How To Create A Routine For Working From Home: My Work-From-Home Morning Routine

If you spend any time at all working from home, you’ll know that it’s sometimes a struggle to get out of bed and get going with your day. I find it’s especially challenging when I’ve had a busy couple of days and I’ve let my routine slip. The best way for me to stay on track and boost my productivity is by sticking to my morning routine, which I’m going to share in this post. Along with some tips about how to create a routine for working from home that works for you.

My work-from-home morning routine

The timings sometimes vary depending on when I have to get going, but usually I follow these timings and this structure:

7:30am – alarm goes off

8:00am – get up and have a shower, brush my teeth

8:15am – get dressed, do my hair and makeup

9:00am – head downstairs and make breakfast

9:30am – journal to set my goals and intentions before I open my laptop. Sometimes I also do a short meditation

10:00am – start work

I find that when I stick to this, I consistently have a better and more productive day. Whereas if I don’t prioritise my morning routine, everything feels a bit more chaotic and less focused.

A note about journalling

It’s all very well suggesting journalling and even planning to do it, but it can be really difficult to think of what to actually write! I find it helps to have the same structure every day so I don’t have to spend ages working out what to write. Here’s my journalling outline (and it all fits on one A5 page):

• A score of how I’m feeling out of 10
• List one or two things I’m going to do during my day to improve that score
• Write down two big goals – these could be related to my business, career or personal. It’s a good idea to choose a couple of big goals you’re hoping to achieve in the next few months to one year to keep you focused on moving forward
• Write down 10 reasons I’m awesome – this is a fantastic confidence-boosting activity!
• Write one sentence about how I’m going to show up during the day e.g. I’m going to show up to take good care of myself or I’m going to show up to be an excellent leader in my business/career

How to create a routine for working from home

I wanted to share my routine as an example of what you could have as a morning routine. But it’s going to be down to your personal preferences. I hate getting up super early, but you might start your routine at 6:00am (or even earlier!) if that suits you. A lot of people also include some kind of exercise in their morning routine to get them going for the day.

The main point is to make sure your routine has these elements to set you up for the day:

• Time for yourself
• Time to get ready without feeling rushed
• Time for you to get into the right headspace before starting work
• A routine that creates a barrier between you getting out of bed and starting work (this is when your work-life balance lines get very blurred)

So my advice would be to think about what energises you in the morning and to try and incorporate that into your morning routine. You may also need to change it as your life circumstances and energy levels change. I’m thinking this routine might not work so well once our baby arrives in the Spring so I’ll need to change it up then. But in the meantime, this one is working well for me!

You might also be interested in 6 Challenges All New Business Owners Face In Year 1.