Powerful Morning Routine to Launch You Into Your Day
What would your ideal morning be like? What time would you wake up? What would you do before you started your day? If your ideal morning is similar to the one I imagine, it might consist of waking up feeling fully rested on my first alarm. Getting in a quick workout, then making a relaxing cup of coffee to drink on my back porch listening to the bird's chirp. In my imagination, this ideal morning is stressfree, relaxed, and rejuvenating. However, if I compare it to what my actual morning is, it might not be very close. Unfortunately, it is very easy to let our mornings get rushed and stressful.
Mornings are SUCH an important part of the day. The way we start our day can determine how the rest of our day will go. If we begin our morning rushed, stressed, and running behind, it is likely we will experience those same feelings through the rest of the day. But, if we begin our day with organization, structure, and full of energy, we can hope to have a better day!
Here are 7 small changes that can help improve your morning:
1. Get up on you first alarm
Alright, I know you are probably thinking... getting up on my first alarm impossible. Trust me, I've been there! If you need help getting up on your first alarm, check out the last blog post for some helpful strategies.
Getting up on your first alarm is SUCH a gamechanger. By clicking snooze you are starting your day with a small defeat. It puts you into a mindset of doing what you feel like, rather than what you know you should do. It can also cause much stress in the morning. Pressing snooze over and over can run you late, causing you to be rushed and feel overwhelmed.
Getting up on your first alarm will not only give you the time you need to have a powerful morning routine, but it will also start your day with a small win. For many people, getting out of bed on the first alarm may be the toughest thing they do all day.. so get it over with right of the bat! How great is it to think that your day will only be easier from there!
2. No Phone For First Hour
If you are similar to me, I used to sleep with your phone right by your bed. Then, the first thing I would do when I woke up, was to check my phone. DON"T DO THIS! Looking at your phone first thing in the morning puts you into a reactive mindset rather than a proactive one. By looking at your phone and reacting to the notifications it gives you, you are allowing something else tells you what to do first thing in the morning. Just by taking one hour without your phone, you can notice a large improvement in your mornings. It will help you have more control and feel more relaxed. It can also help you save time! Lots of times we don't realize how that quick glance at our phone in the morning can turn into 15 minutes!
3. Do a quick exercise
Ideally, it would be more than a "quick" exercise, but we have to start somewhere. Find a simple exercise you can do every morning that will take around 5 minutes. For me, I do a very quick series of pushups, situps, and stretches first thing in the morning (I do this while my oatmeal cooks) to help me get my day going. Having even just a short exercise will help to get your body awake and boost your attitude by starting your day with another small win.
4. Eat something healthy
Eat something! It does not have to be a large elaborate breakfast, it can be as simple as a banana. But find something healthy that can give your body and brain the nutrients it needs. And, drink some water! Don't just go straight for the coffee, take a minute to hydrate yourself.
5. Read something inspirational
Get your brain thinking and excited. Take 10 minutes to read something positive and educational. For me, I read a self-help book for 17 minutes every morning. This small behavior gets me excited for the day and guarantees I continue to learn.
6. Meditate
Okay, meditating will at first might seem a little strange... butit works! If you are just getting started, set a timer on your phone for 3 minutes and sit down and think about nothing. Focus on your breathing, and let yourself relax. There are constantly studies that show how meditating helps to reduce stress and rejuvenate your energy. It also is a great time to say a morning prayer.
7. Plan and Prioritize your day
Before you jump into work, make sure you have a plan. I personally like to plan my day out the night before, and then just review it in the morning. Either way, put together a plan in writing so you are not just aimlessly completing tasks throughout your day. Take time to write down all you need to do, prioritize it, and make a bullet plan of how you will get it done. By simply planning my day out, it makes me much more productive because I do not need to think about what I need to do next. I already have a plan that I have written out and rehearsed in my head. This allows focussing more on getting things done rather than deciding what to do next.
Now, write out your morning routine!
Before you get up from reading this, take out a piece of paper and write out your morning routine. Make a plan for when you will wake up and how your entire morning will look. Creating this plan will make it much more likely that you will actually do it. (Don't just set your alarm for 30 minutes earlier and plan on having a relaxed morning routine) Put a plan in writing, and then make it happen!
Need help? Join the Crazy Community
If you need help, reach out in the Crazy Community Facebook group. We would love to hear from you. Also, if you have a great strategy that has been working for you, we would love to hear it! Please join and share with us, you can join the group below.
See how GoalCrazy can help
If you need help coming up with your morning routine and holding yourself accountable to follow through on it, check out the GoalCrazy 90 day planner. Using the habit tracking system, it will teach you how to plan your ideal day and then grade yourself every night on how close you got.
You can learn more about the planner below