Morning routine
How to set yourself up right for the day ahead
So what?
Are you a morning or night person? Our family of four was talking about who in our family was one or the other which got me thinking about this topic. A morning person will have an easier time crafting a morning routine whereas a night person will have an easier time with a night routine. In this post, I’m going to be selfish (since I’m a morning person) and talk about how to craft a morning routine to set yourself up for the day. Stay tuned for next week’s post for examples of things you can incorporate into your morning routine.
So, let’s cover the basics. A morning routine is a process in which you person the same tasks in the same sequence every morning. Having one allows you to:
- Be prepared for the rest of the day;
- Increase productivity;
- Have less worries and stress;
- Improve your energy levels;
- Have healthy habits; and
- So much more!
Figure out what you need to do
Make each morning work for you by getting things done that will not only be beneficial to your mind, body and spiritual health but to the rest of your day. There are certain things you need to do during your morning routine regardless of what responsibilities you have and roles you play. You need to properly wake up by breathing in the new day, get your body moving and set your mind right. As noted above, stay tuned for next week’s post for what you can do to cover these three fundamentals of any morning routine.
Set your bedtime and wake up time
A morning routine has to be consistent. This means that you have to start your day in such manner by setting a fixed wake up time as well as a fixed bedtime. What time should you be waking up? Once you have figured out what you need to do, work yourself backwards from the time you have to leave the house (or start working if working from home) with 10-15 minutes of buffer. Limit your morning routine to one or two hours.
Be accountable
We all know how easy it is to hit the snooze button. There is no accountability needed with that. What you need it for is waking up and following your routine. There are two ways of going about having accountability: an accountability partner and/or an activity that bring you joy and peace. If you live with a loved one, you can either ask him or her to be your accountability partner or get him or her to nudge you out of your bed when the alarm goes off. And by incorporating an activity you enjoy, you will look forward to waking up and going about your morning routine.
My experience
As you may know, I’m a stickler for rules and have OCD tendencies. These two characteristics make me the perfect candidate for having a morning routine. My one consists of waking up, drinking coffee, going for a quick walk, riding my bike, running with our dog and getting ready. I do this without fail wherever I am and whatever I need to do the rest of the day. The biggest benefit for me is that I don’t have to worry about or try to make time for these things during the day since they’ve all been done before my day even starts. How good is that?
What now?
- Do you have a morning routine? Why or why not?
- Make sure to utilise my three step approach to set up a morning routine. It’s easier than you think.