Whatever Is Excellent with Leanne Tuggle
Encouragement and Inspiration for women choosing to rise above the “just survive” mentality and instead set their mind on thriving in all that they say and do. The ultimate goal is to equip you to pursue whatever is excellent in the midst of your ordinary life and in all that you say and do.
Whatever Is Excellent with Leanne Tuggle
20: Crafting a Morning Routine from the Heart
Ever wondered how some people transform from night owls to early birds with purpose?
Join me as I share my personal journey of turning from someone who cherished ten hours of sleep into a disciplined early riser. You'll discover how my motivations evolved over the years, from simply wanting more free time after school to navigating the rigors of college life with early classes. As a new teacher, arriving early to serve my students became crucial, and I learned firsthand the power of aligning discipline with motivation to foster both personal and professional growth.
This episode is a heartfelt exploration of building a morning routine rooted in intention. Hear how my longing to begin each day spiritually, by reading my Bible, gradually expanded into a comprehensive morning regimen that fuels my body and mind through exercise and reading nonfiction. It's all about finding peace and purpose, guided by the tranquillity of Psalm 23, whether you're a new mother or someone eager to align your routine with spiritual and personal goals. I encourage you to embrace the changing seasons of life, start small, and let the compounding effect of consistent efforts shape your journey. Join me, and discover how setting intentions can transform your mornings—and your life.
Recommended Reading:
Atomic Habits by James Clear
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It used to be a joke between my husband and I that I needed 10 hours of sleep in order to be functional. I mean truly. 10 PM until about 8 AM is my ideal sleep schedule. It sounds amazing, right? When I tell people that I regularly wake up at 5 AM, they say something like oh well, you're a morning person and that isn't entirely wrong. But also by saying that sometimes I wonder if they are effectively canceling themselves from waking up early because they assume that they couldn't be a morning person. And it is because of this thought that I wanted to share honestly with you about my journey to waking up at 5am, because, the truth is, I do not consider myself a morning person. I have trained myself to become a morning person Because, if left to my own devices, I would definitely be sleeping in a whole lot later. So how does someone become an earlier riser? What keeps a person motivated to keep waking up early, day after day, week after week? Does a woman of excellence have to be a morning person in order to show up with excellence? And finally, what does the Bible say about when we should rise to begin our day? If these are questions that have been circling around in your mind since the beginning of the year. Maybe or perhaps you would like to start waking up earlier, but you feel like you can't because you're not a morning person. Or if, as the days are getting longer, you would like you can't because you're not a morning person, or if, as the days are getting longer, you would like to maximize your productivity. If any of these things are in your mind, or whatever your reasons are for wanting to establish a morning routine, I am here to inspire you to find the best rhythm for you, while answering these questions and others along the way, and sprinkling in some personal anecdotes too. Does that sound good?
Leanne:My earliest memory of waking up early is during the season of my life when I was homeschooled. My mom would write down the subjects and assignments that I needed to complete each day on this note card and before I went to bed every night I would find the next day's card and then make my own plan for how I was going to get it all done. I would wake up early and complete most of my schoolwork before breakfast while still in my bed. I felt so accomplished to be done with 80% of my work and still have the rest of my day to do whatever I wanted. It was the ultimate work before play mentality. I was motivated to wake up early because I craved the freedom to be able to enjoy my day in the way that I wanted. Later, then, I hit my teen years and suddenly sleep was the motivation. Add in dance rehearsals and homework and pretty soon I was waking up with just enough time to get dressed, eat breakfast, read my Bible and run out the door to school.
Leanne:In college it was more or less the same different season of life, different priorities. And yet even in college I learned the hard way that while others could stay up until maybe two or three in the morning, I was not able to function properly without at least seven or eight hours of sleep. So I had to discipline myself to go to bed by 10 PM most nights in order to make it to my early classes and not fall asleep. This was the first time that I truly understood the meaning of the word discipline.
Leanne:Discipline in this context means the ability to control one's actions, thoughts and emotions to achieve a specific goal or adhere to personal or external standards. You see, while I was in elementary school, motivation was enough to keep me going. Motivation is the driving force or reason behind a person's actions, desires and goals. I was motivated to get all of my work done because I wanted to be able to play all afternoon, but by the time I was in college, my motivations were all over the place. I was motivated to stay up late because I didn't want to miss out on time spent with my friends, but I was also motivated to go to bed early because I wanted to get good grades. So which motivation was going to win? Well, this is where the discipline came in. Motivation sparks the idea. Discipline sustains the effort. For example, after listening to this episode, you might be fired up and feel inspired to wake up at 5am, but without the right habits and discipline, you won't be able to sustain this routine.
