I use apps on my iPad to define and keep me on my morning routine day after day. This practice is not something I planned, it just developed naturally over time. I started with a couple of apps, then expanded as I encountered new activities and apps I wanted to include.
Morning is my quiet time. My wife stays up late and gets up later; I go to be early and get up earlier. Since I was up and by myself, it was quiet and the ideal time to practice my morning routine.
After getting up, I pick up my iPad in the bedroom/office where it charges and bring it into the living room. I go into the kitchen, make a cup of coffee, then settle on the sofa with my iPad and coffee.
I find that having all my morning routine items on one device, with apps lined up in their order to be accomplished, makes it easy for me to stay on track. All I need to do is establish one habit – bringing my iPad to the sofa with me. For all the other habits, I follow the apps laid out before me. This has given me much greater consistency in keeping up my habit streaks.
I find it helpful to make a separate home page on my iPad for my morning routine apps. That way I’m not distracted by seeing other apps. If one wished, they could also create a focus mode for the morning routine that would cut out all unwanted notifications, etc.
My routine is currently based on 8 apps:
1. Carrot Weather
The first app I look at each morning is the free Carrot Weather app, in the form of a larger widget. I have all of the sounds silenced – I found that the sarcastic voice and “loading” sounds were just too jarring in the morning quiet.
I use the app to see what the weather will be for the coming day and the week. The weather can impact short trips or activities we have planned such as hiking. Sometimes it also shows a window of opportunity when we might want to do something outside. I’m retired so I have a lot of margin built into my schedule.
2. Things Task Manager
Things is the task manager I use. I tap on the widget and review what tasks I have listed for the day. If there’s something I think of that I need to get done that day that I haven’t listed, I add it to the app.
I also typically take a moment to look at the “upcoming” section of the app to get an idea of what’s coming up in the next week or two.
3. Apple Calendar
I scan Apple Calendar, also in widget form, to see what events or time blocking work I might have scheduled for the day. I also look ahead for the next week to get a sense of what is coming up, and what I hope to get done during that period of time.
I may decide to add a time block to make sure I get something done. Or, I may use the app to schedule an impromptu hiking trip that my review of the weather app suggested.
4. Feedly
Feedly is my free RSS reader of choice. It gathers together from the web all of the new posts and articles on the topics I’m interested in following. This includes Apple news, productivity, all things MacSparky, sexuality education (for another blog I write), and hiking and backpacking.
As I sit quietly, I scan through the titles and choose which to read and which to skip. If it’s something I want to achieve, I tap on the share button and send a pdf copy to DevonThink, where I process it later.
5. Readwise Daily Highlights
Readwise is the most valuable service I subscribe to. It collects my highlights from multiple sources and organizes them in one place.
The most helpful feature to me is the service will deliver a set number (I selected 15) of random highlights to you each morning. They come in an attractive layout with the highlighted text and an image representing the source (book cover, etc.).
Since these are all texts I thought important enough to highlight, I take time to think carefully about each of them. Sometimes they suggest an idea for a blog post. If so, I stop and draft a basic mind map of the article structure in MindNode or a headline outline in Ulysses. For me, taking a few minutes to do this as a part of my morning routine is often extremely productive.
6 & 7. Learning Spanish Apps
With the aid of two apps, I have been teaching myself some basic Spanish the last few months. I started out using the free version of Duolingo, but I found it somewhat limited. I did some research and subscribed to Babble for a year.
I now use both apps each morning because I find value in each. The lessons only take about 5 minutes for each, so it doesn’t take much time to work through both of them each morning.
8. InsightTimer for Meditation
Like many people, I’ve had a hard time in the past consistently practicing meditation. I’ve found that by having the dedicated app InsightTimer in my morning routine, I’m much more likely to meditate. The app that I chose is very simple and basic, which makes it easy for me to use it.
The app allows me to set a time, and select an opening and closing sound if desired. It includes a wide range of traditional sounds. I chose to begin and end my 5-minute session with a sound very similar to a Tibetan singing bowl we own.
The app has a lot of options like courses, events, and activities which I initially found distracting, but it has settings that allow me to cut out all of the distractions and go directly to the timer with my settings when I open it. All I have to do is tap the “start” button.
After the opening sound, I close my eyes and focus on my breathing. I notice when my mind wanders, and take note of what I’m thinking about. After noticing, I go back to focusing on my breathing.
Focusing and refocusing on my breathing exercises my “focusing muscle.” Noticing what I’m thinking about often gives me an idea of what I’m concerned about and what I consider a priority for the day.
Set up Your Morning Routine with Apps
If this approach sounds appealing to you and might help you to stay on a routine, I encourage you to set up your own morning app routine. You could use either an iPad or an iPhone.
I’m sure my morning routine will continue to evolve, and the apps I use will likely change over time. I’ll make additions to and subtractions from my routine as I decide to. At one time I included the Apple Fitness Plus app in my routine and did a class at the end of my routine, but now that I exercise in the evenings I’ve removed it.
As they say, “There’s an app for everything.” If you need help in establishing and continuing a morning routine, you might find apps helpful. They can remind you what activities you intend to complete and keep you on track by making them easily available. Give it a try and see if it works for you.
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