Planning a Morning Routine
Now, this is not a pretty Pinterest article where I’m going to tell you about my cute little morning routine. I’m not going to tell you about the wonders of meditation. I’m not going to insist you turn into a morning person (because I myself am not. I still consider 5am the middle of the night). But! I will tell you about why you need a morning routine and what are the “must-have” features to a build a morning routine that is uniquely yours. Even if you’re not a morning person. If you looked up morning routines, you’re going to see plenty of those of celebrities and successful people. All portrayed with the hook of making you more productive, more creative, and more “successful”. Let me save you some time and say NONE of them are going to work if you copy them to a T. Because they weren’t created by you for your system of doing things. They are definitely a good place to look for inspiration but just because someone who is successful journals in the morning doesn’t mean you should too.
The point of a morning routine is that to end the day well, you have to start well. The morning sets the momentum, your energy and your overall state of being, for the rest of the day. And how you start today, becomes how you start tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that. I recently read that we repeat 40% of our daily activities. FORTY! So, wake up frantic 10 days in a row, you are going to feel frantic and like your life is in a mess sooner or later. Wake up calm and well-rested 10 days in a row, and soon enough, your life is going to feel in control. Just by tweaking your morning habits! It’s really that simple. Why? Your work, your relationships and everything around you, is an extension of yourself. Focusing on you and doing you, in the first few hours of the day, literally puts the spotlight on yourself. Even if you don’t get up at 4am in the morning and head out for a walk to get some fresh air, having an automated, calming routine is going to be a mental detox for yourself. And turning your attention inwards, inadvertently, will soon ripple outwards – better performance at work, better you in relationships and a better you overall.
A common suggestion in most morning routines is to wake up two hours before commute or if your work from home, before you start work. TWO. HOURS. Back in my 9-5 days this would mean waking up at 545am if I was getting a cab. 445am if I was using the public transport. Have I mentioned how much I’m NOT a morning person at all? If two hours is difficult, just try to wake up a reasonable amount of time before your commute where you can accommodate the following elements.
1. Getting Ready for Bed is a Thing
To wake up ready to conquer the day, you obviously have to sleep well. This doesn’t just mean 8 hours of sleep, some of us can even survive on 6. The point here is quality sleep. How do you do that? You need to ease yourself into a calmer state 30 minutes before you fall asleep. And how do you achieve that? Netflix is a given no. Even if you’re using the Night Shift. The light and stimulation so close to your face (eyes and brain), especially when your room is dark, is bad for your brain. Also, try not to consume any form of caffeine six hours before bed. I'm sorry, no, not even half a regular cup of coffee/tea. Take it from me.
2. A Relaxing Morning
You don’t want to scramble out of bed in panic and spend the rest of the time getting ready in panic. Some of us do naturally wake up with a jolt, especially if we have been feeling anxious lately because of things at work, or personal life. Have elements that calm you down such as meditation, music. What are the things you need to do to put your mind at ease, and hit the ground running? I’m sure you have seen this before, and from personal experience, I would recommend not watching or reading the news (for the chaos it chooses to portray), checking Instagram and other social media feeds (for feelings of FOMO and inadequacy), and other emails and messages (for more “ohmygodohmygodohmygod”).
3. Accomplish Something
Feeling accomplished in the morning sets the tone for the day. Now, this doesn’t mean clearing emails or doing something work-wise. We are still focused on you, and your essence, so look into things like making the bed, or getting a quick exercise session in or listening to a podcast. Starting the morning by getting something done will kick off an "accomplished mindset" which will empower you to follow through accomplishing your tasks later in the day.
4. Do something for yourself
This can be 10 quiet minutes for a nice warm bowl of oatmeal for yourself, 15 minutes of reading, or 30 minutes of Beyoncé while you do your makeup. Do something that means something to you and that is purely for you. Even if it’s just a paltry 5 minutes you can set aside, do it. Self-care is important, so why not get it done first thing in the morning! The bird that is calm and alert gets the worm, not the bird that was frazzled and out the door at the blink of an eye.
5. The Occasional Novelty
A lot of us, especially 9-5ers, and people who live in countries where there are no seasons are more prone to a rut, and things might tend to feel the same after a while. Read: things get boring. Now you don’t have to go out and change your routine for that, keep the elements consistent but simply throw in something that triggers a change to your brain. This could be something as simple as changing your alarm tone once a few months. Keep it same, yet ever so often different enough so that you have that little stimulation and novelty.
That’s all you need in a morning routine! Doable right? I've done up some resources to help you plan your days and your morning - Click here to download ! And just one last thing about morning routines! Add one new aspect of your routine one at a time. Don’t roll off your bed at 12 noon this morning and then expect to have wake up at 6am tomorrow, with meditation, freshly cooked breakfast and a workout as part of your morning routine. One at a time is key! Add a feature, give it a week or a month to get comfortable with it before adding the next feature. Make sure you actually get comfortable with it, that it has become second nature. Because a morning routine is something that you are looking at for the long haul. So, really take the time to build your foundation. Just like any crash diet, the quicker you throw yourself into it, the quicker it would be to get out of it. And that's really all!
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