Leanne:In an earlier episode, I talked about the value of setting intentions instead of resolutions or goals. Intentions connect to the deeper, more intrinsic motivations. Setting intentions focuses on progress over perfection and is more concerned with who you are than simply what you want. So if I were to set the intention that I am someone who does her very best in all that she says and does, and my mission is to attend classes so that I can earn the degree that will help me work in the career that I find most exciting. Well then, going to bed earlier is the motivation that is going to win out in this scenario. By visualizing why you are motivated to do something, this then allows you to think about the deeper reasons behind your intention. This is where the initial excitement and inspiration comes from.
Leanne:When I was a new teacher, I felt the weight of responsibility to teach the young people that I was in charge of, and I was very aware of my incompetence as I was just starting out, and I quickly learned that showing up for work 30 minutes before my students simply wasn't enough time for me to feel ready for the tasks of the day. I was motivated to be an excellent teacher and to give myself adequate space and time to improve in my profession, but it also meant I needed to become an earlier riser so that I could approach my day feeling ready to love and serve my students well. Over much trial and error, I found that the best way that I felt ready for the task of teaching every morning was if I arrived an hour before my students. The days I showed up early to work were the best teaching days, so my motivation to get to work early was rewarded, which led to disciplining um at the discipline to sustain my efforts. Knowing what time I needed to be at work allowed me to then work backwards in developing my best morning routine. I considered how much time I needed to get ready for the day, how much time it would take me to drive to work. All of this contributed to when I needed to wake up, and I kept waking up at that time because I was motivated to be the best teacher for my students. Later on in life, when I wasn't teaching, I no longer had that motivation to get up early, and so I was back to sleeping in or sleeping for 10 hours.
Leanne:When motivation disappears, so does discipline. So how do you stay disciplined when your motivation dips or disappears altogether, because inevitably your motivation is going to dip at some point? The answer is you need habits and routines. The answer is you need habits and routines. Our brains are wired to do whatever is easiest, the path of least resistance. So then it stands to reason that the best thing that you can do to become more disciplined is to create habits.
Leanne:Habits are routine behaviors or practices that are repeated regularly, often performed unconsciously or with little effort. That is exactly what your brain needs To develop habits. You need to be consistent, especially in the beginning stages of developing a habit. The repetition is what creates the neural pathways and gets the brain to the automatic stage. This is why I do the exact same thing every morning when I wake up, in the exact same order. In essence, I have programmed my brain. The program is based on a cue action reward loop. The cue is that my alarm goes off, the action is getting out of bed and the reward is getting to put on my warm, cozy robe. From there, that reward is actually the cue for my next action. Putting on that warm, cozy robe is my cue. That the action is now to put the kettle on for tea and then the reward is having a hot cup of tea while I do my Bible time. That cue action reward loop continues throughout your whole morning routine. James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, goes into detail on this concept and on developing habits. That last, and I highly recommend his book for anyone, but especially if you are someone who needs more motivation regarding the benefits of living a disciplined life.
Leanne:So let's get back to the version of Leanne who is back in, sleeping in and completely unmotivated to be an early riser. What happened to me? To go from sleeping in to waking up at 5 am? I had a baby. Nothing prepares you for sleep deprivation. Quite like a newborn, I wish there was a way that you could store up hours of sleep for when you need it later on, because those 10 hours I was getting would have been really helpful for that newborn season of life. Somehow I went from needing 10 hours of sleep every night to surviving on maybe three hours of sleep, and for sure not consecutive hours. Was I operating well? Perhaps not, but I was able to take care of my darling baby, by the grace of God. I was able to take care of my darling baby, by the grace of God.
Leanne:It wasn't until she was almost a year old that I realized I needed motivation and discipline back in my life. I was past the survival stage and wanted to move into that thriving stage. Similarly to the days when I was a teacher, I noticed a trend in myself as a wife and a mother. The days when I woke up before my child and managed to read my Bible or drink a cup of coffee or even work out, I felt better. And because I felt better. I was more patient and loving and more willing to serve my family wholeheartedly, and more willing to serve my family wholeheartedly. And so it was that I revisited this concept of setting an intention to spark the motivation I needed in order to discipline myself to wake up earlier.
Leanne:Again, I'm not a natural morning person. This took some work. This intention was focused on being the woman I knew God created me to be. God gave me a husband and a child to love and serve well, and I recognized that the only way I was going to be able to show up with excellence was by starting my day with God In humility. I realized I was unable to do any of this wife and mom stuff apart from God. So, first and foremost, I was motivated to wake up earlier to simply be able to read my Bible, and then it evolved into reading my Bible with a hot cup of coffee, and then reading my Bible with the coffee and reading one chapter of a nonfiction book. And then, finally, as my child was at that stage of getting into everything when mom isn't looking, I realized that I would actually also need to get my workout in before she was awake too. All of these observations helped to direct the habits I needed to establish in order to have a morning routine that I could be consistent with and keep doing, even on the days when I didn't feel like it, because I had programmed my brain to perform these habits automatically. And on the days I really didn't feel like waking up early, I reminded myself of the reward I would receive as a result of my actions. I was a more patient, calm and peace-filled mom when I woke up early. Keeping this why motivation in the forefront of my mind was the inspiration I needed to get up, even when I didn't feel like it. Who I am was more important than how I felt in that moment.
