I’m a huge supporter of having a Morning To Do List.  I’ve talked about it.  I’ve written about it.  I’ve even added it to my sidebar. I think having a list of routine tasks to be accomplished every morning is a good thing.  It keeps a home relatively clean and in order even if everything else seems to be falling apart.

Now, are you ready for some honest reality?  I haven’t been following my list lately. I’ve fallen off the wagon, and it shows.  My bathrooms may or may not be clean at any given moment, the dishes are often piled up on the kitchen counter until the afternoon evening, and I rarely finish the laundry before bedtime.  And don’t even ask about my poor plants.

I think routines are key to having an ordinary life that leaves room for enjoyable things. But a routine is only beneficial if it works for you.  My Morning To Do List isn’t working for me right now.  I’ve tried quite a few times to start back up again, but something about it just isn’t working.  I need to take a closer look and find a solution.

Most of the time when a routine isn’t working, it’s caused by one of two things (or a combination of both):

1. My expectations are too high.
2. I’m not properly managing my time.

I need to find out what my problem is and fix it. Soon. The process for evaluating a list that isn’t working is pretty much the same as starting a new list, so whether you already have one or are starting from scratch, feel free to join me in figuring out a usable morning routine.

–List everything that should be done in a normal morning. This can be very detailed or pretty general, whichever you prefer.  As I look at my Morning To Do List at the right, there really aren’t any items that I want to remove.  My list will still look like this (click on the links for more information about each one):
–Quiet Time
–Drink Water
–Dressed, Make-Up, Hair
–Make Bed
–Kitchen and Dishes
–Wipe Up Bathrooms
–Start Laundry
–Water Plants
–Early Meal Prep

–Make a note of how much time each list item will take to complete. Then add a couple extra minutes to everything. I don’t know about you, but just as soon as I start a task that I expect to take five minutes, someone will ask me for something.  Anything. Everything.  Happens every time, and suddenly I’m distracted into chaos.

–Make a basic time schedule. At the top of your paper, jot down the latest time you get up in the morning.  It’s best to begin with a later, more reasonable time than to set the bar too high and end up starting every day behind. Down the left side of the page write a time schedule using small intervals (maybe ten or fifteen minutes).  The last time written should be the time you plan to be done.  I want my morning list finished shortly after we begin our homeschool lessons.

–Next, fill in any other tasks that didn’t get written on your morning list, but still need done. For me, I’ll write down the time I spend making my older son’s lunch, driving him to school, and visiting with my hubby before he leaves for work. You might include feeding the baby, dressing your toddler, or going for a jog.

–Finally, plug the morning tasks into the schedule using the time estimates as a guide. This was hard for me.  Very hard.  In the end, I might not follow it exactly, but at least I have an idea of how to fit everything in.  This exercise made it quite clear that getting up earlier in the morning will help my entire day go better.  But, I still made my schedule using a later wake-up time.  I would rather be happy that I’m ahead than stressed that I’m buried under an unattainable list.

–Test.  Adjust.  Repeat. I’ll spend this week trying out my list and schedule.  As I go along, I’ll add tasks I didn’t realize I do every day, and I’ll move things around to accommodate how much time things actually take to complete.  Nothing is written in stone.  Unless, of course, you really did use a big rock and chisel. Personally, I prefer my iPad or piece of paper.

My Morning To Do List is essential to creating {a better} ordinary.  I’m excited to try it out.  Wish me luck!

How about you?  Do you already have a Morning To Do List? Are you going to start one?  Share!

Click to find out more about 31 days to {a better} ordinary.