You ever just wake up in the morning, open your eyes and just kinda sigh because you haven’t laid out a morning routine for yourself, so you feel a little lost or out of place with what you should do next?
I have been there too.
I have tried so many different methods to starting my day. The 5 second rule by Mel Robins (which did work for awhile and I still sometimes think of it when I am slacking on a task… I should read that book again).
Okay, I’m getting off track here. I have also tried the one-and-done alarm clock method: whip yourself out of bed when the first alarm clock goes off, instead of hitting snooze to the three that you have set on your alarm and wake up 30-40 minutes after your first alarm went off. Yeah, that’s been a pattern I have had since I was a child, it’s deep in my core memory within my neural pathways.
Now that you know how deep this pattern of mine is, I hope you give me grace when I tell you some days I still hit that snooze button.
But I have instilled quite a few routines that help me set up my mornings, so I can be productive, happy, and content throughout my day.
I will share five of them with you, please use the ones that you feel comfortable with and leave the rest. If you have any morning routines that you are currently doing that are not listed, I would love to hear about them!
5 Ways to Set Your Morning Up for Success and Carry it With You Throughout Your Day
Make your bed
This should be the first task you do when you get out of bed. It sets you up for your day.
It’s the first accomplishment to your morning routine. Also, when it’s time for bed, it feels really good climbing into a bed that isn’t all sloppy with your left over sleep from the night before staring at you.
I started doing this task way before I read the book “Make your bed” by Admiral William H. McRaven. In this book he will talk about the 10 lesson that he learned from basic SEAL training on how to change the world and deal with life. It’s a really good read and you might get something out of it for your own life.
Even if you don’t read the book you can find his tips online in a quick summary. Also, remember it’s the micro habits we do on a daily bases that make up the macro habits in out lives.
Listen to and Repeat Affirmations
I try to listen to affirmations every morning. They are a great way to rewire your neural pathways.
It takes an average of 66 days of repetition to form a habit. This will be different for each person. No matter if it takes you 21 days (like most of the youtube affirmations say), or if it takes you 66 days, you are showing up for yourself and that’s the true beauty in it.
You could discover affirmations in so many places. My favorite is to listen to them on YouTube. I love Clark Kegley, Lavendaire, and Leeor Alexandra to name a few.
You could also write your own affirmations and repeat them to yourself as you are getting ready for your day. Some of mine are:
I am worthy of what I desire
I am strong
I am attracting great abundance into my life
Money flows to me easily in expected and unexpected ways
I overcome any obstacle on my journey of financial freedom
Prosperity flows to and through me
My needs matter
I am worthy of love
I love myself
I am safe
I am brave, bold, and beautiful
These are some that I love. Yours could look different and that’s ok because you are a beautiful soul that is unique and none of us are alike.
Keep a Journal
This is the most healing and transforming morning routine I have started.
I don’t subject journaling to just the morning, but if you journal the first thing when you wake up your brain hasn’t had time to dictate every word you are about to write onto that paper.
Let that shit flow.
Screw the penmanship, the spelling, and the punctuation. It doesn’t matter!
What matters is that you poured your soul onto that paper without letting the fear of writing your truth hold you back.
Speaking of truth… DO NOT LIE to yourself on the pages, you will only be shorting yourself and that’s not fair to you. I’m sure enough people in this world have done that to you already.
Be your best friend and hold yourself accountable for your truth because your truth matters. This could show you your blocks and what you may need to let go of, what/who you may need to forgive (this could be yourself), this could bring you onto the path of your life’s purpose if you are searching for that.
My point is journaling will open so many doors for you. It’s your story and you are the author, let yourself flow onto the pages.
Drink a Glass of Water
That’s right, a glass of water before your morning coffee or tea. It won’t kill you!
It will actually increase your energy levels and your immunity, boost your metabolism, help ease aches and pains by lubricating your joints, flush toxins from your body, and give you a clearer complexion with more radiant skin.
It will also help you stay regular with your bowel movements (how awesome is that?). I personally try to drink a gallon of water a day.
Yes, I do use the restroom a lot! But my body can tell when I have not consumed enough of that delicious H2O. I feel sluggish, my skin is dry, and I am constantly hungry.
Did you know that most of the time when our tummy is giving us warning signs that we should eat, 9 times out of 10 it’s because our body is actually dehydrated and we need to drink some water.
Next time you get those hunger signs, ask yourself, “When was the last time I ate?” and if it was a short while ago, maybe it’s because your body is thirsty, not hungry.
You can also consume foods that are high in water content to help give you the hydration your body needs on a daily basis. Try it for awhile and see the difference it makes in your body.
Meditate
This will look different for everyone. A lot of us have this idea that meditation needs to be sitting up tall in easy seated pose with your eyes closed and your mind silent. I personally don’t believe that.
Meditation for me can look many ways: walking mindfully, showering mindfully, eating mindfully, practicing breath work or even a yoga asana with each movement being in tune with a inhale / exhale.
Meditation can also be done in Shavasana (final resting pose in a yoga class). Yes, it can also be like I described earlier, in an easy seated pose with your spine straight, lifting the crown of your head high as if an imaginary string was pulling you up to the sky.
Either way you choose to practice your meditation, it should be done with the intention of mindfulness. Not to shut down your mind so you don’t have any thoughts processing through your brain, that would mean you are no longer alive.
Use this time of meditation to sort out the thoughts that you are processing to get a better understanding of what you may be dwelling on, what you may need to release or receive.
It’s your practice, play with what works for you. We are all different and that’s what makes us unique.
These are tools that work for me. I don’t do each one of them every day (other than drinking water and making my bed).
Some mornings I only have enough time to meditate for 60 seconds or journal for 5 minutes.
The amount of time that you use on each task isn’t what matters. What matters is that you are finding ways to help you set a foundation for your mornings and feel a sense of accomplishment that you can carry with you for the rest of your day.
It’s a feeling of gratitude that you hold for yourself that no matter what that day may bring to you, you know you have a warm cozy made bed waiting for you at the end of the day to rest and reset.
Remember that what works for one person, may not work for another. Find your flow!!! Try new methods until you have discovered what works for your morning routine. Have fun with it… Dance and giggle to the beat of your own drum.
Don’t take life too seriously, it’s meant to be explored. Also remember, gratitude is the best medicine. Stay humble beautiful souls.
xo,
Jodi
