How intentional morning routines can ground educators in justice, joy, and strategic clarity
The morning routine is a way of carrying your values into the day. Educators should be intentional in the way they start their mornings and the way they start their classes. Morning rituals have the power to shape our mindset. For example, starting the day with affirmations helps us feel empowered, strong, and capable. Starting the day with reflexive journaling can help one to pay attention to what they are thinking on a deeper level. There is also a subtle pressure that comes when someone knows they have to journal. There is a pressure to do good things so that one can write about those good things. When an educator starts the day knowing that they should be equity-centered, it guides their behavior. That knowledge will encourage the educator to work in ways that will see their students as individuals who are in need of care, respect, and support. This mindset benefits the students.
My Personal Narrative About My Morning Routine
I have always been a big believer in a morning routine. I will admit that my morning routine today is not the same as it was last year or the year before. As I learn new and better ways to live my life, I adapt my morning routine to better serve my needs. When my current morning routine fails to serve me, or I learn things that will serve me better, I will adjust my morning routine to match my new reality. Today, I begin my morning with prayer. I pray for my family, myself, and those whom I will encounter in my educational practice. I have been a church girl for more than 40 years. My faith is important to me and starting my day with prayer keeps me grounded. It reminds me that I am just a person, equal to all other people. It keeps at the front of my mind, my duty to be equitable and just in all I do.
After prayer, I turn to affirmations. My office has a bulletin board full of affirmations which I change each week. Looking at these affirmations each morning helps me to start my day feeling good about myself and the work I need to do. No matter how hard the previous day was, looking at my affirmations makes me feel as though I can do whatever I set my mind to do. The affirmations fill me with strength and help me recognize my power. The affirmation board is a tool that strengthens my educational practice.
My morning routine concludes with me journaling. Journaling is an excellent tool for equity-minded educators. Journaling allows an educator to sit and think about themselves and what they do. As I journal I think about what I can do each day to be more equity-minded and more successful in my educational practice. Journaling is also a good tool for reviewing where one began on their equity-centered journey, where they are currently, and where they will be going. Journaling is helpful as one writes each day. It is also helpful for educators who go back and review their previous journal entries.
Why Ritual Matters for Equity Work
In this article, ritual refers to habits or behaviors one carries out on a regular basis. In other words, an educator’s morning ritual is what does every morning before she starts her day. My morning routine described above is an example of a morning ritual. Educators can benefit from creating rituals as part of their morning routines. Rituals give predictability, comfort, and stability. These are all things that help an educator have better and more productive days. One of the biggest benefits of ritual or routine, is that no matter what one is thinking or how one feels, they know what they are supposed to do.
Or it can be what she does with her students before she starts class each session. Ritual is important because it creates consistency in what is often a chaotic system. Rituals are good for educators because it gives them a consistent set of activities to do each day. When one has a consistent routine for each day, no matter what happens or what mood one is in, routine tells the person what to do. Routine is beneficial for educators because it helps them to live equity-centered lives instead of planning to be equity-centered. Another benefit of ritual is that it provides a counter-narrative to urgency culture and burnout. Following a ritual gives stability and predictability to mornings.
Those involved in equity work must take note of the fact that they do not have to stick with every ritual they create. Even if the ritual took a long time to create or the educator has been doing it for a long time, they can stop one ritual and begin another if they think the new ritual will serve them better. While there is power in the routine and dependability of ritual, there is also power in having the right ritual at the right time. Whenever a ritual is created, the educator should give it a fair chance to succeed. Perhaps try it for 30 days and then make adjustments to the ritual as needed.
My morning ritual involves me following Hal Elrod’s “Miracle Morning” routine. During that time I pray, read equity inspired affirmations, and journal about how I can bring equity into the work I do. This routine and ritual guides my day. If I am tired, bored, or lost, the routine helps me start my day the way I decided, when I was of sound mind, is the best way to start my day.
Morning Practices That Center Equity
In this section of the article, we will provide you with some morning practices that center equity. Educators who are interested in doing equity work, should select one or more of these practices. For bonus points, start with one practice and then add others as proficiency is achieved in each practice.
- Narrative Journaling– this practice invites educators to journal while reflecting on power, identity, and intention in their work. This type of journaling is helpful because it invites educators to look deep at themselves and the work they do. It is good for them while they are writing each day. It is also good for them when the spend time later reading what they wrote in the past and thinking about it with more experienced eyes. It is important for educators to journal with a narrative ethos which means they look at the distinctive character credibility, and values that emerge through storytelling. In this writing the educator relies on their lived experience, reflections, and values. The educator’s emotional and ethical stance shape how the story is perceived. The following journal prompts are a good place for educators to journal with a narrative ethos and equity-centered lens:
- Power in Practice – where does power show up in my classroom or work space, and how do I consciously or unconsciously wield it?
- Naming my Positionality – how do my race, gender, class, and professional identity shape the way I show up in educational spaces?
- Intentional Invitations – what rituals or routines do I use to invite others into brave, equitable dialogue, and what do those choices say about my intentions?
- The Stories I Center – whose narratives do I amplify in my teaching or educational work, and whose stories remain untold? Why?
- Power and Permission – When have I given or withheld permission, explicitly or implicitly, and what impact did that have on others’ agency?
