We can’t control countless components of life, but we’d be childish to let the chunks we can change cascade through the cracks. So, where do we start? At the beginning.
Picture this: You wake up five minutes late and it affects the rest of your day. You arrive late to work which means you stay later, then you’re late for your next activity, you eat dinner late, and you end up going to bed late. You feel frazzled from the start of your day and it bleeds into every aspect from there on out. Sound familiar? Unfortunately, too many people find themselves in this cycle which is a direct route down the Autobahn of burnout, fatigue, sickness, and serious physical, mental, and emotional well being. So why do so many of us let the morning hit us like a brick wall?
First things first, it’s absolutely imperative to have a good night’s sleep in order to set yourself up correctly for the next day. Sleep your eight hours. Just do it.
Next, it all starts with building a strong base of willpower and motivation. How? By implementing a morning routine—something you can look forward to everyday. A routine that’s not a chore, but rather something you deserve. Implementing a strong morning routine helps build willpower, increase discipline, and will set you up for a day where you can thrive. With all the uncertainty in life, a solid morning routine will help you prepare for those inevitable moments where life turns us upside down.
Study after study has shown the scientific impact of a morning routine. You may have seen some of the trending videos where CEOs have explained their morning routine; although it may seem frivolous, they have a point. For example, Jeff Bezos has an unlimited supply of black t-shirts in his closet so he doesn’t waste time choosing his outfit each morning. This works for him, find what works for you.
Here’s what works for me:
My morning routine:
- Meditate right after my alarm rings
- Make my bed
- Wash my face and put in contacts
- 20-25 minutes of yoga
- Light breakfast to feel energized for the day
- Green tea and oatmeal with blueberries and agave for me
- Finish getting ready and get dressed for the day
This works for me because I start off every morning with a sense of accomplishment from making my bed and meditating. I follow this up with a quick vinyasa yoga practice which helps me to clear my mind, set a purpose for the morning, and stretch my body before I work eight hours. Then I choose a light breakfast as to not feel too heavy and lethargic for the day.
Someone once told me:
“How you do anything is how you do everything.”
Unknown source
If you start your morning off apathetic, you can bet your bottom dollar you are going to carry that laziness into the rest of your day. If you’re going to cut corners and not take care of yourself in the morning, how can you expect to have a different mentality throughout your day? How you do any one thing in your life reflects on your relationship and respect for yourself. Put 100% into everything you do and your willpower, self-love, and motivation will grow exponentially. Taking care of yourself will enable you to care for all the relationships in your life.
If implementing a morning routine seems like too much for you, change the way you view a morning routine. Instead of another chore added to your to-do list, it’s something you deserve. Your mind and your body deserve to start the day off right, to start the day off accomplishing a routine that will enable you to thrive at your highest level throughout the day. You deserve to start off every morning in an enthusiastic state of mind ready to conquer whatever the day may throw at you. So what’s your morning routine going to look like?
“We can’t control the sea, but we can learn how to surf the waves.”
Headspace mindful moments
If you already have a morning routine, take some time to reflect on if it’s really working for you. Does it put you in the right frame of mind for the day? Do your routine consider both your physical and mental health? While you eat breakfast are you scrolling through social media or are you mindfully eating and using your time wisely to prepare you for the day ahead?
For a similar article about how to break up, and enjoy, the repetition in your life read my last post: https://wiseandshinezine.com/2020/01/10/how-to-love-the-repetition-of-life/
Thanks for reading! If you want to read more of my posts you can find my personal blog at: https://poemsandprose.travel.blog/
P.S. On the weekends I change up my routine to indulging in waffles or beet pancakes (my fave) for breakfast, and I add an extra 30 minutes of yoga. 🙂
Thanks for writing. I also feel the best when I start my day with a yoga flow. Do you have any suggestions for becoming a morning person – motivating yourself to get out of bed early enough to do all those things? As an educator, I start my day around six to get into work in time, and I just have the most difficult time forcing myself out of bed before sunrise, no matter how much I truly want to and no matter how early I go to bed! P.S. Beet pancakes sound delicious!
Great post indeed
Thank you for reading Sajila! 🙂
Hey Madeleine! Thanks for reading and I appreciate your support. Is a yoga flow a part of your morning routine now? If not there are a lot of great videos on youtube under “quick vinyasa flow” and particularly by Yoga with Kassandra. She has some 5-10 minute videos that can help you look forward to your mornings and not take up too much time! Something else I look forward to is having a yummy breakfast which also gets me out of bed. One last thing– I recently changed the sound of my alarm clock to a song I love- so the first thing I hear is a pleasant noise which starts my day positively! Hope this helps! <3 Ellen
About alarms, I read somewhere that if you use your favorite song as your alarm, you’ll come to hate it.
