect time for us to stay up and begin our day. Taking this time to be alone with your thoughts before the children wake up will help you have the energy to tackle those priorities that you want to do but never find the time to do later in the day. If you knock these priorities out first thing in the morning, you will feel invigorated knowing you have already accomplished an important task even before breakfast is on the table.
6 - Consistency is the Key
"“Take up good deeds only as much as you are able, for the best deeds are those done consistently even if they are few.”
Sunan Ibn Majah 4240
Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Al-Albani
Consistency will help your children be more disciplined and will teach them valuable lessons that they can use as they grow into young adults. We can all agree being consistent with anything good is the key to success! So my advise would be to first create your morning routine by having a written plan and stick to it. Peaceful and smooth mornings will become a reality and everyone in the family will benefit. Believe me when I say organising your morning and seeing the fruits of that planning will reap rewards for the whole family.
I hope these 6 steps come in handy. Feel free to share your homeschool routine.