Morning and Night Routine Checklist Maker
Build your morning and night routines step by step. Give each step a few minutes and a start time, and the checklist shows when each step starts and when you're done. Edit anything, then print both routines on one page with a week of checkboxes. Free, no sign-up, saved in this browser.
How to build a morning routine that fits
- Start from the time you have to leave (or start work) and count backwards. If you leave at 8:00 and your steps add up to 55 minutes, you get up by 7:05, not "early". Moving your wake-up time? See how to wake up early.
- Keep it to five to seven steps. Most of the morning is already spoken for: shower, dress, breakfast. Add one or two new habits, not ten.
- Put the new habits next to old ones. Stretch right after you get up, read right after you pour your coffee. That's habit stacking: the old step reminds you of the new one.
- Leave ten minutes of slack. A routine that only works when nothing goes wrong stops working on the first late bus.
- End with something you like. A good coffee, a podcast on the walk, ten minutes with the news. The last step is the one that gets you through the first ones.
The night routine sets up the morning
Most morning routines fall apart the night before. Laying out clothes, packing your bag and putting your phone on charge outside the bedroom are each a minute at night and save five in the morning. Work backwards from the time you want to be asleep, the same way.
| Morning (example) | Night (example) |
|---|---|
| 7:00 am Get up, open the curtains 7:02 Glass of water 7:05 Stretch, 5 min 7:10 Shower and dress 7:30 Breakfast, no phone 7:45 Write today's top task 7:50 Out the door |
9:30 pm Tidy the kitchen 9:40 Lay out clothes, pack bag 9:50 Phone on charge outside the bedroom 9:52 Wash up, skincare 10:05 Read in bed 10:30 Lights out |
For ADHD mornings
A printed checklist on the bathroom mirror or the front door does the remembering for you. Short steps with a time next to each one make it easier to notice when you've drifted. Keep the order the same every day, put the things you need for the morning by the door the night before, and use one timer for the whole routine instead of checking the clock. More in our ADHD habit tracker guide.
Make the routine pay
A checklist shows what to do. It doesn't give you a reason to do it on a bad morning. In Habit Rewards each step you check off pays coins, and you spend them on rewards you price yourself, like a takeaway or a new book. Put your morning habits in a Morning group and your evening ones in an Evening group, drag them into the order you do them, and set a reminder for the first step. It's free for three habits on iPhone and Android.
