The Real Reasons You Can’t Stick to a Morning Routine

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Struggling to stick to your morning routine? You’re not alone. Many people find it hard to maintain consistent habits during the early hours of the day, but it’s often because of avoidable mistakes. Whether it’s not getting enough quality sleep, trying to do too much at once, or relying too heavily on motivation, understanding the real reasons behind these struggles can help you create a sustainable and energizing morning routine.  

1. You don’t get enough quality sleep

If you wake up and feel exhausted, it’s no surprise you don’t have the energy to flow through a perfect morning routine. Check in with yourself: How much sleep are you getting (and I mean actual hours of sleep versus time in bed)? What quality does your sleep have? Do you wake up a lot? Does it take a long time for you to fall asleep? Do you feel the need for an afternoon nap most days? Do you require caffeine to wake up and get through the day? If you turn off your alarm clock, would you sleep much more than usual?  

All these questions can give you insight into the quality of your sleep routine.  

If you want to stick to a morning routine, you first have to build a good evening routine. That will set you up for a good night’s sleep, giving you the energy levels and alertness needed for a new routine in the morning hours.  

2. You haven’t eliminated your procrastination triggers

We procrastinate because it is easy to do so and because it has become a habit. If you want to have your new morning habits succeed over your old procrastination habits, then you have to eliminate the things that triggered your procrastination in the past.  

For example, hitting the snooze button and going back to sleep can be made much harder by putting your alarm clock away from your bed so that you have to stand up to turn it off. If that is still not enough to prevent you from going back to sleep, download one of those apps that require you to solve an equation before the alarm turns off. The goal is to make going back to bed take more effort than staying on your feet and awake.  

If social media swallows up your morning hours, consider deleting the apps in the evening or turning your phone off entirely. There are even unbreakable boxes you can use to lock up your phone until a set time.  

Lastly, if decision fatigue makes you lose precious morning hours, decide ahead of time what you will wear and what you will eat. These are low-stakes decisions you can easily make in the evening when your energy for bigger decisions is depleted.  

3. You try to do too much and get overwhelmed or stressed

You don’t need a 10-step morning routine. You need one that is easy and doable. A routine that works and doesn’t overwhelm you first thing in the morning. Of course, you won’t stick to a morning routine if you try to cram countless things into those first precious hours. It’s time to focus on quality over quantity.  

Your morning routine shouldn’t stress you out. Instead, it should serve two goals: First, prepare you optimally for the rest of your day. Second, help you accomplish a couple of productive things that will serve you in the long term. Instead of trying to overhaul your entire morning at once, pick just one or two daily habits to focus on for a couple of weeks and build from there.

4. You haven’t actually got the time for it

If you wake up at 7 a.m. and need to be out the door by 8 a.m., you don’t have much time for a proper morning routine. Of course, it’s hard to build habits if you don’t make the time for them. The solution is either to wake up earlier **and** go to bed earlier or give up on the idea of having a long routine.  

Cycling through constant disappointment in yourself won’t help. Starting the day with negative emotions guarantees it will go downhill from there. So, pick your poison: either prioritize sleep or scale your routine back to fit into your existing schedule.  

5. You’re used to relying on motivation

Motivation is great for starting something new. It’s a horrible tool for maintaining consistency. That’s because motivation is unpredictable and unreliable. It comes and goes as soon as things get difficult or boring. If your morning routine depends on motivation, it won’t last long. Eventually, you’ll need sheer willpower or a system to keep going.  

6. You start out above your level

Hearing about someone meditating for an hour every morning or pulling off a full David Goggins workout before dawn sounds incredible. But if you’re starting out, trying to leap to that level is a recipe for failure. Growth happens incrementally, not all at once.  

Instead of setting unrealistic goals like meditating for an hour, start small. Try just one or two minutes and build from there. Use those small accomplishments to start creating a real, lasting habit.  

The bottom line? Creating a morning routine that sticks is all about being intentional, realistic, and patient with yourself. Tackle one challenge at a time—whether it’s improving your sleep or starting with a single habit—and you’ll soon find yourself enjoying productive and fulfilling mornings. After all, the way you start your day sets the tone for everything that follows.