Five steps to create a morning routine that will change your life
How you spend the first hour of your day is pivotal.
Uh-huh…!Thanks Captain Obvious!” We’ve already heard the “studies say this” and “the benefits are XYZ”. We already know that how you begin your day sets the tone for everything that comes after… So let’s skip the “blah, blah, blah” part and get to the good stuff, shall we?
I’m going to share five steps for crafting a morning routine that will be an anchor in creating a life that is worthy of what you deserve. The bonus is that you will actually look forward to it.
I am raising my hand so high right now to claim my identity as a life-long passionate morning hater! Like, if you say “Good Morning” to me too soon, I will hiss and spit. I’m sharing the following guide with you because doing a consistent joyful morning routine has changed my life. If I can do it…you can. So, what have you got to lose? And don’t worry, I’m not going to ask you to set your alarm any earlier. Gross.
Time Required: Reading = 10 minutes, Journaling = 10 minutes
If you would like to skim and save the journal prompts for later,
First: Grab a pen and a piece of paper. Yes, I want you to actually put pen to paper and write down answers that you created with your beautiful mind.
The difference is:
1. This guide WILL work if you do the journaling part.
-or-
2. This guide WILL NOT work if you just scroll and skim. Going through the motion of thinking through the content enough that you create a response and then also physically writing it down makes it stick. It’s brain science and stuff.
Step One: Set your Anchor.
You need to get clear on why you want an intentional morning routine. This will be an anchor for you when you’re tempted to hit snooze or let yourself be distracted. And your WHY is the foundation which you will build upon so it needs to be solid. It needs to have some feeling behind it beyond, “Because it’s good for me”. We’re digging a little deeper here. It’s worth it, I promise.
Write: Take a few moments to write down answers to these questions.
· A morning routine is important to me because…
· I want to create a morning routine that feels/makes me feel…
· If I start my day with a routine that nourishes me and makes me feel amazing, it will change my day for the better in these ways…
Step Two: Create a Vision of the Future.
Take a moment to mentally envision your perfect morning. How does it look and feel? Don’t get bogged down with logistics right now. Play it like a movie in your head and get into the experience with all of your senses. And then, how does it FEEL when you’re doing this blissful, nourishing, satisfying morning routine?
Write: Make a List. Prioritize what’s important. List the elements or activities which are essential to you in a perfect “everyday” morning.
I know I said the word “perfect” but we’re not talking about an “on vacation” morning; it’s probably not going to involve croissants and butler service…although I highly recommend doing a little visioning on that as well because it can’t happen unless you put it in motion with your thoughts first.
What habits will support you showing up for your life as your best self?
To get started; I recommend considering habits in terms of how they support your WHOLE SELF; mind, body and spirit and then making sure you include one thing that nourishes each part of the big beautiful intricate mess that is YOU.
If it helps, take a look at this list to get your brain going. What on this list resonates or calls to you? What’s missing? The things you put on your list should be things that make your heart smile when you think of doing them.
· Yoga/Stretch
· Quiet/Reflective Time
· Exercise/Movement
· Breathing exercises
· Nourishment: Drink water or tea, eat a healthy breakfast, take supplements
· Gratitude
· Self Care
· Get organized and focused: review your schedule, prioritize your to do list
· Journal
· Read
· Nature Fix: water a plant, step outside for a deep breath, feel the sun on your face
Next, read through your list of necessary elements again and take a moment to mark any habits you’ve listed that feel necessary but have some mental “junk” surrounding it. By that, I mean things that you know you “should” do but you don’t actually WANT to do or tend to skip regularly.
Step Three: Take an Honest Assessment of Now.
What is your current morning routine? Take an honest look at how you’re spending the first hour of your day currently; and I mean every single minute of it. Whether you realize it or not, you already have a morning routine by default!
Write: Write down how you typically spend your morning.
(Be honest! I want a step by step list of what happens the first 60 minutes after you open your eyes. No one is going to see this. You can crumple it up and eat it afterwards. Extra fiber.)
Maybe it begins with a few smacks of the ol’ snooze button?
Perhaps you roll over and start your day basking in the soft glow of social media or the news?…you know…“for just a minute” (…or ten!)
Do you regularly feel rushed or like you’re racing against the clock to get out the door? If you don’t have to get yourself out the door physically, do you find that you have trouble keeping on track and getting started with the tasks of the day or begin unprepared? (What’s up “pajamas at noon” club?!?)
And most importantly, how do you feel when you’re ready to start your big awesome day of adulting? Do you arrive to your life centered, calm, nourished?
Next, take your current routine and circle the items that you are spending your time on which are NOT beneficial -or- can be tended to later in your day. (Yes, your Facebook memories will still be waiting on you later. Promise.)
