Morning Routine

I've been trying to improve my morning routine for a long time, and my most successful time with a solid routine was during my mission. My routine then was dictated by the missionary handbook (note: my schedule differed from the most recent missionary schedule just slightly).

I've had goals to be up at a certain time and I've found that they can be hard to accomplish when I'm busy in the evenings and nights. Elder Gong once said something very profound that has influenced my thoughts on my mornings:

"the battle to get up in the morning is won or lost the night before" -Elder Gong

This is a principle of preparation.

I talked about this quote in a blog post I recently published called A Farewll Address

My ideal morning routine has the following things:

• prayer
• breakfast
• scripture study, and write in my study journal

Based on the above quote, this is all facilitated by getting to bed around early enough to sleep for at least 7 hours (and I probably need even more sleep than that), otherwise I'm too tired and start the day on a bad note.

This routine is closely tied to my nightly routine

The Importance of mornings

Many places in scripture emphasize the high value of mornings relative to other times of day. Modern apostles have validated these claims as well.

Jesus taught in the early morning. The early morning can be a great time to learn from the spirit.

Gordon B. Hinckley made a strong promise related to mornings:

“If you go to bed at 10:00 and get up by 6:00 a.m., things will work out for you.” -Pres. Hinckley, Go Forward with Faith