Thank you so much for visiting my blog. As a competitor for Ms. Health & Fitness 2022, each day I will share something I have learned on my journey to wellness. If I inspire and motivate you on your journey please take a moment to vote. It's quick, it's easy and best of all, it's free. Then come back each day to read more.
The one thing I've found that is 100% essential to creating a healthy, happy lifestyle is having a routine. We all routinely do things each day. But what I am talking about is an intentional routine that includes all the things we need to successfully get to the goals we envision for our life. It is hard to achieve success in what makes us happy on a daily basis without a routine. And that routine starts the moment you get out of bed in the morning. There's no one way to do it. But the point is to do it.
"You'll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine." ~ John C. Maxwell
How we spend our morning will often determine what kind of day we will have. Our morning can determine if we go through our day with positive energy, focus and patience or if we go through our day feeling like we're just surviving, frustrated, negative, rushed or defeated. Creating time in the morning for a daily process can help us go from surviving the day to owning the day. And how we start our morning can impact our ability to develop healthy habits throughout our day.
Everyone's daily routine and morning process will look different depending on where we are in life, what our work schedule looks like and what our goals are. If you don't know where to start or are looking for ideas I recommend starting by reading one (or several) of the books listed below. Getting an idea of what habits the most successful people include in their daily routine can help narrow down and determine what will work best for you and you'll begin to see how there is not just one perfect formula. The point is not to find the perfect formula of a routine but to gather the info you need to come up with a formula that works for you.
I started intentionally doing a morning process during the Covid quarantine. I am a teacher and teaching remotely from home while homeschooling a then 5-year-old was a chaotic time. So I changed a few things about how I started my morning. A quiet morning by myself before the chaos of the day begins is an essential part of my morning process, especially in 2020 when I started. So getting up an hour before anyone else to have time just for me and my morning process has become a necessity. When I started, my routine was simply to have a cup of coffee in peace and read. But as I read more about morning process I began adding to my process. And when school went back to in-person classes in the fall of 2020 and I had to get up and go to work my routine started to begin the night before.
The routine that works for me
1. Start the night before by getting things ready for the next day.
Lay out your clothes for the next day.
Pack lunch, prepare meals, line up your breakfast, vitamins, supps.
Shut off notifications or put your phone is sleep mode.
Turn off the TV if there is one in the room. (for me this doesn't always happen because my husband is a night person and often watches TV late)
Meditate or sit quietly to set your intentions for a good nights sleep. Put all worries out of your mind and focus on rest. Tell your intuition this is not the time to plan but to rest. You can also add a cup of herbal tea to relax your mind and body.
Go to bed early enough to get seven hours sleep if possible.
2. Wake up early enough to do your morning process before you need to get around to go to work or take the kids to school.
This was a hard one for me at first. Getting up an hour earlier seemed crazy for me when I was already getting up at 5am to be out the door at 6am to drop the little guy off at before school care so I can get to work by 7am. The first few days I hated getting up at 4am. But by the end of the first week I realized I felt more focused and less like I was shot out of a cannon (as my mother used to say) and rushed. As a result, my day was better. After reading, The 5 Second Rule, I started using the rule to get myself out of bed on hard mornings.
3. Don't look at your phone until you have finished your routine.
Shutting off notifications the night before prevents the temptation to look at your phone the second you get out of bed. If you are used to checking messages, email, or social media when you get up it will be a hard change. But your morning process is supposed to be about you and what will help you. And when you check your phone its about everyone else.
4. Drink a glass of water
When we sleep our bodies sweat and loses essential minerals and nutrients. Drinking a glass of water with Himalayan salt and lemon can help hydrate the body and aid in nutrient and mineral absorption throughout the day.
5. Meditate/sit in silence/pray
Take 10 minutes or as much time as you feel necessary to get your mind focused and ready for the day. I often will have my cup of coffee and sit in the quiet of the house by the fire in the winter, or on our front porch or patio in the summer. I take time to breathe in the day.
6. Have a gratitude practice
Some like to verbalize their gratitude for the day. I like to write it down in a notebook. Each day I write down 3 things I am grateful for. At first its seems easy to name people and experiences or things like your health or job. But as the practice becomes a routine we start to look more closely to what we have to be grateful for. And when this happens it starts to resonate throughout the day and we begin to look at negative situations more positively.
7. Set your intentions, goals and plan your day
Once I have I taken time to meditate and practice gratitude I set my intentions for the day, list my goals in my planner and go over my schedule for the day. Part of my weekly routine is planning out the week ahead on a Sunday. I will discuss that in a later post. Knowing what is on the schedule for the day helps me set clear intentions on what I want to accomplish each day. And for me knowing the plan for the day helps the day go more smoothly and be less stressful.
8. Do personal development
This part of my routine I actually do on my drive to work. I don't listen to music in the morning. The music on my play list is good for a training session at the gym but not necessarily for the morning drive to work. So I download a personal development book on Audible or listen to a mindset podcast on Spotify. It's on my drive that I've read most of the books listed below. I do my PD in the car but you can do it however or whenever works best for you. I have friends who listen to podcasts on their morning run. Which brings me to the last part of my morning process...
9. Move your body
Some people do yoga, some do morning cardio, some go for a run or go to the gym. My morning routine during the work week includes a stretch session or core workout. If I get up early enough I'll do cardio and on the weekends I got train at the gym first thing in the morning when I'm done with my morning process. The point is to move. Do something that gets the blood flowing and your endorphins excited.
Try one or two of the things listed. Add something new each day or come up with your own morning routine check list. Read from the selection of books listed below. (you can make them your PD for your process) and tweek your routine with habits that best fit your situation and needs. The most successful routines are those that become a habit so consistency is the key. Stick with the routine daily and it becomes a habit.
Not sure where to start? Here are a few books that can help...
Own the Day, Own Your Life: Optimized Practices for Waking, Working, Learning, Eating, Training, Playing, Sleeping, and Sex by Aubrey Marcus #aubreymarcus #ownthedayownyourlife
The 5 Second Rule: Transform your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage
by Mel Robbins and Mel Robbins Productions Inc. #the5secondrule
The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8AM) by Hal Elrod #themiraclemorning
A Beautiful Morning: How a Morning Ritual Can Feed Your Soul and Transform Your Life
by Ashley Ellington Brown #abeautifulmorning
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
by James Clear and Penguin Audio #atomichabits
The 5AM Club: Own Your Morning. Elevate Your Life by Robin Sharma, Adam Verner, et al #the5amclub
What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast: A Short Guide to Making Over Your Mornings--and Life (A Penguin Special from Portfolio) by Laura Vanderkam #habitsofsuccessfulpeople
Come back tomorrow for more inspiration
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