The trick to creating your own morning routine is creating a bedtime routine (see my latest blog post on this). Having a bedtime routine will give you the tools you need to prepare for the next morning. Your quality of sleep will be better, and longer which means you are more likely to stick to your morning routine.
It may not feel easy at first, but once you are consistent it will become a habit & feel as normal as brushing your teeth! You will then start to reap the rewards - better sleep, more energy, productivity, you are likely to make healthier food choices & feel less anxious or overwhelmed.
Choose at least 2 of the tools below & start introducing them in to your morning routine:
Prep the night before - Gym/work clothes, clothes/uniforms for the kids. Meals - Prep your meals for the next day or at least breakfast & lunches. Here are some ideas - Smoothies - chop up fruit, greens, seeds etc. & put them into freezer bags and into freezer until the morning you are using them or boil eggs the night before & heat them up the next morning adding whatever you fancy or have overnight oats prepared. I normally use porridge, protein powder frozen berries & chia seeds and water. Not only with this save time but it will kick your diet off to a healthy start for the day (start the day as you mean to go on and all that) . Plan your day - Get a diary or use your google calendar & add in what you need to do for the day, hour to hour, if you have a busy day when you have it laid out & can see in front of you what you have to do it will feel a little less overwhelming & as you tick it off you will feel a sense of achievement.
Don’t start your day on social media - When you wake up first, give yourself time to set yourself up for the day. Your emails - insta stories & the news will still be there in another hour. Don’t get sucked into the world of selfies, food and gym pics first thing in the morning or you will go into reactive mode for the day. Every light, ding & sound will have you picking up your phone & distracting you from more important tasks throughout the day. This will eat into your time. All smart phones now have “screen management time” set your app usage and screen time and leave the phone down until you have at least had your breakfast or walk out the door)
Meditate - Stay in bed or sit on a chair & put in your earphones & meditate for 5-20 minutes. This will help relax, quieten your mind & allow you to deal with anything stressful that you may come up against during the day. You tube “guided morning meditations” or use “headspace” or “calm” app.
Move - Do a class , go on a walk, do a short home workout (check out my home workouts on my social pages) yoga, stretch, whatever you enjoy and makes you feel good. It does not matter if you workout in the morning or evening but always be honest with yourself and realistic, do you have time to workout in the evening? If not, get up earlier and do it. You wont regret it! Get them endorphins flowing first thing…. bliss!
Break up with the snooze button - The snooze button can be your best friend or your worst enemy. If you plan on getting up early to workout / meditate / yoga / eat or prep.. just get up.. the second you open your eyes.. yes that’s the secret to the perfect day! Lying there for more than 5 seconds is way too much time for your brain to start making excuses like “ill start tomorrow” “I will get up in another 5 minutes” “Ill train this evening instead”.. spoof!
Hydrate before you caffeinate - have a 500ml bottle of water beside your bed and drink it when you wake up. Remember your body has gone 6-8 hours without water and needs to be hydrated. Some of us find it so hard to get our recommended 2-4 liters of water a day, if you stick to this that’s a half a litre drank before you have even walked out the door… winning!
Journal - Write down 3-10 things you are grateful for / how you would like your day to go or how you are feeling in that moment. Anything that’s on your mind you would like to let go of before the day begins!
Cold shower - don’t knock it! It will definitely wake you up… I find the more you do it the stronger your mind becomes. It’s one of them “if I can do this I can do anything” feelings!
Make use of your travel time - whether you are on the bus / train or in the car you can listen to a podcast - journal or plan your day (obvs not if you are driving) or just breath, as I said before you don’t have to be lying down to meditate. Take a few deep breaths and focus on them it will really help you if you are feeling overwhelmed, stressed or have exams a presentation or meetings.
If you can only do one or two things from the list that is fine, it is better than none. If you have a free morning then do more, everyone is different so plan around your own schedule, make it realistic & enjoyable.
