Best Morning Routine to Serve You Daily!
Introduction
What is a Morning Routine?
A morning routine is a set of habits you can implement when you get up. The purpose of this is to set your day up correctly, and it can drastically affect your focus and productivity. For example, you could implement several things to do in the morning, like meditation, journalling, reading and exercise.
Whether you have ten minutes or two hours to do this, it doesn't matter; the fact that you can incorporate some stillness into your life and with what you crave will fill your cup up. Ideally, 30 minutes would be great, and 60 minutes would be excellent. However, this is only sometimes possible each day. So be gentle with yourself, and remember doing something is always better than doing nothing.
There is no right way to do a morning routine; it is what serves you best that day. Also, it will vary daily depending on how much time you can allocate to this. Some days may be different to other days, which is fine, as some days you may work from home and other days in the office. Also, your weekend may be very different to your weekdays, as the weekend has less structure to the weekend.
For me, my morning routine is like having ice cream- without eating the ice cream, it is a special treat that I get to have and do things that serve me best so I can do what else I need to and want to do throughout my day. Being awake and having the house to myself before everyone else is awake is always lovely. This is time for me without interruption or having to share my space with others. Of course, this doesn't happen for me on a Sunday, as that is my one day to sleep in!
Also, if you have young kids and they somehow wake up when you are in the middle of your practice, that is ok. I recall when my daughter was younger, I would meditate with her in my lap, and on occasion, she talked to me, and we had a conversation as I did my practice, and that was all ok. We are all human, and if things do not go to plan, that is fine; we must accept things as they are and not want to change them. However, you may need to change some things you do in the morning if you have a small child awake and cannot complete what you had anticipated.
For the mums who just had a baby who are still not sleeping through the night, this may not be right for you at this stage in your life, however, keep this aside and re-visit this later if this interest you!
The question is what time I should get up; this is also up to you, depending on when you need to organise your kids for school (if you have kids) and when you need to go to work or other activities. Find the time that suits you, and consider when you go to bed the night before. I like to start my morning routine around 5.30 am- 6 am most mornings on weekdays, which serves me. However, if I go to bed late the previous evening, I will get up later the next day to ensure I sleep sufficiently.
Questions and Reflection:
If this is something that you are thinking of implementing for your mornings, there are a few questions that you need to ask yourself:
- What time can I get up in the mornings? (Ideally, you want to have at least a minimum of 7 hours of sleep)
- How long can my morning routine be before the rest of the household wakes up or when I have other priorities to complete? For those with older kids, this may not be a concern.
- What do I crave the most? If you do this, you will feel happy.
8 Ideas for an Amazing Morning Routine!
They do not all need to be done daily!
- Hydration (this one is a must).
- Meditation
- Exercise (this could be Yoga, Pilates, weights training, gym, going for a run, walking, light stretching or anything else you would like).
- Journalling (Brain dump and or a grateful journal).
- Read a good quality book, listen to one, or listen to a Podcast.
- Completing online courses.
- Reflection time.
8. Eat the frog in the morning.
1. Hydration (This one is a must)
Did you know that an average person sweats about 25ml per hour of sleep under a temperature condition of 29 degrees? If you sleep for an average of 8 hours, that is around 200ml of sweat per night.
The best thing you could do for your body and mind first thing in the morning is to have a glass of water with a sprinkle of Himalayan salt. Then also, I would recommend boiling some water and having a squeeze of lemon, the rind of lemon and a sprinkle of Himalayan salt. This would be a great way to start your morning, and you will feel hydrated. In addition, having water will flush out the stomach and also balance the lymphatic system; this is important as this builds a strong immune system, which prevents us from getting sick too often.
2. Meditation
For anyone that knows me, I am a big believer in meditation; there have been many studies on this. I invite you to try a form of meditation that you like this week.
Did you know your brain waves are operating at 10.5 waves per second in the early morning? This is the alpha stage; this is the gateway to the subconscious mind.
