A Morning Routine is one of those things that has the ability to change your whole day around. It sets the intention, clears your mindset and let’s whatever events take place, flow. It gives you the ability to ground yourself so that whatever comes your way can be handled and managed from a calmer, more rational place. It gives you that time to yourself where you can take a deep breath and feel mindful before jumping into whatever task or engulfing your mind with whatever stress/thing is going on.
Ever felt like you looked back on your week and it felt like all you did was work? Woke up.. had coffee.. went to work.. too tired.. come home.. dinner.. Netflix.. bed.. repeat? Yeah, that’s called being in a rut. You think of all the things you wanna do, how tomorrow you’re going to wake up, workout before work, make the healthiest lunch and come home and work on some side projects. Yet, yes you might keep this up for a day or two but then it turns out you’re right back to your routine. I’ll save the topic of pushing through your rut for another post.
To keep it easy peasy, incorporating a morning routine is the perfect first step to making sure your days are filled with you working away at your goals bit by bit.
I call it a morning routine because it seems to be harder to be motivated at the end of a day, hence believing that lil voice in your head feeding you excuses rather than getting it done right away. Plus you’ll feel like the rest of the day is this big giant reward, you’ll be full of energy and it’ll be this one big ripple effect.
Crafting Your Morning Routine
Let’s say you have an hour. That might seem like a lot if you’re waking up at 6am for an hour commute of work, but trust me. This hour is far more crucial to your overall happiness than that extra hour of being tired lounging around after a long work day.
Hey, can’t make an hour happen, start with 15 minutes. Slowly go to bed a tiny bit earlier, slowly wake up a bit earlier.
I like to break it down to three categories. Something to stimulate my mind, movement (body), and working away at your goals.
BODY
Just friggin move. Stretch if that’s all you have time for, but seriously. Go for a run, do a lil workout, some yoga.. great source of energy to start the day. Especially if you’re sitting at a desk or complaining that you are groggy and don’t have any energy. This is the key my friends.
MIND
MAKE YOUR BED – I swear this is life changing for those of you who haven’t acquired this habit already. You’re setting the tone for your day that you are committed to doing something as little as making your bed, for yourself. You’re one step ahead of getting things done.
Meditation – I use the app Calm. All you need is 10 min.. that’s 1% of your day. Not gonna lie wouldn’t really recommend this as the first thing in the morning, I tend to just half pass out and it’s just a tad unproductive at that point.
Podcasts – depending what you’re into, my personal faves: Impact Theory, Optimal Living Daily, Oprah’s Super Soul Conversations, Lewis Howes School Of Greatness.. there are so many!
Journal – This can be a great way to empty your mind of what’s been nagging you. Don’t know what to write? That’s b.s. Just scribble away even if it doesn’t make sense. I like to update my goals, check in, empty my mind of all the ideas related to business, blog posts etc. Check out your vision board, write down some mantras.. set your mindset!
Reading – Ahhh.. anyone who knows me knows that reading is a staple for me, so any time I can get to power through a book is good. There is nothing like having a tea/coffee in the morning on the balcony with a good book. If y’all can’t stand the idea of a book, try out audible. This is new to me but I find it to be a great tool when I’m on the go to listen to books! Maybe put it on while making yourself a nice breaky.
GOALS
Write out, preferably the night before 3 things you would like to accomplish before the day starts. This can be as small as a mini brainstorm, doing some research, 20 min of duolingo to learn a new language.. anything that’s pushing you closer to where you wanna be.
A good way to determine your goals is an exercise by Tim Ferriss in the 4 Hour Workweek.
Write out 3 lists. Keep your imagination wild.. remember you can do anything you set your mind to. You are your only limitation.
HAVING/DOING/BEING
What do you want? A new car, a certification of some sort?
What would you like to do? Be your own boss, live in Bali, Write a book..?
How would you like to be? Fluent in another language, go with the flow..?
Dreams stay dreams unless they are turned into goals! Breakdown each goal into smaller parts, add these to your daily routine. As little as it can be! Start small, create your to-do list the night before and make sure it is completed before a set time.
There you go! Make that commitment to yourself and aim a little higher to reach those big dreams of yours.
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