A Realistic Morning Routine for Busy Women (Who Are Working Long Days and Trying Not to Lose Their Minds)

This realistic morning routine for busy women has helped me stay grounded during long workdays, wedding planning, and busy seasons of life.

Introduction:

I’m in a season of life where every day feels so full—long workdays, wedding planning, trying to stay consistent with my health and my faith, and honestly just trying to keep up with everything coming at me right now. With all of this going on, I’ve really had to focus on what I can control and what actually helps me feel grounded, productive, and like I’m moving toward my goals. One of those things is my morning routine.

I’ve always been a morning person. It’s always been my little pocket of peace before the day starts. But once I began working full-time and had to be at work by 6 or 7 AM, having a morning routine suddenly became so much harder. You have to wake up so early to make it all happen, and in certain seasons, that just feels impossible.

Over the last couple of years, though, I think I’ve finally found a simple routine that feels realistic, feminine, grounding, and honestly crucial for women in busy seasons. I would love to say I follow it perfectly every day…but I can’t, because life happens. However, when I do stick to it, I notice a shift in my entire day—my attitude, my patience, my energy, and how I show up.

So here’s exactly what my real-life morning routine looks like in this busy season of working long days, planning a wedding, and trying my best to stay rooted and intentional.

Get Up Without Touching Your Phone: A Realistic Morning Habit for Busy Women

I used to be the person who literally slept with my phone in the bed. Sometimes I still forget, but I’ve really been trying to quit this habit. The worst part was that it became the very first thing I reached for in the morning. Like, I would roll over, grab my phone, and take it with me to the bathroom. Not great.

This is a habit I would love to say I’ve completely broken, but I can’t. What I can tell you is what works for me on the days I actually pull it off (lol) and how it makes me feel.

What works for me:

• Not using my phone as my alarm clock.
  I have a Hatch alarm clock, and I love it. You can create routines for specific days of the week, and once it’s set, you basically never have to think about it again. No more “did I set my alarm?” anxiety.
• Not sleeping with my phone in the bed.
  I’m not one of those people who leaves their phone in the kitchen or across the room—that’s just not realistic. I am a normal girl in my 20s. I will probably be watching TikToks before bed, and I’m not getting up to relocate my phone. I just put it on my nightstand, and that feels reasonable.
• Trying not to reach for my phone first thing.
  This is by far the hardest habit for me to break. It’s such a natural instinct because your phone is basically your window to the outside world. Of course you want to see what happened while you were asleep. I still fail at this almost every day, but I’m trying to build up slowly. Right now, my goal is just getting up, going to the bathroom, and then checking my phone—and honestly, that’s okay.

Eventually, I’d love to get to 10 minutes phone-free in the morning, but for now, progress over perfection. Some non-immediate screen time is better than immediate screen time, so we’re taking the small wins where we can.

How has this made me feel?
If I’m being totally honest, I still find myself rushing back from the bathroom to check my phone, so I can’t say I’ve noticed huge benefits yet. However, I can imagine that if you woke up to bad news or something stressful, it would be really nice not to be greeted by that first thing in the morning.

A tip to increase the time before checking your phone:
Do something. Make the bed. Open the blinds. Put away dishes. Literally anything. Slowly add small steps that increase the time between waking up and looking at your phone.

A Faith Moment

This usually happens after I’ve checked my phone. I try to do at least a 5-minute Bible study or devotional every day. In my dream life, I would sit for an hour reading my Bible every morning, but that’s just not my reality right now. There have been a few miracle mornings where that happens, but it’s not consistent. However, this is something I need to prioritize, especially in this busy season of life, but in all seasons.

If faith time isn’t your thing—or you do it later in the day—maybe this looks like journaling, morning pages, meditation, or something else that fuels your mind and soul. I just think starting your day with something intentional makes such a difference.

My dream is eventually to not touch my phone until after this.

Hydrate (and Sometimes Coffee)

I really try to drink water in the morning. I would love to tell you I’m the girl who walks to the kitchen, fills a glass, and drinks the whole thing immediately…but I am not. If you are, I admire you. Truly.

