I am 100% a morning person to my core. I love my morning coffee. I love watching the sunrise. I love having quiet alone time to myself. And even though I do love my sleep, waking up early and blogging, goal setting, meal prepping and getting workout’s in before 8 am just makes me giddy with excitement. It just feels so good when I finally “start” my workday, knowing I got my most important things done first.
My morning routine and starting my day on the right foot is a game-changer for me and has made a huge impact on the way I approach every workday.
I believe it’s totally worth sacrificing an hour and a half of sleep in the morning, or just going to bed an hour or so earlier the night before. But I want to come back to focus on my thoughts of, “knowing I got MY most important things done first” concept.
In life, a lot of our time and effort are given to others. Whether that is your kids, what your boss wants you to do for him/her at work, helping out a family member or friend. Whatever it is, a lot of your day is given to other people’s needs. This isn’t a bad thing, it’s called life, but sometimes in order to achieve our goals or just to feel centered within ourselves we need to give time to ourselves too. My morning routine does that for me.
My morning routine is 60-90 minutes of time dedicated to focusing on myself and what I want and need. It also sets me up to start my day feeling good, and in the right mindset.
Your morning routine might look a little different than mine, and that is TOTALLY okay. It should be! Like I have said, we are uniquely individual and different and we should embrace that and live in our authenticity. Your morning routine should not be the same, it should be uniquely catered to you. =]
For now, I will show you mine to give you a general guideline on how to start yours.
Generally, I wake up around 5 or 5:30, depending on when I got to bed the night before.
I go pour myself a cup of coffee, get a glass of water with lemon and sit on my couch. I try to drink the glass of water first because I read in Cameron Diaz’s, “The Body Book”. That you should always start your day with a glass of water because your body is super dehydration from not drinking for 6-8 hours while you were sleeping. She claims this is the best way to start the rehydration process and wake up your insides. It’s actually tough for me to drink straight water in the morning, so I add lemon. I try to drink that water before I start on my coffee. Rehydrating yourself isn’t typically in a morning routine, but I think being hydrated is so important, so it’s a part of mine.
Once I am sitting comfortably on my couch, I meditate. This probably takes me 10-15 minutes depending on the day and what kind of meditation I am practicing. Lately, I have been practicing “mindfulness meditation” because my yoga training requires us too. In this type of meditation, you keep your eyes open, having one focal point ahead of you.
When I am not practicing mindfulness meditation I do more of a priming routine that I learned from Tony Robbins. I start with thinking of the 3 things I am grateful for, really visualizing and leaning in towards that feeling of gratitude. Then I think of the 3 people I want to send my love to and lean into that feeling, and then end it with three dreams I have and visualize and get excited about those dreams. This priming is my favorite and this is a link to a youtube clip of it if you want to sit and listen.
Also, any guided meditation is GREAT. Meditation is hard and is a practice in of itself, so finding a guided meditation on youtube or an app is a great way to start and get comfortable with it.
Once my meditation is over I grab my Start Today Journal and set my intentions of the day. In case you missed it, check out my blog “This Tool has Totally Changed my Life”, it’s all about Rachel Hollis’s start today journal and how that practice has completely changed my life. For a quick overview, you start out writing what you are grateful for, then write out the 10 major dreams you are working towards, to help you remember and visualize what you are working for. Then it makes you focus on the ONE goal you are focusing on this year. This practice keeps your goals at top of mind and reminds you of your why every morning.
After I do that, I typically write out in my planner what I want/need to focus on that day at work. I try to keep it to 2-3 major results I would like accomplished to feel good at the end of the day or week.
Then once I meditate and write out my intentions I do something for myself for 20-30 minutes. For me, this is typically blogging. Blogging is my personal hobby, and something I feel drawn too, but I don’t get paid to do it and it won’t happen unless I make time for it. So my mornings are for my blogging, and I love it.
Some people may read something that is inspiring or will help you move forward. Or maybe you are studying a language or are trying to learn something new. It can even be working on a side hustle or working on a hobby or thing that you love to do that you won’t have time to do unless you MAKE the time to do it. THIS is your time to do it.
Then I like to end my morning routine with movement. That movement may be a quick 20-minute video on YouTube or a quick yoga flow. It doesn’t have to be a long workout, it’s just doing something to move your body and get it ready for the day ahead.
Though I have to admit, sometimes I will take an early morning work out class and then this step will just bump up to the first thing once I get back, showered, and settled in, I do the rest. But regardless of order, I always do these 5 things every morning.
Owning your morning, and giving yourself the time to focus on you and what YOU want is the best gift you can give to yourself.
My morning routines and starting my morning on the right foot is crucial for me to feel like I am taking control of my day, and am then ready for what life throws at me.
Maybe try this out, in your own way, and see how it feels and how it changes your morning.
Until next time,
Good Morning Sunshine 😉