Also, just to note that between 4 am-5 am, your brain is in between alpha and theta frequencies and if you like to tap into this. They call this the magic hour. This is up to you if you like to wake up at these times; however, if you are planning to do this, still be mindful that you are getting plenty of rest. There would be no good going to bed at 12 am and waking up at 4 am, as this is not sustainable, and you will feel extremely tired by the mid-afternoon the next day.
Your meditation practice doesn’t need to be long; it can be as short as 3 minutes if you like.
See below a 3.5-minute (205 second) meditation:
The one I practice daily is 6 phase meditation, and I love that one. I have started a new meditation with balance. It is on the app Balance, which is currently free now; you can trial for one year, and if you like to cancel, just do it before the year is up, and that app will be Free for you.
See 6 phase meditation.
Balance:
Often on the days I am working in the office, I travel to the city and catch the bus; I will listen to my meditation on my headphones on the bus. As I cannot do my Yoga on the bus!
The benefits of meditation are:
· Improves self-awareness.
· Improves sleep.
· Enhances mental health.
· Lowers stress.
· Reduce anxiety.
· Increase concentration and attention span.
· Generates empathy and kindness.
· Reduce memory loss.
· Lower pain.
· Lower Blood pressure.
The two main concerns that I get from people that do not do meditation, however, would like to:
- I cannot get my mind to stop thinking!
- I just do not have time. This means it is not a priority to you; you need to schedule time; all you need to start is 3.5 minutes (205 seconds).
The above are just examples of meditation practices you could implement; there are so many options available; find the ones that work best for you and your lifestyle if you are craving some stillness in your life!
3. Exercise (this could be Yoga, Pilates, weights training, gym, going for a run, walk and or light stretching)
I love the feeling of getting my exercise done in the morning! My body/mind craves Yoga or some form of movements most mornings. For some of you, this might not be your jam, so figure out what serves you. For the people who do not currently exercise, have a few things you could try out and see what makes you feel good. I am sure you will find activities that work best for you.
Something as simple as doing some daily stretches that go for 10 minutes is great.
Or you could dance for 10 minutes!
There are many options on YouTube you can check out. I would recommend having a couple of videos saved in advance, as you do not want to get distracted in the morning watching other videos at this time.
The benefits of exercise are that it improves your circulation, lowers your risk of heart disease, and your blood pressure. Also, movement pumps up your endorphins, which is the feel-good neurotransmitters. Who doesn’t want this?
4. Journal (Brain dump and or a grateful journal)
What is a brain dump?
This is getting pen to paper and just writing free flow, don’t go back to re-read, just keep writing; after a couple of pages, you will stop; if you implement this as a daily practice, it will be much easier to complete the brain dump.
I have done this in the past and have forgotten about this; I started doing this over the weekend, and it is great. I will not be doing this as a daily practice as I do not make this my priority each morning. However, I will implement doing once a week or so, as I also see many benefits from doing this.
The reason to do this is to organise our thoughts, decrease stress and simply get certain unnecessary thoughts out of our minds.
Gratitude Journal
Another way to journal is with gratitude; you can buy all sorts of books for this. However, it is simple, write things that you are grateful for each day.
Make this your own and see what serves you best.
What I love is asking at the dinner table with my family some evenings are each of us can share three things that day that went well for each person.
This is also great for kids that do not share a lot with their parents.
Also, ask everyone at least one thing they are grateful for.
Make a list here of three things that you would like to achieve today, if only these three things are done, you feel achieved. Don’t make a list too long that you will feel defeated even before you start.
There is a great 5-minute journal which is very helpful. Also, there are big life journals for kids as well. However, if you’re not looking to spend money on these items, all you need is a book and a pen and start writing. This practice could take less than 5 minutes.
There have been studies that people who do this practice daily or at least often will experience more gratitude, optimism about the future, positive moods, and better sleep.
