The importance of a morning routine

Let's talk about my morning routine. For a while now, I made my morning routine into a daily habit. I've tried different versions of a morning routine in the past, and have enjoyed them immensely. I just haven't stuck with one for a month or more, but I finally have one down. The reason I like having a morning routine is that not only does it instill a sense of purpose, peace, and ritual to my day, but it ensures that I'm getting certain things done every morning, namely, my goals. I'm setting aside morning time as a time of peace and time to take small steps each day towards my goals.

Here's my morning routine, at the moment (subject to tweaking later):

Morning Routine

1. Wake at 6:00 a.m.
2. Step on the scale.
3. Meditate for ten minutes.
4. Set 3 Most Important Things (MITs) for today.
5. Make the bed
6. Fix lunches for kids and myself.
7. Eat breakfast with the family.
8. Shower.
9. Take the kids to school at 8:15 a.m. (on certain days).

A couple of explanations: The MITs that I set for the day concern at least one item towards one of my goals, and probably the 1-2 things I MUST complete at work. There will be more that I do during the day, but my focus will be to finish at least these three MITs. I also often exercise in the evenings too, so on some days, I'll have two workouts – maybe a run in the morning and a bike ride in the evening, for example. My body is still getting used to this, so we'll see how it works out.

As for waking up at 6:00 a.m., I only started doing that within the last few months — before that, it was 7:00 or 7:30, and before last year I woke at 6:30, so I've become an early riser just in the previous year.

What's your morning routine look like?