Devin Schadt / May 11th, 2026

The Way of a Man Series | #138

3652 words

From Sloth to Strength: Build a Morning Routine That Transforms Your Life

What this article is about:

A practical guide to overcome loneliness, lust, and laziness by building a disciplined, God-centered morning routine that transforms your entire life.

What you will find in this article:

The root struggles most men face
Why your morning routine determines the direction, order, and outcome of your life
The two ultimate purposes of a morning routine
A powerful framework for structuring your mornings
Step-by-step guidance to build a routine

From Sloth to Strength:

Build a Morning Routine That Transforms Your Life

The Lonely, Lustful, Lost, and Lazy Lament of Men

We, at the Fathers of St. Joseph and The Catholic Gentleman, receive emails from men around the world.
Each person’s perspective, situation, and question is deeply personal and sacred.

Although each man is unique, their questions tend to revolve around universal themes.

For example, the 4 L’s: Lonely, Lustful, Lost, and Lazy.

Often, men feel trapped in loneliness (often in marriage), chained to their lusts, and lack a vision for their lives.
Consequently, they turn to the world and its maxims and promises in hopes of finding consolation.

However, like rigor mortis, spiritual sloth sets in, depleting the masculine soul of the desire for the holy and holiness.
Consequently, the man becomes paralyzed in a kind of living death.

“How do I change?”
“Can I recreate my life?”
“How do I set myself on a new course?”
“I know that there is more to me, in me, and for me…but how do I tap into that?”

Beginning Foretells the End

It has been said that it isn’t how you start, but how you finish.
Perhaps there is a bit of truth to that.

However, if you never start, you will never finish.
Moreover, the most successful people don’t actually believe that.

God, for example, didn’t create the world in a chaotic state.
With intelligence, perfect logic, and long-range (eternal) planning, He established a vision for the universe and began with that vision in mind.

Why?
Because He had an end in sight.

Additionally, our Lord spent 30 years of His life in obscurity.
There, in Nazareth, Jesus prayed and prepared to build the universal Church.
Moreover, Jesus knew His vision and communicated that vision clearly and unapologetically.

Beginnings Matter

Each day is an opportunity for you and me to begin again, to reclaim our eternal and divine heritage.

God, by means of our humiliations and failures, invites us to begin anew—with Him.

For this reason, St. Augustine is credited with saying that the key to the spiritual life is to begin again, begin again, and begin again.

If you struggle with spiritual sloth, if you are lacking divine vitality, if you feel pathetic… but want to be a saint, then this article is for you.

So, how do we conquer loneliness, lustfulness, lostness, and laziness?

Your Morning Routine Determines Your Future

It is no exaggeration to say that it comes down to one thing: your morning routine.
As a house is built upon a solid foundation, the days of your life are erected upon your daily morning routine.

Conversely, if your house has a foundation wall that is bowing or buckling, it will eventually settle and perhaps collapse.

As a car rides on four tires, your days will ride on your mornings.

Again, if just one of your car’s four tires is flat, your vehicle will not drive.
Therefore, if you do not have a solid, consistent, life-giving morning routine, like that car, your life will go nowhere.

Your mornings determine your days, and your days determine your months, and your months determine your years, and your years determine your legacy.
Conversely, your grand vision of your life depends on the smallest of factors—how you begin your day, every day.

Excuses Are Not Permitted

Nevertheless, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Our soul desires to be a saint.
Yet, our flesh says, “Not yet.”

As a result, we postpone holiness.

Jesus asked St. Faustina, “How long shall I put up with you and how long will you keep putting Me off?”

Faustina was resisting her vocational calling by attending a dance in Lodz, Poland.

Like Faustina, we avoid God.
We make our excuses.
“I don’t have enough time.”
“I need my rest—I can’t sacrifice my sleep.”

However, those who do not make time for God now will spend all their time in hell lamenting it.
Furthermore, those who fail to sacrifice sleep on earth will be doomed to an eternal, perpetual negation of rest.

As Jesus asked Faustina, so also, he asks us, “How much longer will you keep putting Me off?”

Nothing excuses us from our spiritual service to God.

Without a Morning Discipline, You Fail at Being a Disciple

Years ago, I felt a desire to do more and be more for God.
Often, quotes from saints would inspire me to aspire to do greater things.

For example. St. Teresa of Avila said, “I believe that God helps those who set out to do great things for His sake and never fails those who trust in Him alone.”

I remember telling God that I wanted to do more and be more for Him.
Afterward, the thought came in, “Devin, how bad do you want it?”
Believing the thought to be from God, I responded, “Real bad, Lord.”
Immediately, another thought followed, “No, you don’t… You won’t sacrifice a little sleep to spend time with Me in the morning.”