Step Four: Purge- Junk out, Bliss in.
That’s right, we’re going to do a bit of purging; cleaning house per say for a good old fashioned dumpster fire.
Write: Take your Vision List and your Current Assessment list and sort the gems from the junk.
Junk out: It has to be beneficial or it goes. Period. How you live your days is how you live your life. The precious moments of this big adventure called life all connect together and you will NOT look back and be thankful that you scrolled junk on your phone or overslept when it’s all over.
Bliss in: It only goes on the list if it feels amazing. That’s right, nothing goes on your routine unless you will look forward to it (even just a little) every single day. It has to bring you pleasure. Willpower is a “fair-weather friend” who suddenly has “other plans” when the going gets tough, so let’s bypass the need for it, because she’s just not going to show up for you every morning!
Fact: You will not faithfully continue a habit long term if don’t enjoy yourself while you’re doing it. So, give yourself a few moments to notice any negative feelings that come up around the list of necessary morning habits.
For example: Let’s take everyone’s perennial nemesis, “Exercise”. We know it’s necessary for our general health, but so often we fail to follow through with making it a regular part of our life long term. (Come on…we’ve all taken a dip in the sea of abandoned gym memberships and broken new year’s resolutions…)
So, why on earth do we set the intention to do something that’s GOOD for us, and that we really WANT to do, but time after time we FAIL to stick with it? Well, this would be the magic ingredient my friends.
It has to FEEL GOOD. That’s just how our brains are wired. (Once again, feel free to Google the research but you already know that this is true…our past behavior is all the evidence we need.)
The problem is that somewhere along the way, we accepted that healthy habits not only can but should involve suffering and sacrifice. It’s the whole “No Pain, No Gain” mantra. And how has that been working for all of us so far?? Yeah, not good. Rollercoaster. Yo-yo. Self defeat. Frustration.
So the next step is to ditch the harmful messages and bad habits you’ve been dragging around all this time. Maybe you’ve struggled with some healthy morning habits just because you were doing them in a way that wasn’t quite right for you.
How liberating would it be if you moved your body only in ways that felt amazing instead of punishing?
What if eating healthfully was full of delight, pleasure and satisfaction instead of deprivation?
What if you ditched the “right way” to: meditate or pray or (insert any habit here), and instead did it in an authentic way that felt right and wonderful for you?
I’m going to bet you’d look forward to doing all of those things every day! So, take one last look at your agenda and if there are some items on there that you know are good and necessary but you struggle to make happen, put a different spin on it. How can you fit your important item into your schedule in a way that you will look forward to it. For example, exercise is one of my necessities and I used to put it off because I thought I needed to do a hard core hour long sweat session. I sometimes dreaded it and it was easy to put off. Now, I exercise most days of the week because I found something I adore (swimming) and I commit to walking 30 minutes on days I don’t swim. It's a lot harder to convince myself I don’t have energy or time to WALK. No putting it off. No dread. No guilt. Bliss.
So, spend a few minutes brainstorming new or different ways to do those things that you tend to put off and procrastinate.
Step Five: Make a sticky plan.
You’ve anchored to what’s important, thrown out what isn’t important to create space and found new ways to start your day with pleasure and expectation. You’re ready to put it into practice!
Write:
Figure out how much time you can reliably spend on your routine each morning. And this does not involve setting the alarm any earlier. There are no expectations of “how long you should do this or that…”. It has to be consistent and in order for that to happen you just need to commit to what you will do every day.
Take each beneficial and enjoyable habit you’ve listed and whittle them down to a time frame that adds up to what you can manage daily. Yes, DAILY.
You are much better served by a healthy habit done daily for a short time, than one that gets avoided, skipped and postponed because it’s overwhelming or cumbersome.
Put everything on a list that’s easy to refer to right out of bed.
I use an app called “The Fabulous” that I love but it doesn’t matter what you use, as long as YOU love it. A piece of paper with a hand-written list will suffice just fine to start.
Tip: Take a habit you would never skip (brushing your teeth, drinking a cup of coffee, etc) and put it as the FIRST thing on your routine. Getting started is often the hardest part, so this is a great way to trick the part of you who wants to resist. “Oh, I already started my routine so I guess I’ll keep going…(shrugs shoulders)…what’s next?!”
Boom, you’re kicking ass and taking names from the get-go! Look at you! You’re investing faithfully in yourself in small ways that add up to big changes in your life and that’s something to celebrate.
Now, for the best part… it may take weeks or months perhaps, but I want you to watch your life open up in beautiful ways when the first thing you do every morning is invest in arriving to your day calm, centered and nourished; mind, body and spirit.