You Don’t Need a 10-Step Morning Routine.

A few minutes of quiet, intentional time is all anyone needs.

Morning routines seem to have turned (at least on the anti-social media) into competition of productivity, discipline, and let’s be honest, self-torture.

We’re instructed to wake up at 5 a.m., read a chapter of a self-help book, journal three pages, cold plunge, sauna, chant, breathwork, green juice, gratitude list, ten affirmations… on and on it goes. I’m exhausted just thinking about it.

Why, though? What’s the actual purpose of all of this? And seriously, who has time for a 10-step morning routine that lasts hours?

If the point of all of that work is simply to start the day on the right note—to feel a little more present, grounded, and intentional—then all those extra steps are unnecessary. In fact, they’re superfluous.

The Power of Simplicity

I don’t believe in complicated routines. The more complicated, the more likely it is to fall apart the moment life gets messy.

When we strip it down to its essence, the point of morning routine isn’t to do more. It’s to create a small, steady anchor, a moment to come home to yourself before the noise of the world seeps in.

Even a few quiet minutes can shift how you move through your day. You might not notice it right away, but over time, those moments of intentionality start to stack. You’ll feel less reactive. More centered. Less like life is just happening to you—and more like you’re actually in it.

Start Where You Are

If you’re already juggling a million things in the morning, the last thing you need is another list that makes you feel like you’re failing before 9 a.m.

You don’t need to become someone who wakes up at dawn to meditate on a mountain. You just need a few breaths of stillness. A moment with your coffee. A line or two in your journal. Something that tells your nervous system, “I’m here. I’m starting with me.”

That’s where real change happens—not through grand gestures, but through quiet, consistent choices that build trust with yourself.

The Ripple Effect of a Steady Morning

When you give yourself a few quiet minutes in the morning to check in, something subtle but powerful happens: the rest of your day starts to flow differently.

Journaling first thing in the morning is like clearing a foggy window. Thoughts that felt heavy or chaotic the night before often land on the page with a little more clarity and softness. When you can see what’s going on inside you, you don’t have to carry it all day. You’ve already made space for it.

There’s also a quiet regulation that happens when pen meets paper. Naming your emotions and thoughts helps your nervous system settle—it’s like telling your mind, “You’re safe. I’ve got this.” Instead of spinning stories in your head, you’re grounding them in something real and tangible.

And if there’s one habit that has quietly held me through nearly every season of my life, it’s this one. Morning journaling has been my anchor for decades—not because it’s fancy or perfectly structured, but because it works. It’s where I’ve made sense of tangled feelings, found emotional clarity, and reminded myself of who I am before the world rushes in.

This simple act doesn’t just shift how your morning feels. It changes how you show up for the rest of your day—less scattered, more steady. The more consistently you start your mornings from this place, the more naturally calm and steady your inner world becomes, no matter what unfolds around you.

A Gentle Invitation

If this sounds like something you’ve wanted to do but somehow never quite manage to stick with, you’re not alone. That’s exactly why I created the Morning Routine Guided Journal—a simple, intentional framework to help you ease into your mornings without pressure or perfectionism.

It’s designed to meet you where you are: no 10-step checklists, no rigid rules. Just thoughtful prompts, gentle guidance, and a reminder to come back to yourself—even if it’s just for a few minutes.