Is your morning routine sleeping as long as you can, throwing your clothes on, and flying out the door with a piece of toast in your mouth and coffee in hand? Yea, this is the same for a lot of people with full lives, demanding jobs, children to care for… This is pretty close to what my morning routine used to look like and, honestly, it left me feeling frantic, still tired, and not ready for my day.
I have slowly started implementing little things into my morning and I really enjoy the peace I have found in them. It may not seem like it, but the way you start your day has a huge impact on the day ahead. It can impact your mood, your energy levels, and focus.
And even if you are thinking, I’m so busy I can’t possibly add something else to do in the morning – you really can! You just have to create the time for yourself. It doesn’t take a lot of time to have a morning routine – start small. It may take some time to make your morning routine a habit or will take adding in one little thing at a time, but even those night owls can make small changes. They say it takes 30 days to create a habit, so you just need to keep yourself accountable at first (with something like this habit calendar) and you soon will find your morning routine comes naturally and actually makes you feel like you in the morning, not the quiet, cranky, out-of-it version of you.
So gives these a try or modify them to fit your interests and goals! These are some things I’ve implemented into my morning routine that have helped change my morning perspectives:
1. WAKE UP EARLY
Wake up early enough, so that you are able to take your time in the morning before heading to work or starting your other responsibilities. Leave yourself an hour or so at least. I personally wake up two hours before I leave. Does waking up early leave you too tired? Start slowly going to bed a bit earlier – make it gradual 20 minutes by 20 minutes. Your body will begin to adjust and I swear you will see the beauty in the morning moments. When I get up early, I feel a stronger sense of happiness and feel ready for the day ahead.
2. POSTPONE YOUR SCREEN TIME
Instead of grabbing for your iPhone right when you wake up and getting completely overwhelmed by the mass amounts of emails, texts, and FB notifications, allow yourself a break from the “real world”. And even if you think you’ll just sneak a peek, you know you’re gonna end up scrolling for days. Don’t let yourself fall into that trap of procrastination or stress. It’s not the best way to start your day and the way your day begins will impact your mood for the rest.
3. STRETCH OR MOVE A BIT
Sometimes when we wake up our bodies are just so stiff and even if our minds are ready to get moving, our bodies want us to just curl up and stay in bed. So an amazing thing to do is right after your alarm goes off, don’t even let your body get a chance to stay in bed. Hop on up and get a little stretch in. Maybe put on some fuzzy socks and a warm sweater to warm up your muscles. Do your go-to stretches, maybe a sun salutation, take a quick walk around the block, or if it’s your jam get that workout in early. Your body will feel much more ready for the day and it will help boost your energy and even mood!
4. HOT LEMON WATER OR MATCHA TEA
Whether you’re a coffee fiend or completely caffeine free, everyone can benefit from a glass of warm lemon water in the morning. Warm water can really kick-start your digestion first thing in the morning, which is great for your metabolism! And it supports healthy liver function and gives a little immunity boost.
And my personal favorite, matcha (this is a great one)! Don’t get me wrong I love the taste of coffee, but the caffeine levels don’t always do well for me and sometimes causes some anxiety. And I try to shy away from too much acidity from my body personally. You can’t go wrong with matcha – it’s delicious as a tea or latte, full of antioxidants, and gives a good caffeine level without being over-stimulating.
5.TAKE TIME TO EAT SOMETHING
The best thing you can do for your body in the morning to aid your metabolism and get your brain movin’ is too eat a little something. I know I’m a little weird and am always so hungry when I wake up, but I also realize some of you won’t eat ’til lunch. Even if it’s just an egg or a small smoothie, it’s really a great idea to get something in. Eating something will also increase your energy for the day moving forward.
6. A GRATITUDE JOURNAL
This is something I recently started implementing into my routine, but have found to be super grounding and uplifting. Sometimes we are rushing so much through the life and so focused on what we have going on, that the lack of presence lets negativity seep in. Starting this practice first thing before you start working on things or head out of the house will help ground you in the positive, bring you into the present moment, and lighten your mood for the day to come.
You can get an established gratitude journal like this one with prompts and what not. Or you can just use a blank journal and do your own prompts. I like to start out my day by writing down three things I am grateful for. And it is also great before bed to write down the best part of your day to tie it all together.
And now you’re ready for your day :) These really won’t take much time in the morning and will set you up to feel so so good and ready for whatever the day throws at you. What does your morning routine look like? What are you wanting to implement into yours? Let me know in the comments below! I’d love to hear what your morning currently looks like and your goals.
If you enjoyed this post or found it useful, don’t forget to share this with someone who could benefit from a morning routine! And save it for later :)