If you’re reading this, you’re probably interested in shaking up your morning routine. I hear you. How you start your morning really does set the tone for the rest of the day. And lucky for you, I am OBSESSED with routines, especially in the morning.
So if you’re ready to incorporate some better routines into your day, keep reading.
Get Yourself Out of Bed By Having Something To Look Forward To
First of all, getting out of bed isn’t easy. It’s just so cozy in there, am I right?
SO, make sure that you incorporate something into your morning routine that you can look forward to. For me, that’s coffee. For you it might be tea. It might be stretching your body. It might be the knowledge that you’ll have some heavenly time to yourself before your family wakes up. Whatever it is, let it motivate you to get out of bed!
You’ve Got Things To Do! Wake Up 1 Hour Earlier
I will never convenience night owls that they should wake up early. If I even tried I am sure that I’d sound like this:
But if you’re reading this, you probably have at least wondered if waking up earlier could make a difference? Try it. Maybe it’s only 1 hour. That’s enough.
Waking up an hour earlier is pretty life-changing. If I wake up when my kids do, I am a GRUMP. I feel like life gave me a slap in the face. If I do wake up when I intend to (my sweet spot is 5:30am), I’ve had my coffee, I’ve had time to wake up at my own pace, and I’ve likely already gotten something fairly big and important accomplished. When my kids wake up I happily greet them and have the bandwidth to tolerate any of their crankiness or urgent morning needs. I am a different mom. After they leave the house for school, I sit down at my desk, feeling like I have already made great progress towards my goals for the day. I am a different business owner. A different person.
What could you do with an extra hour? Read on.
Write/Journal
One of my favorite things to do in the morning is sit on my spot on the couch with a cup of coffee and my notebook in the quiet hours before my family wakes up. I dream, write lists, plan my day, and really just get the chance to step back and think about life in general before the other STUFF gets in the way. The typical person doesn’t have a lot of time in their day to just sit and think, to think big picture. Let this quiet time be this for you.
Plan your day
I have 2 kids, own a business, and 2 blogs. If I didn’t have a plan, I’d be a mess. Now, I really enjoy planning my day. It’s an opportunity to pretend that I have all of my sh*t together.
I love doing this in the morning. Some of my top tips for planning your day:
- Time block – I plan my day in 30 minute increments
- Set your top 3 priorities – This is hard. If you’re like me, you’ll struggle to just prioritize 3 items. Maybe reading Essentialism or The One Thing will help.
- Ask yourself “What steps will I take today to move me closer to my goals?” It is SO easy to let the numerous to do’s that are shouting your name get in the way of the things that will actually help move you closer to your goals. Those things aren’t necessarily calling your name as loudly, so they get left behind for when you “have time”. Asking yourself what step you’ll take towards your goal that day will ensure that you’re doing something each and every day to move forward on those important goals, even if some days it’s only for 10 minutes.
- Eat the Frog
Nourish your body
Water + Lemon
Your body hasn’t had water in about 8 hours. It’s dehydrated. Drink that water. Put some lemon in it and get some added benefits.
I admit I am not good about this one. But when I don’t drink water I feel sluggish and… bleh. I know the trick that works for me- I will easily drink my allotment of water for the day if and only if I use a straw. Weird, I know. But it works. Get that straw. Fill up that jug in the morning. Infuse it with your fave fruit. Find what works for you.
Eat a nourishing breakfast
Pretty picture, huh? This is what I always envision my breakfast will look like. Here’s what my breakfast ACTUALLY looks like:
I mean, I actually think it looks fantastic. I love 2 eggs with salsa and avocado. Every morning. If I am lucky, I will put the eggs over Trader Joe’s latkes.
I look forward to this breakfast. It has the protein I need to get a good start on my day. And the salsa makes it deeeelicious.
Move Your Body
For many of you, this morning time is the only one that you’ll have to get some exercise. Now, I HATE exercising in the morning. Remember we talked about having something you love to look forward to when you get out of bed? Exercising is definitely not mine. Doing that first thing is guaranteed that I won’t get out of bed. But, journaling a bit and then doing a few minutes of foam rolling and stretching so that I can get this stiff body moving better? That I can do. Maybe you take your dog on a little walk as your neighborhood wakes up, or do 10 minutes of yoga. Any little something will help wake you up and get that blood pumping.
Empty dishwasher
Oh, you already do this? Good for you! If not, do yourself a favor and empty the dishwasher in the morning, so that you start the day on a clean slate (yeah, this means you have to load and run the dishwasher the night before). Dishes will have a place to go. Don’t let your kitchen sink look like mine.
What are YOUR go-to morning routines?
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