From that point onwards, I made every attempt to claim my mornings for God.
However, I toggled between fidelity to rising at the same time each morning and sleeping in.
Furthermore, some mornings I would attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and on other days I would remain home, skip my devotional time, and jump into work.

Mornings Without God Become Days Filled With Chaos

Gradually, I noticed a pattern.
The days that my morning routine was structured and dedicated to God, God consequently ordered aright.
Conversely, the days in which I did not dedicate my morning to God were subject to chaos of every kind.

Of course, this does not mean that suffering and challenges did not occur on the days that I dedicated my morning to God.
Indeed, I did encounter such difficulties.

However, the days when I surrendered myself to God through my morning routine, God seemed to bless me with order and the ability to triumph over affliction.
Moreover, I began to notice His favor and blessing upon my life.

You’ll Never Catch Up

Inevitably, there would be mornings in which I could not muster the will to break free from those chains of the warm, comfortable bedsheets.
On those mornings, I convinced myself that I would pray later.
However, “later” rarely came.
Typically, those days that began without prayer did not end with prayer.

In fact, the days that did not begin with prayer seemed to be marked by greater busyness, chaos, hard deadlines, and work that had to be redone correctly.

Hence, the days that I put off morning prayer became like Russian Roulette.
Only by chance would I have any time left for God at the end of the day.

Choosing not to spend time with God in the morning was like walking the 15-mile commute to work while ignoring the option to drive.
Indeed, when we rely on our own power rather than on God’s power, we are less productive, effective, and wise.

Why Your Morning Routine Really Matters

In the final analysis, there are two ultimate reasons for developing a rock-solid, sanctifying morning routine:

First, to give yourself to God.
Second, that God may give Himself to you.

We Give Ourselves to God

This is known as your “spiritual service” or divine worship.
Your morning routine is your statement of belief.
Indeed, your morning routine indicates one of two things:

That you worship the One who gave you life, or that you worship your own life.

Justice, according to St. Thomas Aquinas, is the right that is owed to another.
Specifically, Thomas says that justice is the virtue that perfects the individual to give each their due.
And the highest form of justice is giving God His due, which is religion.

Therefore, you and I owe God our lives and, more specifically, our mornings.
Hence, our morning ought to be structured to give God His due.

God Gives Himself to Us

Conversely, God desires that we give ourselves to Him because He ultimately desires to give Himself to us.
God does not need you.
However, He does need you to need Him.
Because He wants you to have what He has—power, peace, love, joy.

God wills to impart to you His wisdom, counsel, and ability to navigate the day’s challenges.
Equally, our Heavenly Father wants to bless the work of our hands (see Psalm 90).

Moreover, He promises to those who love Him and give Him His due that He makes all things work together for the good.

“And we know that to them that love God, all things work together unto good, to such as, according to his purpose, are called to be saints.” (Romans 8:28)

Indeed, as the Psalmist proclaims, For thou wilt bless the just. O Lord, thou hast crowned us, as with a shield of thy good will. (Psalm 5:12)

Notice that God blesses the just.
The just man is the one who gives God His due—especially by giving God the first fruits of his day.

God Only Gives Himself to the Trustworthy

Imagine that you own one vehicle.
You depend on this automobile for your commute to work, to the gym, to social engagements, and Holy Mass.
However, this car starts one day but doesn’t start the next.
One day, your car successfully gets you to your workplace, but that same day fails to get you home.
Would you depend on that vehicle?
No.
Why?
Because you want a vehicle that is dependable—a car that you can trust.

God will not depend on us or allow us a share in His mission if we rise on time one day but sleep in the following couple of days.
Furthermore, if we pray inconsistently, showing up for prayer now and then, God will not entrust us with building His Kingdom.

Conversely, God gives more to those who are faithful in small matters.
Hence, if you and I commit ourselves to honoring God by giving Him our mornings, He will entrust us with more of His mission.

Indeed, St. Teresa of Avila stated, “God withholds Himself from no one who perseveres.”

Additionally, she commends us, “Let us do our part, and God will then do what He wills. This is God’s cause, and all will end well. My hope is in Him; do not be distressed.”

One way for us to do our part is to structure our morning in a way that honors Him.
Then, God, seeing that we are consistently “showing up,” will do His part.

Train When No One Is Looking, and Nothing Appears to Be Happening

It was the summer between middle school and high school.
I spent the summer goofing around.
Conversely, Barry McClesky spent those hot summer days physically training.

As a result, I showed up for football practice looking like that same eighth grader.
On the other hand, bare-chested Barry had pecks, quads, a six-pack, and could run the fifty-yarder and one mile faster than all of us.

What happened? I wondered.
Barry trained when no one was watching.
More precisely, day in and day out, Barry did the work when nothing appeared to be happening.

