Do you long to have a peaceful day? It’s no secret that moms live busy lives. How many times this week did you wake up and hit the ground running? Have you ever barreled through your day and then wondered what happened to all the hours that passed?
Over the past few months, I’ve been trying to bring more peace into my life. When your mind and body are prone to anxiety, focusing on peace needs to be intentional. While I try to create peace in my evenings, it’s best for my mind and body to try to seek peace first thing in the morning.
Here are the things I do to create a peaceful day.
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Prepare for a peaceful day the night before
As I’ve mentioned before, I need to do these six things today to make a better tomorrow. A solid evening routine sets me up for success and increases the potential for peace.
Get up before everyone else
If you want peace, you have to make it a priority. While it’s lovely to sleep in, it can create havoc in your day. I like to wake up for my day rather than wake up to my day.
When I wake up to my day, I’m starting five steps behind. The kids may have bounded into the room announcing that they spilled the cereal on the kitchen floor and that the toilet is plugged. Often the chaos snowballs and it’s hard to get things to slow down.
When I wake up for my day, I’m ready, prepared, and excited to tackle the day ahead. I can manage the possible complications and interruptions because I’ve first made some time for myself.
Sit in stillness
Oh is this ever uncomfortable and hard to do! We live in a culture and time where everything and everyone seems to be in constant motion.
Put down your smartphone. Take your hand off your coffee cup.
Sit in stillness for at least two minutes.
Close your eyes.
Listen to the sounds of your home.
Take a deep breath in.
Hold it for a second or two.
Slowly let your breath out.
Repeat your breathing until the two minutes are over.
Over time, increase the time you spend in stillness.
Is two minutes too challenging? Start with one minute.
By stopping everything to breathe, you’ve created a space and place in your day where peace flows with ease. Even if your days are busy, your mind and body will love the routine of stillness that you’ve created.
Start the day with God
This is the foundation of my day.
I used to think that because I have God in my life, things would be more peaceful. Was I ever wrong! Having God in my life doesn’t change the fact that this world is a messy, chaotic place, but God does change how I react to the messes around me.
My morning time includes prayer, reading scripture, and sometimes a Bible study. I invite God to show me what needs my attention in the day and I invite Him to give me direction throughout the day.
Do something peaceful
Before I jump into my morning chores or analyze my to-do list, I take a few minutes to do something peaceful. Here are some peace-inspired ideas:
- write in your journal
- light a candle and watch it flicker (the Nature’s Wick wooden wick candles are my absolute favourite because they crackle like a campfire)
- listen to some peaceful music
- sip your favourite morning beverage slowly… savor the smell and taste of it
- do some slow-moving stretches or yoga
- watch the sun rise
- colour (I especially love the colouring books by Margaret Feinberg, but there are so many adult colouring books available, you’ll surely find one you love)
- take a warm shower
- put some calming drops of essential oils into your favourite diffuser
- do some bird watching (place a bird feeder outside your window and watch the birds come and go)
- smell the flowers – if you have flowers outside your home or a bouquet, take a few moments to smell them
Do you feel the tranquility yet? By including these practices in your morning routine, I’m certain your days will become more peaceful.
Is there anything that you do to create peace in your day?
SHARE WITH OTHERS
What peaceful suggestions and I try my best to set up a bit the night before, as well as get up at least before my kids. But love the idea of writing in your journal or just doing something calm to start the day. Thanks for the lovely suggestions and wishing you a peaceful day and week ahead now xoxo <3
Thanks so much my friend! It helps so much to set up the night before, doesn’t it?!
Excellent tips! For me preparing and planning out the day before is the most important factor in making sure my next day is peaceful. I need to work on enjoying the quiet and the moments…..this is so challenging for type A personalities :(
Carly at A Modern Mom Blog
I’m delighted you enjoyed these tips Carly!
That day before / evening routine makes a world of difference for me. It takes practice to settle into those quiet moments… but once you do, your mind and body will thank you for it!
This week I haven’t had classes (finals week!), and in horrible timing, I’ve been home sick. Each day, I’ve been waking up *to* not *for* my day, and — ugh — it makes a difference, and not in a good way. You know you’re not off to a good start when your one of your kids pokes their head in your room and says, “Okay, I guess I’ll walk out to the bus stop now….” (I had slept through the whole morning preparation; so glad she had woken up on time regardless!)
Thanks for the good reminder to cultivate peace through practical strategies!
We ARE cross-border twins! I’m sick this week too – no fun at all. It does make it harder to claim that peace when your day hits you in the head when you’re not ready for it.
Glad you enjoyed the tips and I hope you feel well soon.
Those are excellent suggestions, Jennifer. I need to work on the getting up early part… I am a jump and run kinda girl. I’d rather sleep and pay for it- but I honestly do my quiet time at night while all are in bed. It just fits with my natural rhythm. :)
This is such a helpful piece. I’ll be sharing it on my page. <3
I used to be a night owl Chris, but now I’ve adjusted and I love my morning time – it puts me in the right frame of mind for the day. We all have our methods and systems… whatever works, right?!
Thanks for the kind words (and for sharing).
WE WERE BOTH READING EACH OTHERS POSTS AT THE VERY SAME TIME!! LOLOL!! Oh that is hilarious! And awesome. <3 XOXO
The only one I can’t seem to do is get up before everyone else. I’m just not wired that way, although it would be ideal. The morning start pretty early and I sleep through half of it a lot.
I love to get up and drink a full glass of water. No screen time for a while. A warm shower and good music!
We each have our habits and preferences. I used to be the sleep-in queen but I had to retrain myself to be the early bird… and it really does serve me best.
I love your morning rituals – sounds totally relaxing and peaceful.
I’m not a morning person but your ideas make me peaceful only by imagining them in head. I’ll definitely try waking up early in the morning and see how it goes.
I love starting my day in peace… it just flows into the rest of the day and makes the challenges a lot more manageable. It takes a while to adjust to waking up early. I did it by gradually going to bed earlier / waking up earlier. I did it in 15 minute increments until I was at a time I was happy with. Hope it works for you!
Wonderful ideas for creating a peaceful day! I especially love the shout out for my coloring books! Hugs!
– Margaret
I love your colouring books Margaret — they’re the best!
Thanks so much for stopping by and Merry Christmas!
I love the idea of waking up FOR my day rather than TO my day. Sometimes I read a book called Until Today, which has daily meditations but I must admit, I usually barrel through my day. But I found this post very simple and inspirational so thank you for sharing.
I’m delighted that these ideas resonated with you. Hopefully the tips inspire you to wake up FOR your day, rather than TO your day.
Starting the day with stillness and reading God’s word is the foundation of my day too. My days go so much better when I also ask him to lead me through writing my to-do list. It usually makes a lot more sense when he’s helping me with that, and I actually include the things I’m procrastinating.
YES! It seems to only make sense to hand my day over to Him first thing in the morning and say – hey God, this is your day – what do you want me to do with it?!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this April.