So, the morning routine… You probably see many coaches, yogi’s and fitness professionals sharing their morning routine. Getting up early and doing a number of practices that they attribute to being their best self. I love having a morning routine. Have I always had one and do I always do mine? No! Because the nature of my life doesn’t always allow me to BUT most importantly because it’s not always best for me.
So, first and foremost you must get clear on why you are doing this.
Just because I have a morning routine or the next person you are following has one, doesn’t mean you have to have one. If you wake up later, or roll out of bed and are happy then great don’t change, but if you’re waking up wishing you got up earlier, regretting that you have no time to exercise, and feeling overwhelmed because you didn’t meditate and low in energy because you’ve not eaten well and you want a better life for yourself, then definitely consider a morning routine.
Why? Because the way you start your day is an intention for what you want for your life and you have the opportunity to reset that every single morning. If you get up and give yourself what you need first thing to feel your best, this is a huge statement that says ‘I am worth it’ and when you show yourself that you’re worth it, the world will show you that too.
Now, what should your morning routine include – now that is entirely up to you and it really depends on your why.
If it’s important to you to fit in personal growth then read ten pages of a personal growth book, if it’s important to you to eat well then give yourself time to prep a good breakfast, if it’s important to you to have a clear mind, then get a 20-minute meditation in, if you want to feel fresh and sharp and strengthen your immune system, have a cold shower or swim in the sea.
Can you see?… Base it on what is important to you. Don’t just do something because someone else is. But do use them as inspiration… if they say it helps with what you feel you need, then try it for yourself. So if you don’t want to fail, which I presume means you want to be consistent, then listen to these three important tips.
1: Don’t try and do everything all at once.
What I see happen is when someone decides that they want to better themselves and their life and they get so fed up with themselves, they then go all in – but like all or nothing in. So after having no morning routine, they are waking up at 4.30 am and doing yoga, meditation, a cold show, journaling, a juice, a run, and food prepping for life. This is unsustainable, which is why a week later you’re exhausted and pressing snooze ten times.
Start small and wait for one thing to become a habit before you add something else. It will help if you layer your morning routine because once you stick to one thing for a long time, you will feel the benefits which makes it easy.
When I started I began by just making sure I woke up early enough to do 5 minutes of meditation. Yes, just five minutes … and once I had nailed that, I added making sure I had a lemon water first thing before a cup of tea. Then gradually I added daily exercise, stretching, and a cold shower or swim. But I don’t always manage all of them all of the time.
2: Prioritise what will make the most change in your life.
If you don’t know where to start, think about what you don’t want in your life. Like maybe you don’t want to be so negative all of the time or you’re sick of feeling so tired or you don’t want to be overweight. And then have an honest conversation with yourself about what you need to do to make change on the one that is most important.
Do what is most important first. If it’s to lose weight, make sure exercise is the first thing you do in your day, so that it’s done and you can’t talk yourself out of it. I exercise almost daily now and that’s a mix of walking, weights, swimming, cycling, running, dancing or playing with my boy. It’s such a habit now because it makes me feel so good it’s not hard to put it first. I know that when my body is strong my mind is strong.
3: You don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn.
Of course, if you have to be at work and you want to make sure you give to yourself before you go, then you are going to need to get up early, but that does not mean that you have to be up at 4.30 am.
A good night’s sleep is really, really important, much more important than making a juice in the morning. If you are trying this and not giving yourself enough sleep you will give up, because the body will pull you into what it needs more. Start to change your body clock gradually by going to bed 20 minutes earlier each night so that you can get up earlier in the morning, but making sure you are still giving yourself enough sleep.
And that might be an honest conversation around whether you do really need 9, 10, or 11 hours. Try getting 7.5 or 8 one night and see if you feel more awake. I have always gone to bed early, I used to take myself off to bed as a kid so getting up early is easy for me. But having been very sleep-deprived when I had Archie, I know sleep deprivation is hell. I’d love to hear from you. Tell me, how is your morning routine? Do you have one and has it helped you? Please let me know in the comments below.
