How to Prepare for a Great Morning Routine


Issue #151

Your weekly roundup of insights and resources to help you get more done for the glory of God.

Read on the Web

In Today’s Issue:

  • 3 Tips for Your Morning Routine
  • A Reflection on Procrastination
  • The Lost Art of Biblical Meditation
  • Redeem the Time in the Age of TikTok

Dear steward,

Early in the morning, before my kids rise, I have a precious hour or two to read my Bible, pray, journal, exercise, and plan my day.

Getting consistent with this little ritual has transformed my walk with the Lord and my productive output.

It’s not always easy, but I’ve found that practicing a morning routine is always worth it.

I’ve had the unique privilege of helping thousands of Christians refine their own Christ-honoring morning routines. And there are certain patterns that show up again and again with those who are struggling to stick with a routine like this. But difficulties with consistency almost always boil down to just one thing:

Lack of preparation.

If you’re somebody looking to start a morning routine, or maybe you have tried and failed to stick with one; this week I shared three preparation tips can help you put the right pieces in place to create a God-glorifying morning routine that you will actually stick with.

Read, watch, or listen to How to Prepare for a Great Morning Routine.

Now, let’s dive into the rest of this week’s roundup…


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Wake up earlier
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THE ROUNDUP 🔗

The best links I found this week

A Reflection on Procrastination (4 mins)

Russell Gehrlein / Institute for Faith, Work, & Economics

Procrastination is one of those pesky productivity problems we all deal with. Why can’t I just make myself do what I need to do when I need to do it? Too often we neglect the spiritual dimension of this common obstacle.

I propose that the character trait that is on the other end of the spectrum from procrastination is faithfulness, which is one of the fruits of the Spirit that the Apostle Paul lists in Gal. 5:22-23.

Start the Day Happy in God: The Lost Art of Bible Meditation (8 mins)

David Mathis / Desiring God

Now that I’m off of social media, I want to make sure that vacuum of time and mental space gets filled with something worthwhile. That’s why I’ve made biblical meditation one of my themes for this year.

So David Mathis’s latest article couldn’t have come a better time. I challenge you to read this and not feel your heart stirred to take up and read God’s Word.

Long before anyone talked about neuroplasticity, Owen believed in what we might call “affectional plasticity” — that is, your desires and delights are not hardwired. They are pliable. You can reshape and recondition them. You can retrain them. You may be unable to simply turn them with full effect in the moment to make yourself feel something, but you can reshape your heart over time. Oh, can you. Your desires, good and bad, are not simple givens. Stretched out over time, as the composite of countless decisions, they are wonderfully (and hauntingly)

If you’re interested in learning more about biblical meditation I’d encourage you to check out David Saxton’s book, God’s Battle Plan for the Mind. Here’s a review I wrote some years ago when I first read it.

Redeem Time in the Age of TikTok (10 mins)

Joe Carter / The Gospel Coalition

Some really thought provoking ideas in this one. Specifically, the idea that context is a necessary component of wisdom, and yet modern digital media is marked by contextless leaps from novelty to novelty. Is it any wonder we have become so foolish?

The transient nature of contextless information on platforms like TikTok can have a profound effect on our worldview. When the ephemeral is the celebrated norm, and the lasting is overlooked and avoided, we may value quick successes over long-term achievements, instant pleasures over enduring joys, and surface-level interactions over deep relationships.

WHAT'S NEW ✨

On Redeeming Productivity

How to Prepare for a Great Morning Routine (5 mins)

Lack of preparation is the main reason people fall off the wagon with their morning routines. Here are three things you should do to prepare for your morning routine so you can be more consistent.

🖋

A DOSE OF WISDOM

Quote of the Week

“We all want to work on becoming a certain type of person, but where do we find the time? The mornings. That’s where.”

Hal Elrod


FINAL WORD 👋

Thanks for reading!

That's all for this week. Thanks for reading!

Reagan Rose


Reagan Rose

I talk about personal productivity from a Christian perspective. Creator of ​Redeeming Productivity​.


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