The United States military trains its soldiers for lengthy periods.
Often, this training occurs when war is absent.
In other words, the soldier trains even when nothing appears to be happening.

A soldier who trains for war is preparing for war.
Indeed, a soldier who waits to train while he is at war will die—or worse, be the cause of others dying.

In a similar way, God is recruiting men who are willing to train in the off-season.
God wants you and me to be warriors who are ready for battle.

Crafting Your Morning Routine for Sanctification

Finally, we come to the primary focus of this article: How to build your morning routine.

Before we dive into the specific steps, let’s clarify our terms.

Spiritual Hub: This is the primary devotional focal point of your morning. All morning activity, practical and devotional support this devotion.
For example, a spiritual hub could be attending daily Mass or spending 30 minutes in meditation on Christ and His Gospel.
Regardless, this is your main morning devotion,

Anchor: Your anchor is a spiritual devotion that builds toward, prepares, or supports your spiritual hub.
For example, you could pray a decade of the Rosary, or the entire Rosary, in preparation for reception of the Holy Eucharist.
Or, another spiritual anchor could be your morning offering, which sets the stage for the day.
These devotions are anchors in your morning that rarely move.

Habit-Hinge: A habit-hinge is a devotion or practical action that is “hinged” or associated directly with an anchor or spiritual hub.
For example, your primary anchor may be the Heroic Minute.
Immediately after you wake up, you drink a full glass of water without delay.
Drinking a glass of water is the habit that is hinged to the Heroic Minute.

Another example: Your thirty-minute meditation on Christ’s Gospel is one of your anchors.
Before jumping into that devotion, you pray the Come, Holy Spirit prayer or chant Veni, Sancti Spiritus.
The Come Holy Spirit prayer is the habit that is hinged to your meditation devotion.

Practicals: Non-devotional actions focused on your temporal well-being.
For example: brushing your teeth, showering, getting dressed, making your morning coffee, or commuting to work.

Minor Devotions: These are succinct prayers that take no more than a minute.

Step 1: Commit to Anchor #1: The Heroic Minute

In our last blog, I mentioned that St. Josemaria Escriva called rising at the same time every morning—without delay—The Heroic Minute.
This is your first anchor.

This is the most essential and basic piece to structuring an efficacious morning routine.
Consequently, our first step each morning is the Heroic Minute.

Step 2: Habit-Hinge Your Morning Offering (Habit-Hinge) to Your Heroic Minute

After you have committed to rising at the same time each day, you may add a very minor but very powerful devotional: your morning offering.

For example, after you shut off the alarm, before doing anything else, drop to your knees and offer yourself and your day in union with Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and eternal self-offering in all the Holy Sacrifices of the Mass throughout the world.

This offering is the beginning of all things good.
Truly, by offering ourselves to God, God offers Himself to us.

Step 3: Identify Your Spiritual Hub

Your third step to building an efficacious morning routine is to identify the chief, primary devotion.
This is your core discipline.
All elements of your morning routine point to and revolve around this devotion.

Though you may fail to do all else, nevertheless, you will always fulfill this devotion.

For example, your anchor could be attending the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Therefore, you must identify the time of the Mass you will attend.
Consequently, you must determine the time required to commute to Mass.
Accordingly, you combine the time for both the Mass and the commute.

Tip: Do not proceed to Step 4 until you have implemented Step 3—your spiritual hub—consistently.

Step 4: Connect Your Practical Habits to Your Hub

This spiritual hub and the time it takes become the center of your morning routine.
Like the planets that revolve around the sun, so also the different elements of your morning routine, such as waking time, showering, eating, and exercise, revolve around this spiritual hub.

Considering this, determine how much time you will need to get ready for Mass, to drive to Mass, and to drive to work afterward.

For example, if Holy Mass is at 7:30 am, you might wake up at 6 am.
Accordingly, this helps you identify your heroic minute (the time to rise from bed without delay).

Second, you allot a couple of minutes for a morning offering.

Third, you set aside 15 minutes for breakfast (if you do the one-hour fast before receiving Holy Communion).

Fourth, you give yourself 30 minutes to shower and get dressed.

Finally, you build in travel time for your commute to work.

Notice that five habits are connected to your hub of Holy Mass:

1. The Heroic Minute: rising without delay when the alarm goes off

2. Morning Offering Prayer

3. Breakfast/Coffee

4. Showering and getting dressed

5. Commute from Mass to work

Step 5: Hinge a habit to your Spiritual Hub (Your Secondary Minor Devotion)

Now that your morning routine is structured and consistent, you may decide that you would like to better prepare yourself for the reception of our Lord’s Body and Blood at Mass.

Consequently, you identify another devotional habit that helps prepare you for Mass.

Personally, I find the Holy Rosary an excellent way to prepare for Mass.