- Identity in Transition – How has my identity as an educator evolved over time, and what moments catalyzed those shifts?
- The Intention Behind the Tool – when I choose a curriculum, framework, or digital tool, what values and intentions guide that choice?
- Discomfort as Data – when I feel discomfort in my equity work, what is that feeling trying to teach me about power or identity?
- Legacy and Lineage – Whose pedagogical lineage do I carry forward, ad how do I hoor or challenge that legacy in my work?
- The Power of Pause – What happens when I pause before responding, designing, or leading, and how does that shift my intention or impact?
- Movement and Breath Rituals – physical grounding supports emotional regulation and justice-oriented decision-making. It does this because deep breathing and activities that require tactile focus help shift eh body into rest and digest mode which reduces cortisol and calms the nervous system (Realty Pathing, 2025). G rounding activity restores a sense of safety and helps people stay connected to their bodies when they feel emotionally dysregulation. Grounding supports justice by allowing educators to have time to reflect on power, dynamics, and equity implications before making decisions. When educators do justice work, often, they are required to work with discomfort. Ground activities helps educators stay present and work in the discomfort rather than shying away from it or intellectualizing it away.
- Equity-Centered Planning – is a strategic approach that places inclusion, resource fairness, and justice at the center of decision making. It is different from traditional planning because it actively addresses systemic inequities and ensues that those most impacted by injustice are included in shaping solution. A ritual that includes equity-centered planning will help an educator be more equitable, fair minded, and effective.
- Affirmation & Intention Setting – Educators would be well served to create a stockpile of affirmations that honor their equity commitments. An educator can create her own with words like, “Today I will honor every student’s story.” Or the educator can pick them up as they go through life by copying quotes from social media, news stories, books, or music lyrics.
Designing Your Own Morning Equity Ritual
The best morning ritual for equity-minded educators is one the educator creates for herself. When it comes to morning rituals, there is no one size fits all. In order for one to stick to a ritual, it has to be one that speaks to her on a personal level. It needs to speak to her core values and address her equity concerns. An educator’s first step in creating an equity-minded ritual is to decide what her core value is. Next the educator should select two or three practices that reflect that value. Finally, create a visual or printable tracker to track progress on making the ritual a daily practice. For example, if an educator selected “intentionality as a core value, she could begin her day with morning planning where she reviewed her top 3 priorities for the day and aligned her tasks with her weekly goals. Second, she could work in focused blocks, silencing notifications, and taking a short break between focused work sessions. A third and final step could be a period of reflection in the evening where wins and lessons for the day are identified. As part of the evening journaling process, the educator could prepare for the next day with equity in mind.
Ritual as Resistance and Renewal
For equity-minded educators, morning rituals can be both resistance and renewal. In many ways, the fact that a morning ritual can be both resistance and renewal at the same time, gives it power and value. The morning ritual is resistance because it can be part of an equity minded practice that rejects the status quo, battles against oppression of historically marginalized people, and looks for ways to achieve justice in educational spaces. Rejecting the status quo can mean treating students with care and concern and using trauma informed methods when necessary rather than punishments. Ritual can battle against the oppression of historically marginalized people when educators look for ways to include diverse voices in reading materials, examples, and stories used in classes and discussions. Educators can look achieve justice by working to give students equitable treatment and opportunities for advancement.
At the same time, the morning ritual can be renewal. Equity work is difficult. It is challenging. It is tiring. Educators who are equity-minded need to have time to renew their hearts, minds, and spirits. After a difficult day that may be draining in more ways than one, they need to be renewed and refreshed so that they have the strength they need in order get up and do the work again the next day. If the morning ritual was not an opportunity for an educator to be renewed, she may not be able to face a new day with the strength, power, and determination her work requires. But, because ritual can be renewing, Each morning when an educator begins her morning able to make a fresh commitment to do the best she can for her students, staff, or education as a whole.
Conclusion
Now that you have read about the power of ritual to improve one’s educational practice, we invite you to share a ritual you will try tomorrow in the comments below. Feel free to use our Morning Ritual Tracker and Morning Reflection Worksheet to help you track and manage your morning ritual activities.
Click here to download our Morning Ritual Tracker.
Click here to download our Morning Reflection Worksheet.
References
Berberat, D. P., (2023), The benefits of grounding strategies in emotion and arousal regulation. Mental Health & Human Resilience International Journal, 7(2), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.23880/mhhrj-16000233
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Political action. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved October 15, 2025, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/political%20action
Reality Pathing. (2025, July 11). What does grounding do for emotional balance? Reality Pathing. https://realitypathing.com/what-does-grounding-do-for-emotional-balance/
Further Reading
The Best Educators Strive to Create Equity-Centered Classrooms
Unlock Your Doctoral Success: Coaching & Resources That Work
Unleash the Fire Within: Maya Angelou’s Lifegiving Wisdom for Educators
About the Author
Dr. Janeane Davis is Founder and Principal Consultant at Janeane Davis and Associates: Educational Consultants. She designs equity-centered strategies that speak to both heart and structure—supporting educators who refuse to leave justice at the classroom door. Her writing invites reflection, courage, and the kind of clarity that shifts culture.
Desk light on. Equity in focus. Always listening.