Rise and Shine!
Who can relate to this? The alarm jolts you out of a deep sleep, you might snooze it once or twice, then you pick up your phone and scroll through Instagram, check your emails and see what lies in store for you at work that day, wait until the last possible minute to throw off the covers and hop in the shower, and either eat breakfast while driving to the office or plop down on the couch to start the work from home day.
Search morning routine online and you will get millions of articles proclaiming that if only you can wake up at 3 am like Dolly Parton or take an ice bath like Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, your life will suddenly transform into some stress-free utopia. The truth is most of us are likely to wake up in some sort of rushed chaos. But you do not have to have an overly complicated, 20 step routine in order to bring a little more productivity, wellness, and mindfulness to your mornings.
“Success is the product of daily habits—not once-in-a-lifetime transformations” – James Clear
Just pick one thing to add to your routine and once you get comfortable with that, try adding something else that appeals to you. Small, consistent steps are key. You do not have to completely overhaul your entire routine tomorrow.
Some things you might want to consider incorporating into your morning routine –
· Write down (or speak out loud) five things you are grateful for
· Ten minutes of meditation
· Fifteen minutes of stretching/yoga to wake up your body
· Read a chapter of a book
· Play your favorite inspirational podcast while you get ready
· Drink your coffee/tea outside
· Spend a few minutes visualizing how you want your day to go
· Journal – I had the most resistance to adding this one but it has had a huge impact
· Take your dog for a walk
· Make your bed
· Drink a glass of water immediately upon waking up (bonus points if it’s warm lemon water)
· Avoid looking at your phone for as long as possible
For reference, here is my current morning routine. It has taken some trial and error to find something that sticks and of course I do not do this every single morning (although as the people in my life can attest, there is definitely a difference when I don’t).
· Wake up with my sunrise alarm clock (one of the best purchases I have ever made)
· 5 minutes of breathwork
· 15 minutes of morning pages journaling while drinking warm lemon water (morning pages are just three pages of stream of consciousness writing first thing in the morning)
· 20 minute meditation
· Workout