Thanks, Ellen. Yup I try to do all those things but find that even though I’m looking forward to my mornings as I go to sleep, biologically I’m just a blob upon alarm time ⏰ 😂 I’ll keep working on it! I know consistency is key 🙂 I’ve been using the free videos on DoYouYoga. I’ll check out Kassandra, thanks!
Haha I totally feel you some mornings I don’t feel like getting up at all either! But now I’ve gotten into such a habit of doing yoga I am really missing it throughout my whole day until I’m able to fit a practice in. But thanks I’ll check out Do You yoga too!
Wonderful post, Ellen! I’m not sure if it was intentional, but I love how #6 was left blank. Sometimes taking an extra moment for “nothing” can mean. . . everything. 🕊
Thanks for your support Snapdragon! It’s funny #6 isn’t left blank for me (weird) but I do love how you interpreted the mysterious blank space! Taking time for yourself, doing nothing, doing extra of something small or random, can really make a huge difference. I will add that to my routine 😉
That’s too funny! What does it say? 🕊
It says “Finish getting ready and get dressed for the day.” Haha nothing too crazy!
Haha. Still important! 🥰
Wow! Thanks for this. I’m again reminded…
You are welcome, my pleasure! Thanks for reading 🙂
Talking about morning routine, what time do you wake up each day, and when do these morning routines end?
Hey Dynamo, on weekdays I wake up at 6:45 and leave the house by 8. So that gives me enough time to get everything in my routine done without rushing– I like to have a slow morning compared to rushing. But do whatever works best for you. Some people like to get out of the house as fast as possible, so a 5 minute meditation or yoga practice would be perfect.
Frankly, my morning routine still needs some work. But one of the important things I’ve learnt is that; DO NOT start the morning thinking of how bad yesterday was. It kills your drive.
Morning is the time to tell yourself those inspirational IAM’s. I am Strong, Iam prosperous, Iam Beautiful.
Hey Joezef, thanks for reading and I totally agree with you– morning time is not the place for negative thoughts or negative energy. Something I’ve loved doing is called an “affirmation meditation” where you repeat positive phrases to yourself during your meditation practice. It really seems to boost my self confidence and put me in the right frame of mind for my day. Maybe you could try adding this or something similar to your routine? Thanks again and best of luck 🙂 Ellen
Sleep is huge! But I also try really hard to have “my” time in the mornings before the real time stuff starts. My coffee, my devotion, my checking emails and blog posts, etc. I’ve also been working on choosing to have a good day/moment after a negative. Some days are better than others, but you learn. Love the post!
I completely agree! “Me time” is crucial in the morning and I normally use that time to practice yoga, and maybe a few more minutes of yoga if I feel I need it, or checking blog posts like I am this morning. I also love how you mentioned that there will be bad moments, as we’d be foolish to think there can only be positive ones. My mom once said, “there will be bad moments, but there will always be at least some good in each day– try to focus on the good instead of the bad.” Thanks for reading! <3 Ellen
I like to move very slowly in the morning. I take a long time getting ready. I have this belief that the mind begins to behave as the body does. If we use our bodies to race around, our minds begin to race around too and this affects one’s ability to concentrate and feel at peace. When I lived abroad and didn’t own an automobile, I walked everywhere. Walking–which is a relatively slow way to move through time and space–allows one to truly observe and notice because one isn’t “flying” around and past things. I do believe that one’s entire day can play out (either positively or negatively) based upon the way one begins it. Thanks for this one.
I love slow mornings too. I never thought of it in that exact way but I have always believed that the mind is a reflection of the body and the body a reflection of the mind. You can’t take care of one and not the other, they are linked. So I would definitely agree with your belief that the mind begins to behave as the body does.
Oh and yes, walking abroad everywhere as my normal mode of transportation to work, school, & social activities was really a life changer. My pace of life was much slower compared to before and another plus- I was in great shape! Now I am again walking to work, although 10 minutes of walking per day won’t keep me in shape haha. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on slow mornings!
Morning routines are really helpful to me too. My routines take about 2 hours or more, including breakfast. It gives me a nice start to my day.
I do really enjoy slowly moving from one thing to another in the morning too! My routine in college was 2 hours since I had late classes which was an amazing way to start my day. Now I’ve narrowed it down to about 1hr-1hr30min for my weekday schedule. Thanks for reading Betul!
I love my morning routine too…exercise, reading, reflection, time with my kids and a little meditation. It sets me up for the day!
Yes that sounds like a great morning! Thanks for reading 🙂 <3Ellen