Leanne:Now I do want to say just one quick note here. I'm not trying to say that on the days when you didn't sleep well or you're sick or something like that, that you just need to power through and keep waking up. Obviously, there are always exceptions there, but what I'm talking about is those days when nothing is really wrong, but you just don't feel like it, and so you make excuses or you justify your actions so that you don't get up when you know that you should. So there's a distinction there. There are some days when you truly do need to sleep because that's what is best for you, and there are other days when it's really just you don't feel like it. So make sure you can discern between those two, sure you can discern between those two.
Leanne:The best part of all of this that I'm talking about is that your efforts are compounded over time. Your small daily deposits add up over time. Perhaps you have heard this question before Would you rather have a penny that doubles each day for a month, or a million dollars? You may have heard that. If you have heard this before, then you know that after 30 days, the person who chooses a penny that doubles every day ends up with well over $5 million in the end. However, that's not the most interesting part of this story. The part that is most meaningful is that it takes 15 whole days to simply get over $100. And it isn't until day 22 that things really start to pick up momentum. Did you know that habits take 21 days to become automatic? Okay, interesting, isn't it? I don't think that's a coincidence.
Leanne:When you set out to be the best version of yourself, when you set the intention of becoming a woman of excellence, you will need motivation to spark your excitement, and then you will need discipline to sustain your efforts. But those efforts will compound over time and then one day you will wake up and find other people are calling you a morning person and you can't help but smile because you know that that wasn't always true. But over time, one habit at a time, you got to that 5am wake up time and you never looked back again. Now it's worth noting, especially for the young mamas out there this early morning wake up time was helpful for me to show up with excellence for my family. Everyone will have a different time that works best for them.
Leanne:This isn't a prescription or a magic formula. It's simply a suggestion. Your alarm doesn't need to be set for 5am tomorrow morning. In fact, if you do want to do want to start waking up earlier, I suggest starting with just 15 minutes earlier than you are waking up now and then take note of how that small shift impacts your day. From there, you can incrementally increase the amount of time that you're waking up earlier. From there, you can incrementally increase the amount of time that you're waking up earlier.
Leanne:Also, when I gave birth to my twin boys, I didn't get back from the hospital and immediately start waking up at 5am again. Well, I did, but that was because I was nursing some ravenous baby boys. The season of life that you are in will also play a role in what your morning routine looks like. Showing up with excellence for me with newborn twins meant sleeping anytime that I could. It meant that reading my Bible happened at a different time every day, often with just-fed babies sleeping on me. And yet, because of the time that I had invested in establishing habits that aligned with my intentions, as soon as those little boys were sleeping longer stretches at night, I was right back to waking up early, because I knew that I would be a more patient, calm and peace-filled mom with that tried-and-tr, true morning routine. Now one of you is listening to this and thinking do I have to read my Bible every morning? Is that what a woman of excellence is supposed to do? The quick answer is no.
Leanne:God does not say that you should or you have to spend your first minutes of your day with him. God loves you and longs to have a relationship with you, regardless of when you read your Bible or pray. King David in Psalm 63, 1 says O God, you are my God. Earnestly I seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. It's this kind of desperation for God that brings me to my knees first thing in the morning. It's this understanding that without God I will be weary and parched. Isaiah 40, 31 says but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up on wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. This is the greatest reward for total dependence on God, in my opinion, and for me, this means starting my day with Him, and it can absolutely look different for you. As a woman of excellence. You know that motivation sparks your desire to show up ready to do your very best, and you know that discipline through habits and routine is what will help to sustain your efforts. But you also believe that it is through God alone, through his goodness and grace, that your efforts are truly sustained, through His goodness and grace that your efforts are truly sustained.
Leanne:Over these last few weeks, I have enjoyed reading to you a longer portion of Scripture as a way of closing out each episode. This week, I kept coming back to Psalm 23, even though I know it is well-known and perhaps it's even printed on a sign or a pillow in your home, but it perfectly encapsulates this episode on morning routines. As I read this psalm, I invite you to picture yourself resting in perfect peace and then rising to start your day. No matter what you will face in your day, you know you are not alone. You eat breakfast while enjoying time spent with the Lord, and then you continue on loving and serving your people well, because you are a woman of excellence, because you belong to a good shepherd and because you are his beloved. Psalm 23.
Leanne:The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his namesake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff. They comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.