5. Read a good quality book, listen to one, or listen to a Podcast.
As your brain is so prime for new information in the morning, this would be a great time to read a good quality book, listen to a book or listen to a podcast.
You could do the listening with the exercise if you like; that way, this will save you time, and you will get both things completed. This is up to you. However, some people like to do it separately.
Why should we read? There are many reasons to read; we are learning different topics; it can reduce stress and helps you relax, improves your concentration and memory, can share what you learn, our vocabulary is increased, and there is a wealth of information in the books.
A podcast is a great tool, and it builds a personal connection; it is convenient, they are highly engaging, and you learn new topics.
6. Online courses that you are completing you can do these now.
Learning is great in the morning if you have time for this. I normally don’t make learning a priority in the morning; however, I make it a priority later in the day. If you crave this and make this a priority for the morning, that would be great.
If you are not learning regularly, you don’t need to be in school or university to learn; learning is an ongoing thing, and we should never stop learning. Our brain is like a muscle; the more it is used, the stronger it gets. It is always good to keep learning and developing your skills; we are living in a time where technology is advancing at such a high rate, and you do not want to be left behind.
Whatever your interest is, try learning about that topic and researching it. Also, did you know the best way to retain the information you just learned is to share? So, share!
The benefit of personal growth is boosting your motivation, advancing your skills, increasing productivity and improving your self-control. Overcoming procrastination or laziness. Being open to learning new things and skills, having a ‘growth mindset’. Finding peace and contentment with things you cannot change. ‘
There are many FREE and paid services available for learning; here are a few; there are so many options out there:
- Om Daily
- Udemy
- Mindvalley
7. Reflection time
This one is a must for me; you can do this by having a cup of coffee or tea; just pause and reflect on your life and see how you’re feeling.
Morning reflections give you a chance to process, contextualise, and question your experiences.
Questions to ask yourself in the morning:
- What do I look forward to today?
- What reflections came from yesterday?
- What did I learn yesterday?
- Something challenging I would like to add
This practice can be done any time in the morning, for example:
-In the shower
-waiting for your bus or train
-before starting the car, just sit and pause for a minute or two if available.
-while waiting for the water to boil
If you didn’t do it in the morning, it doesn’t matter. It can be done anytime.
No one needs to know what you are thinking about; all you need to do is pause and reflect!
The benefit of reflection is to give the brain an opportunity to pause among the chaos and sort through observations and experiences. This meaning becomes learning, which can then inform future mindsets and actions.
8. Eat the frog in the morning.
The idea is to identify one challenging task, which is the frog and complete the task first thing in the morning, eating it. Eating the frog is the process of identifying your most difficult task of the day and completing it before you do any other work.
How do you feel once the most difficult task for the day has been completed early in the morning- I would say relieved.
The benefit of eating the frog first is it helps minimise multitasking, so you focus on just the frog and everything else that can come later.
When eating the frog is personal, you can do it here; however, if it is a work task, you can do this as your first priority when you start work, whether this is in the office or at home.
Top Quotes
“Just like the heart beats involuntarily, the mind thinks involuntarily.” Emily Fletcher.
“Meditation is a way for nourishing and blossoming the divinity within you.” Amit Ray
“If you don’t have time to meditate for an hour everyday, you should meditate for two hours.” Zen proverb.
“Morning is an important time of day. Because how you spend your morning can often tell you want kind of day you will have.” Lemony Snicket
“She woke up every morning with the option of being anyone she wished. How beautiful it was that she always chose herself.” Tyler Kent White
“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” Marcus Aurelius
“If you win the morning, you win the day.” Tim Ferriss
“An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.” Henry David Thoreau
“Every day of our lives, we are on the verge of making those slight changes that would make all the differences.” Mignon Mclaughin
“Just one small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day”. Dalai Lama
“The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine.’ Mike Murdock
“What you do today can improve all your tomorrows.” Ralph Marston
“If you want something different you are going to have to do something different.” Jack Canfield.
