Focus on your morning routine! How you spend your morning can set the tone for the rest of your day…
As someone who is not naturally a morning person, developing a morning routine helped me rethink my priorities and changed the way I show up for myself and for others day in and day out.
For years, I was constantly on the go, sinking under the pressure of too many things to do and never enough time to do them. I was fed up with the feeling of having no time to exercise, read, meditate, or indulge in life’s simple pleasures. So when I stumbled across a blog about morning routines, I was inspired to focus on my own.
What better way to come to grips with the way life was running away with me?
The first step was setting my alarm for 6 a.m. — what a shock! It wasn’t easy to wake up that early, but once I got up and brushed my teeth, I was surprised by how great I felt and how much I enjoyed the quiet and peacefulness at that time of day. By 9 a.m., my sense of achievement had gone through the roof. With such positive results, there was no stopping me — I just kept going.
I now spend the first hour and a half of my day meditating, journaling, and reading followed by working out for an hour either at my CrossFit Gym or doing a workout at home. It truly is amazing what you can accomplish before 9 a.m. I encourage you to start or enhance your own morning routine.
Here are some tips to make a morning routine work for you:
Aim for consistency. Commit to going to bed and waking up at the same time every day. Repeating actions and behaviours that move you toward your goal every day can help you create new patterns and habits. When starting your routine, try setting your alarm 30 minutes to an hour earlier than your current wake up time to help your body adjust to the change. With a lot of practice and adjustment, my body now wakes up naturally at 6 a.m.
Plan ahead. A successful morning routine doesn’t start in the morning, it starts the night before (and means committing to an earlier bedtime). At first, I struggled with this, especially during summer when I love meeting friends for dinner in the evenings. However, once I told my friends about my morning routine, they were keen to support me and are always chill if I leave early when we’re out together.
Keep it simple. Pick one ritual or activity you’ve always wanted to try and commit to doing it every morning for a month. When you add too many new things at once, it can feel overwhelming. Whether you choose to meditate, journal, exercise, or something else, focus on one new activity at a time and add more when you’re ready.
Be intentional. Much of our day is spent multitasking. Channelling your focus and energy onto a single act can help you push past the mental clutter (even just for a little while). Plus it reinforces positive patterns in your mind, making it easier to build lasting habits.
Stick with it. It takes time to establish a routine that’s right for you. There will be mornings when you hit the snooze button — and that’s ok. The important thing is that you keep it in perspective. We all have those days, so don’t be too hard on yourself. Every morning is a fresh start.
No matter if you’re a morning person or a night owl, creating a morning routine can help you set yourself up for success. Having a morning routine is a powerful act of self-care that says, “I’m intentional, I show up for myself, and I will have a say in who I am today.”
Since your post back in 2020, how has your morning routine changed ?