That said, I do try to take a few big sips right when I wake up. I know how important hydration is—especially since I’m trying to lose weight—so I make an effort. This might happen before checking my phone, after checking my phone, or after my devotional. The important part is that it happens. I also try to have water before coffee.

When I do have coffee, I’ve been doing a protein cold brew. It’s the best way I’ve found to mix protein powder into coffee. I much prefer hot coffee from my Nespresso with plain milk, but I have not mastered adding protein powder to hot milk. If you have tips, please let a girl know.

Once my coffee is made, I usually drink it while doing my skincare. Then I have to force myself to chug the rest so I can brush my teeth—because obviously.

Side note:
The order of all of this changes depending on whether I need to shower. I am not a “morning shower” or “night shower” person. I am a “shower when I can and when I need to” person. Sometimes that means morning, sometimes night, sometimes twice a day. This is probably TMI, but here we are.

Getting Ready for the Day

Skincare and oral care come next and kick off my getting-ready routine. I’m really trying to simplify things and focus on keeping my skin healthy—because I’m getting married soon, and this girl cannot have acne on her wedding day. That would be tragic.

My skincare is simple: cleanse, hydrating toner, brightening eye cream, moisturizer, and sunscreen. That’s it. Less is more right now.

For oral care, I floss (with a flosser), brush with my electric toothbrush, and finish with mouthwash. Very basic, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Next is taming the mane—also known as my bedhead. If I slept on even slightly wet hair, it’s rough. I work in construction, though, so most days I don’t do much with my hair because no one is admiring it under a hard hat. I usually just brush it, add some oil to the ends, throw in dry shampoo if needed, and call it a day.

Then I get dressed. My outfits are super simple—jeans and a t-shirt or hiking pants with a pullover. I thought it would be nice not worrying about business casual, but some days I do miss dressing cute. Most of my clothes just hang in my closet because they’re not jobsite-approved, and that’s okay. It definitely makes me want to wear cute outfits outside of work more.

Getting Out the Door

Once I’m ready, it’s time to head out. I pack my lunch, fill my water, grab any clothes I need after work, and then carry approximately five bags to the car. Why are we like this? I somehow justify every single one.

Then I drive to work—and usually call my mom on the way. Had to include that because she knows it’s coming.

And that is my simple, realistic morning routine that focuses on consistency, not doing everything. It’s not perfect, but it works. It makes me 1% better every day, and that’s how you build your dream life.

How I Want to Improve This Routine

I think my routine is pretty solid for this stage of life, but there’s always room to grow. Some things I want to add in the future:

• Red light therapy (I ordered one and will report back! And, no I did not buy a $400 one, I spent around $100. Here is link to one I purchased.)
• Vibration plate (Also ordered. Planning to do red light therapy while standing on it. I’ve heard it helps with tummy issues, and unfortunately, I am a victim. Here is the link to the one I purchased.)
• Greens (I’ve tried before, but they take forever to drink and don’t taste great. But, I am hopeful I will find one day that I can tolerate.)
• Morning walks (In my dream routine, I’m getting steps in early.)

Conclusion

You might be thinking, “You’re trying to lose weight—why isn’t there a workout in your morning routine?” Trust me, I wish there was. In my dream world—where I blog full-time (hint hint)—I’m absolutely working out in the morning. But with my job and not always getting to bed as early as I’d like, it just doesn’t happen most days.

So instead, I hit the gym in the afternoon with everyone and their mother. It’s crowded, but it gets done—and that’s what matters.

That’s kind of the whole point of this post. Sometimes it’s not about your preferred time to do things; it’s about doing them whenever you can. Who cares when you work out as long as you’re doing it? That alone puts you ahead of most people.

This season has taught me consistency over perfection in the most real way. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s about choosing to take control of what you can—and one of those things is your morning routine.

So I challenge you: wake up just five minutes earlier. Just five. See what you can do in those five minutes that sets you up for a better day, prepares you for what’s ahead, and pours into you.