“ The sun is a daily reminder that we too can rise again from the darkness, that we too can shine our own light.” S. Ajna
“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Aristotle
“Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success.” Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
“When you stop learning you start dying.” Albert Einstein
There are two great books you could check out if you like to do more studies on this topic:
· 5 Am Club by Robin Sharma
· The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod
This is not on the list; however, make sure you allocate sufficient time for these items as well in your morning; a calm mind makes for a calm life:
· Give yourself plenty of time to get ready and pack your bag if going to work.
· Give yourself plenty of time to help your kids in the morning, depending on their ages; the help may vary; however, if you do have school kids, you make need to make them lunch, drop them to school or before care, or drop them to the bus stop.
Conclusion
The reason to do a morning routine is not to make it more difficult for you; however, to enhance your morning and make it easier for the day ahead. Also, to make you feel you have time abundant and when your family gets up, you can be present for them as well.
Please do not think you need to implement all the above items in one morning, as this may make you exhausted. But, like I said before, find out what you crave in the morning and try a couple of different routines and activities, all depending on how much time you have each morning.
So, when you do get up on Monday morning, you could implement something like this, for example, for 30 minutes for a morning routine :
- Meditation for 10 minutes,
- Stretching for 10 minutes,
- Journalling for 5 minutes,
- Reflection for 5 minutes.
Then on Tuesday morning, for example, is your work-from-home day, and you have 60 minutes here:
- Meditation for 20 minutes,
- Yoga for 20 minutes,
- Reading a good book for 20 minutes.
I have not put water for hydration in here, as we should all be having water first thing in the morning. So, I invite you to have coffee and tea if you like as your next beverage after water.
The key is organisation skills for the evening before; you will make this process easier.
For example, you could do the following the day before:
- Choose your clothes.
- Have a book chosen.
- The exercise from YouTube video saved on your phone or your podcast chosen.
This will take the guesswork out of the routine and make it flow without getting distracted. However, if you were planning to go for a run and in the morning, you do not crave this, then go to another item on your list. Remember, you do a morning routine not to serve someone else; it is to serve you. How can you fill up your cup first thing in the morning?
Could you implement a morning routine- how long do you have available in the morning on weekdays and weekends? Which items do you want to try? I invite you to make a list, schedule it, and try it for a week and see if this serves you.
Please share this on the Facebook community and Instagram, and tag me. I would love to hear about how you are going.
Remember here; it is not about being perfect but about doing what suits you that day; your Monday and Tuesday may be very different, which is fine. This is to serve you first; however, this can improve relationships with all the people who live with you, work with you, and interact with you.
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I have completed ten blogs this year so far, which is a great achievement; thank you to all the people who have read this; shared this, I so appreciate each and every person. The fact you welcome me in your homes each Sunday means so much to me! I will be taking a four-week break from my blogging to give myself some wellness for myself for the first two weeks, and the second 2 weeks, I want to spend quality time with my kids over the school holidays.
I do have a full-time job, with two kids with my wonderful hubby under the age of 10; life is busy. Doing the blogs have been very enjoyable for me; however, this does take some time out of my schedule, which has been great as I re-learn as I write my blogs. At this stage, I need to look after my own health and what I crave right now is rest and reflection. I will be back to blogging on the 16th of April 2023!
A new blog coming out on the 16th of April 2023 is about how to have the best evening routine that serves you to have a peaceful sleep and feel happy and grateful for the day; it doesn't have to be the same each day. We all know that the evening is a great time to rest and reflect to help us have the best quality sleep. This will support you in the morning the next day!
Until next month stay happy and grateful!
Look after your wellness and fill out your cups daily!
Have a beautiful week!
I have included my links to all the blogs I have completed so far, beside this one, if you like to check it out:
With Lots of Love
😊 Mukti
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