In her quest to make the most of her day, Jane has set up a nightly routine to help her fall asleep faster, she has taken steps to make her bedroom into a sanctuary so she can get better sleep, and she has tweaked her alarm clocks so that she is waking up earlier. She still feels like she isn’t quite getting a jump on her day though; she grabs her phone to check social media, and before she knows it, the time she had by waking up earlier is gone. Having a morning routine to bookend the nightly routine we started with can be that jump start we need to make the most of our day. Here are some things you can include in your morning routine.
No screens
Checking Facebook and email can be an enormous time drain, so avoid checking your phone until after your routine is done. If you absolutely must know something right away, say, what the weather is going to be like, add it as a notification to your lock screen, so you don’t even have to unlock your phone to get that information.
Make the bed
Making your bed is a quick small thing that can have huge returns. It doesn’t have to be hotel style fancy or anything. Just straighten out the covers and arrange the pillows. It takes less than a minute, and it starts your day off with a sense of accomplishment. It makes the bedroom look nicer, and reduces the background stress that comes whenever something is out of place or cluttered.
Do some exercise
If the whole point of getting up early was to give yourself time to work out, then do it now! If you just wanted some more time in your day, do a little something, even if it’s just 10 push-ups or 20 jumping jacks or something. Yoga sun salutations are another great way to get in some movement in the mornings. The idea here is to get the blood flowing and get you from a state of merely having your eyes open to actually being awake.
Start the day with journaling
Another reason to get up early is to have time to write in a journal. You can make this as quick or as in-depth as you wish. If you don’t have much time, but would like to start your days on a positive note, consider keeping a journal handy and simply writing down three to five things you are grateful for each morning. If you have more time, you can plan out your day a bit more. I keep a bullet journal, and while I normally prepare for the day the night before, if I forget, it’s something I do first thing in the morning. List out the day’s appointments and tasks you’d like to accomplish, and then get do it! If you truly have time on your hands in the morning, you can try morning pages. Morning pages is basically taking a notebook and writing three pages every morning. It doesn’t matter what you write. It’s basically just a brain dump, and it really helps to get your mind clear of clutter so you can focus on what you really want to accomplish that day.
Add in some meditation
Taking time for meditation before you start your day can really help bring your focus to the here and now and on what you want to get accomplished. It will help clear your mind of distractions so that you can be your most productive self. This doesn’t have to take long, just a quick five-minute session can be enough to help you get going.
Grab a magic potion
Now is the time for your morning power potion of choice. Whether that be coffee, tea, orange juice, a power smoothie, red bull or what have you, gulp down some of that rocket fuel (bonus points to doing so while listening to your own personal power anthem) and seize the day!