Creating a morning routine can certainly help you to be more productive and achieve your goals, but it’s important to follow a morning routine that’s right for you in order to set yourself up for success. The trick is identifying what you need to be successful.
We are all different, and there isn’t any one morning routine that everyone should follow. We are unique—our bodies and minds are unique—and we all run on different rhythms and have different perspectives on what success is for us.
So the first step to creating a morning routine is to think about what success means for you. Imagine what your ideal day is in order to figure out what you need and want from your morning routine.
Some Questions To Ask Yourself:
- How do you want to spend your day?
- What is important to you?
- What are your goals?
- What do you need to accomplish in order to be successful?
- What would you like to be doing for yourself that you’re currently not?
- What does your body need to function at its optimal level?
Whether you’re a morning person or not, understanding the answers to these questions will help you develop a productive morning routine that supports your goals by including specific morning habits that will help you be more productive, support your mental and physical health, and ultimately sets the tone for the rest of your day.
Professionals at Northwestern Medicine say “Having a routine can greatly improve your health,” and that a lot of people who don’t have a routine may suffer from stress, ineffective use of time, and poor eating habits, sleep, and physical health.
The Benefits of Having a Good Morning Routine Include:
- Increased productivity
- Having a system in place
- Less time and energy wasted making decisions
- Help us stay on task throughout the day
- Help us achieve our goals
- Increased creativity
- Helps us feel in control of our lives
- Become more efficient
- Time for what’s important to you
- Improved mental and physical health
Read on for some ideas to create a morning routine to set yourself up for success.
Be Flexible
Listen, creating the perfect morning routine takes time. You have to experiment with what feels right for you. As time passes, you’ll want to add different things and stop doing others. Life changes, our priorities change, and so do our interests—so be flexible, try new things, and be gentle with yourself. You’re not going to follow your morning routine perfectly every single day, and you shouldn’t be hard on yourself if you fall out of practice.
Rise Early
We’re not all morning people but getting out of bed a little earlier every day can help boost our productivity by giving us an opportunity to be productive before the day gets overly busy or complicated.
Rising early can help us to stay focused on our goals and pay attention to what matters most before we get distracted by the world around us.
Think of waking up a half hour to an hour earlier a day as bonus “you time,” time you get to spend on self improvement before the world is stirring.
The Power of Water
Drinking a big glass of water as soon as we wake up rehydrates our body after a long night of sleep. It helps jumpstart our brain and flush out toxins, as well as setting the tone for hitting our water goals for the day.
Make Tea or Coffee Time a Ritual
If you drink tea or coffee in the morning, turn it into a special self care ritual.
Some Ideas To Make Your Coffee And Tea Time Special:
- Have your morning drink while watching the sunrise.
- Doodling while you enjoy your hot drink.
- Bullet Journal.
- Free write or use stream of consciousness writing.
- Make your to do list for the day.
Keep Breakfast Healthy and Simple
Nourishing your body with the proper fuel lays a healthy foundation for a productive day.
You don’t want to start your day in a brain fog after making an unhealthy breakfast choice—too much sodium, too much sugar—instead, have a couple of go-to healthy breakfast ideas that will keep your mind and body feeling good and satisfied throughout your morning. Having a few of your favorites available also makes choosing what to have for breakfast less complicated.
Make Your Bed
Look, we’re not your mother, but seriously, if you do only one thing on this list… make your bed. Give it a try for a week.
Making your bed every morning is one of the easiest things you can do to set yourself up for success. It may sound silly but it has an impact on your subconscious mind.
You accomplish your first task of the day when you make your bed in the morning which gives you a sense of accomplishment—it helps you feel productive right off the bat.
Even if the rest of your bedroom is messy, having your bed made helps you feel a little more put together and organized.
Night Time Matters
Anything that you can take care of at night that will make your morning routine easier is going to help you be successful in maintaining your routine.
Some Things You Can Do At Night To Help You Have A Good Morning Routine:
- Make sure all your dishes are done before you go to bed. Nobody wants to wake up to a sink full of dirty dishes.
- Set your alarm clock and either only hit snooze once, or not at all.
- Lay out your clothes for the next day.
- Write tomorrow’s to-do list.
- Go to bed early enough to ensure you get the amount of sleep your body requires—typically 7-9 hours.
- Try to avoid getting overstimulated in the last hour before you go to sleep. Shut down devices and avoid email and social media when you can.
Write Your To Do List For The Day
If you don’t write a to do list, this is a great place to start a morning routine. Having a daily to-do list helps you stay focused on the tasks that you need to accomplish throughout the day and can keep you on track to achieve your goals.
Care For Your Mind
Taking a few minutes every morning to take care of your mind can open up the creative flow of your brain, help you stay in control and remain calm throughout the day, and can boost your mental health and brain function.
A Few Ideas To Exercise Your Mind:
- Meditate
- Journal
- Bullet Journal
- Stream of Consciousness Journal
- Dream Journal
- Goal Journal
- Dance
- Do a short yoga sequence
Move Your Body
If you wouldn’t dream of hitting the gym before 11am, then obviously working exercise into your morning routine doesn’t make sense for you, but if you do like to get your exercise in in the morning it can be one of the smartest additions to your morning routine.
Making Exercise A Part Of Your Morning Routine Can:
- Increase your energy
- Increase your mental focus
- Kickstart your metabolism
- Encourage you to workout consistently
- Help you accomplish your fitness goals
- Boost your mood
Developing a morning routine is a journey. Remember to be flexible, experiment and see
what works for you. Don’t get overwhelmed…start small by trying a routine with just a
few small steps—like getting up a little earlier and making your bed—and build from
there. Enjoy the process!
