Myths About Morning Routine

I have said this SO many times! I think I’m kind of known for this now in my circles. Morning routines are so important, for SO many reasons.

First of all, the Prophet(saw) made dua for us: “Oh Allah, bless my ummah in the early morning.” Can you imagine? The MOST beloved to Allah(swt) made this dua! Just knowing this alone, leaves no doubt in my heart and mind that there is power in the early morning.

Second… Once our days start, ESPECIALLY as mothers, it’s just go, go, go! Can you relate to this? (I’m rolling my eyes about my own question…of course this is exactly what you are dealing with. I’ve spoken to enough fellow moms to, by now, understand that we all deal with the SAME struggles.) By having an early morning routine, you have the chance to prime your mind for success throughout your day, bi ithnillah! You’ll have the chance to make a structure for your mind regarding what’s to come so that you are not losing energy throughout your day, trying to figure out what needs to happen next, in the midst of all the busyness of the day.

Yet, if morning routines are so powerful, based on our Deen and scientifically proven, how come we don’t make it a priority in our lives? And the answer is, because many, many of us have false beliefs regarding early mornings and morning routines.

Here are a few myths I have heard.

Myth #1: “I am not a morning person.”

This one is SUCH a popular one! Any time I talk to a sister who is struggling, or even men from my family who complain about a certain area of their life, and I suggest they start a morning routine, they look at me like I am crazy. “What does that have to do with a morning routine? Besides, I am so not a morning person! My brain and body just can’t function in the early morning.” I can’t tell you HOW many times I hear this. I will explain this myth in two parts.

– Waking up in the early morning IS hard. No doubt about it. If it wasn’t hard, Allah(swt) wouldn’t promise us big rewards for getting up in the last third of the night to connect to our Lord, to have guaranteed answers for our duas. But Allah(swt) knew how important it is. So important, that He chose this time for one of our mandatory meetings with Him(swt): fajr salah

– While waking up in the early morning and staying awake is not easy(at first), it is not impossible. A lot of time people have labeled themselves as a “morning person” or a “night owl” and continue to behave in certain ways based on how they’ve labeled themselves. While it is hard for EVERYONE to leave a cozy comfy bed in what feels like the middle of the night, how easy or difficult a morning routine might feel to you, ultimately depends on how you train your body and mind. It’s all about the patterns that you choose to follow (and follow them long enough) that helps your mind and body get comfortable and productive in those patterns. So if you have practiced long enough to crawl back in bed after fajr then that’s what your body and mind are good at. And if you have practiced long enough to start your day with a morning routine after you wake up, then that’s what your mind and body will become good at.

Myth #2: “I have to sleep in, otherwise I won’t get enough sleep.”

I am a HUGE proponent of prioritizing sleep. When I encourage and convince my audience to have a morning routine, I do not mean in any way to skimp on sleep. In fact, I know consistent lack of sleep will not only cause you to be mentally lethargic, tired, and scattered, but will also cause serious physical complications in the long run. And as always…I like to connect things to our soul as well. Let’s be honest to ourselves, when we feel tired and out of energy, even connecting with Allah(swt) on a deep level becomes hard.

However, we can prioritize sleep AND follow a morning routine. How? By actually attaching a label with “important” on it to our sleep.

You see, when I speak to mothers, almost every other sister I speak to tells me that she is feeling tired and exhausted. And while that is understandable in our jobs as mothers, the remedy for it is in first and for most getting enough sleep. But how many of us treat our sleep as important? Way too many are up in the late hours of the night, finishing up cleaning, getting work done, or binging Netflix and calling that “me time”.

Now I want to stop here for a second and say, sis! I get you! I have been in my seasons of life where the kids were little and the ONLY time I could get something done around the house was when they were in bed. And I still have nights where the ONLY time I can get some of my work done is after the kids go to bed.

And yet, I still believe that if we put that “important” tag on our sleep, we would not be continuously sleep deprived. Unfortunately for way too many of us sleep is last on our list of priorities! Did you know that sleeping between 10pm and 2am will give you the MOST back in benefit for your mind and body? So if sleep is important to us, we can use the power hours of sleep and make going to bed earlier a priority. That way your body gets the rest it needs and you can teach yourself to wake up earlier and stay up for a morning routine. You will get SO much more benefit out of your time, insha Allah, when your body is well rested and has had a chance to heal through proper sleep.

Myth #3: “Instead of having a morning routine, why not start working on my tasks immediately and make progress?”

Ahhh, I have personally thought this SO often. I mean, it makes sense. Using the time in the early morning to immediately start checking off to-do list items sounds so productive! Yes! I have tried this and it works, until… the mental struggles, the challenges in life, the beliefs we hold about ourselves and about people around us, kick in (because we are human). And once these kick in they can leave us paralyzed, stuck, unmotivated, and hopeless. So much so that there will be times where for weeks in a row you can barely get through your day, struggling to deal more with your thoughts and feelings than to focus on what matters in life, like your goals, your dreams, your spirituality, and the people that matter in your life.

So I learned, that instead of trying to get quick wins for a short amount of time and then feel stuck for long periods of time, I’d rather work continuously on my mindset, my body, and my soul, little bit every day, to build a fort around my being, with the help of Allah(swt). So that when the enemy attacks (limiting beliefs, thoughts, and assumptions) I am better protected against long term damage from them.

Alright friend, I’ll keep it at these three myths for this post. I pray to Allah(swt) that you see the benefits of a morning routine, no matter how hard it is to get yourself up from the comfort of your bed, while everyone else is vast asleep, and that you are able to truly experience the changes that a morning routine will bring into your life insha Allah! Let’s revive the Sunnah of our beloved(saw)!