More precisely, I enjoy praying a Scriptural Rosary.
A Scriptural Rosary enables me to meditate on Christ, following Him through the mystery at hand.

Furthermore, by meditating upon Jesus and His life, I reflect upon what it cost Jesus to give us the Eucharist.

So how do we habit-hinge this devotion to our hub of Holy Mass?

First, determine how many decades you can pray devotionally, meditatively, and practically.
Hence, it does little to no good to rattle off the Hail Marys and Our Fathers like an Irish auctioneer.

Second, identify when you will pray your decade(s).
For example, you could pray two decades on the way to Holy Mass and two on the way back to work from Mass.

Or you could pray an entire Rosary prior to showering and getting dressed.

At this point, it is important to determine whether you need more time in your routine to implement this devotion well.

If so, adjust your rise time accordingly.

Step 6: Add a Second Devotional Anchor: Gospel Meditation

Often, we can do all the above, and yet, feel as though we are not intimately connected with our Lord.

For this reason, we may add another sub-anchor to our morning routine, providing us with meditative time with Jesus.

The goal of the spiritual life is to know Jesus and become like Him.
Considering this, an efficacious way to know Jesus and become like Him is to meditate on His Word and His Life.
The Catholic Church’s lectionary provides a daily Gospel wherein Christ reveals Himself to us.

Identify the time needed to read the Gospel slowly and prayerfully.
Additionally, determine how much time you will need to meditate on the Gospel.
For example, you may determine that reading and reflecting on the Gospel takes you 15 minutes.

Next, determine when you will insert that meditation time into your morning routine.

For me, my meditation time is after my morning offering, drinking a full glass of water, the morning Rosary, and the Holy Spirit invocation—but before exercise, showering, getting dressed, and Holy Mass.

Step 7: Habit-hinge Another Minor Devotion to Your Second Anchor

For example, before meditating on the Gospel, you could pray the Litany to the Holy Spirit, chant Veni Sancti Spiritus, or simply ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to obtain the Holy Spirit for you.

Regardless, this minor devotion is hinged directly to your secondary anchor.
Additionally, this devotion should take no more than a couple of minutes.

When beginning, your morning structure may appear to be like this:

1. Heroic Minute (Primary Anchor)
2. Morning Offering (Habit-Hinge)
3. Coffee/Breakfast (Practical)
4. Shower/Get Dressed (Practical)
5. Two decades during the commute to work (Secondary Anchor)

Gradually, your morning structure may be more like this:

1. Heroic Minute (Primary Anchor)
2. Morning Offering (Habit-Hinge)
3. Full glass of water (Practical)
4. Shower/Dress (Practical)
5. Holy Mass (Spiritual Hub)
6. Decade of Rosary during commute to work (Habit hinged to your spiritual hub)
7. Coffee/Breakfast (delayed gratification)

Eventually, you build your morning around a hub and two anchors, with at least two habits hinged to them.

For example:

Heroic Minute (First Anchor)
Moring Offering hinged to Heroic Minute (Habit-hinge to First Anchor)
Glass of water (Practical)
Angelus hinged to a glass of water (Habit-hinge to practical)
Morning Rosary (Second Minor Devotion)
St. Charles de Foucauld’s surrender prayer hinged to the Rosary (Habit-hinge to Second Minor Devotion)
30 Minute Meditation on Gospel (Second Anchor)
Veni Sancti Spirit chant hinged to meditation time (Habit-hinge to Second Anchor)
Shower/Dress (Practical)
Exercise is hinged to shower and getting dressed (Another practical is hinged to a practical)
Attending Holy Mass (Spiritual Hub)
Five minutes of thanksgiving after Mass hinged to Mass (Habit hinged to your spiritual hub)
Coffee (delayed gratification/personal reward for a morning well-spent)

Word of Caution

Bigger is not always better.
More is not always more.
Often, less is more.

For example, when I first set out to structure my morning routine, I decided to rise at 4:45 am.
Why?

Because I thought that it would be best for me to cram as many spiritual anchors, habit-hinge devotions, exercise, and practicals as possible into my morning.

Consequently, I began with too big expectations.
St. John of the Cross refers to this as spiritual gluttony.

For example, after rising at 4:45 am, I dropped to my knees, bowed my head, and began praying my morning offering.
45 minutes later, I woke up in the same position.
This went on for days.
Accordingly, I eventually surrendered not only the heroic minute and my morning offering, but my entire morning routine.

Do not despise humble beginnings. (Zechariah 4:10)
The Kingdom of Heaven began small—like a mustard seed. (see Matthew 13:21-32)
Jesus says that the Kingdom of Heaven is in you. (see Luke 17:21)
Therefore, do not despise the little.
Instead, humble yourself, begin small, and, if you stay the course and gradually build your morning routine, you will become a strong, faithful, dependable man of God.