Daily Productivity Routine (the 5-5-20 method)

Written by Emily Nickerson Published on August 28, 2024

Do you wish you were a more productive morning person? I have been there so many times!

Sometimes it’s difficult to attain that when you are in a stage of life that doesn’t let you have much free time. I have two toddlers that are a little over a year apart, and finding time in the mornings to be productive can be so hard. Once they wake, I don’t have any time to myself. And then all day, I’m feeling behind and frustrated and it just goes downhill from there. I finally came to the realization that I HAD to be better about scheduling my day, from the time I go to bed to the second I open my eyes in the morning. I’ve started implementing this routine that my husband shared with me. It has changed both of our lives and we have been so much more productive and happy morning people!

So, you’re probably wondering –

But how do I become a morning person??

What do I need to do??

In order to become a productive morning person, you have to deliberately get up earlier. You can’t go about your life as usual without changing anything and expect yourself to just become a morning person. Your lifestyle has to change. And that starts the night before. Set a bed time for yourself to get enough sleep the night before, so you can be productive in the morning. So if you need to be up at 6, and you need at least 8 full hours of sleep – make yourself go to bed at 9:30. It seems simple but sometimes getting ourselves to bed “early” is one of the hardest parts of becoming a morning person.

Set yourself up for success by consciously planning every minute of your morning. Being a morning person means you are productive in the morning from the moment you wake up. As soon as you wake up, get out of bed and do something. For me, taking a shower as soon as I wake up helps me to wake all the way up and have energy to start my morning routine. For my husband, it’s showering and starting our coffees and sitting to read his Bible and pray. So figure out what best gets you going in the morning. For some people, that’s going on a run as soon as they wake up. For some people, it’s making coffee and sitting down to read while they drink. For some, it’s taking a walk while the sun rises.

Something else my husband and I have been doing to help our day start off better, is eating breakfast within an hour of waking up. We try to eat a protein-heavy breakfast, free of sugar or empty carbs, so that our bodies have the fuel and energy they need to get moving. Our coffee is typically one shot of espresso with an unsweetened flavored creamer (these NutPods ones have been our favorite!)

So that brings us to the 5-5-20 method. This has been the biggest help to me in becoming a morning person. Starting and keeping with a routine is one of the best ways to get those good helpful habits permanently established in your life. The 5-5-20 method is simple and very customizable. Let me break it down for you. It’s 5 minutes, 5 things, 20 reps/20 minutes. Let’s break that down more:

5 things you are thankful for

5 things you want to accomplish that day

20 reps of any exercise

20 minutes of reflection

The great thing about this morning routine is that it is completely customizable to your lifestyle and stage of life. You can swap things out, add your own ideas, change the reps to minutes of exercise, etc.

Starting off with being thankful is the best way to start. As a Christian, I use the “5 things I’m thankful for” time to pray and give God thanks for the blessings He has given me. He is worthy to be thanked every day for each new day He gives to me to care for and nurture my family. You may be wondering how you are supposed to come up with five new things every day – it will get easier over time, don’t worry. These things can be as simple as having a house, having running water and electricity, your job, your kids, your health, having close friends that are an encouragement to you, etc. You don’t have to be really deep with your items, just think of whatever you can that morning that makes you thankful that you have the life that you do 🙂

I thrive when I have a to-do list. All of us sisters take after our mom that way. We’re list-makers and we perform our best as wives and mothers when we have goals and deadlines. So I use that part of the 5-5-20 method to write down anything I need to do that day. Laundry, cleaning certain areas of the house, getting food prepped for later in the week, weeding the garden, etc. It can be big projects you plan to tackle that day or just the normal small things in the house that need done but you sometimes fall behind in. Once again, easy to customize.

Depending on how much you workout or want to workout, the “20 reps” can be used whatever way you decide. For me, it’s trying to get in 20 minutes on the treadmill before the kids are awake. For my husband, it’s 20 pushups.

The last part of the 5-5-20 method, the time of reflection, is the time I use to read my Bible and get my devotions in. As a young mom of toddlers close together (ages 1 and 2), finding time to sit and read my Bible has always been a struggle. I have found that listening to my Bible in my AirPods while I walk on my treadmill or fold laundry in the mornings has been more productive for me lately. I can focus on filling my ears and my mind with scripture while also getting some physical activity in.

I have made some printables for you to start implementing this method in your life so you can become a morning person! Having a place to write things down and check things off is very beneficial in feeling accomplished. It’s easier than you think and it’s really such a great way to live. It’s a healthy and productive lifestyle that you and those around will benefit from. Using the 5-5-20 method only takes roughly an hour of your morning. I highly recommend changing your lifestyle to become a morning person and to become the best person you can be, so that you can serve and care for your family and your community to the best of your ability. I have seen a change in my own personal mindset since starting this routine. I’ve been more calm and less stressed about getting things done because I’ve started off my day with all the right things: a healthy breakfast, Bible and prayer time, and physical activity.

CLICK THE PAGES BELOW TO PRINT THE PDF’S:

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I hope you find this method to be very helpful in establishing a morning routine and being a productive person! I know this daily productivity routine has been life-changing for me and my husband and I hope it can be to you as well.