10 Realistic Steps To A Consistent Morning Routine

Waking up is the worst. But creating a morning routine will help you to get up and start your day to feel refreshed and ready to go. A morning routine will help you to feel more in control of your day and help you to have a consistent flow to your day.I have an inconsistent schedule, so I wake up at different times everyday so having a specific routine to follow helps me to fell better in control and ready for the day. Keeping a morning routine that works for you will help you to not dread waking up and getting out of bed.

1. Get Out Of Bed

The hardest part of waking up is getting up right when your alarm goes off. I used to lay in bed and scroll through social media for a bit before getting out of bed. I always found that I was more tired when I did that than when I just got out of bed when my alarm went off. I was able to start my day earlier and wasn’t get lost in celebrity gossip. It made my eyes more tired and I found it harder to get up when I did that.

2. Wash Your Face

I am a night time shower person, I find it helps me to fall asleep better. But many people advocate for morning showers to wake you up; but if you’re like me and shower at night, washing your face first things can also help to wake you up. I always use a Clarisonic to wash my face in the morning, I gives a deeper clean and I like making sure its super clean before caking on any other products of makeup. I use a very citrus smelling face wash so I find it helps to energize me more in the morning.

3. Brush Your Teeth

This should be in everyones morning routine even if they don’t have a true morning routine. When I was younger I always brushed my teeth right before I left the house, but I have a lot more time in the mornings now, so I don’t mind brushing them right when I wake up. I hate how dry and gross my mouth feels int he morning and starting my day completely washing my face and brushing my teeth is the only way to transition from sleepy to awake.

4. Makeup/Hair/General Appearance Improvements

I don’t wear a whole lot of makeup day to day, really just mascara, eyeliner and sometimes lipstick. But my favorite part of anything is always getting ready, anytime there was a dance in high school, I liked the glam portion better than the actual socialization portion. I am who I am. So, this part of my morning routine is my favorite, and probably most relaxing. I take my sweet time with this, even though it should only take me ten minutes tops. I put on my face moisturizer, my makeup and brush my hair. (Truly that’s about it, there’s literally nothing special at all) Sometimes I’ll listen to music or watch a show but I always find this to be relaxing and helps me to feel like once my day starts that I will be full prepared.

5. Get Dressed

I do my best to pick my outfit out the night before so that in the morning I’m not trying on 25 things to see which shade of black best matches which shade of black. If I pick that out at night its one less thing to do in the morning, but I’m not always the best at this so most mornings I have to decide what to wear. I always check the weather and go from there. I hate winter with a passion so especially in winter I make sure my outfit is weather appropriate. Picking out my outfit takes some time, but getting dressed takes mere seconds so once I decide my outfit, it’s pretty quick from there on.

6. Coffee

If you’re not a coffee person that’s fine (it’s really not but whatever), most of us have a beverage we turn to for a caffeine kick in the morning. It may be coffee, tea or even a soda but starting your day with your beloved beverage will help you to be more productive and optomistic. There truly are days where the sole reason I get out of bed is so that I can have coffee. I usually make this right before I head out the door, drink a little at home and take some with me for my commute and for the day. The only time I don’t do this is if I am stopping for a coffee, which I do far too often. But it makes me a little more excited for my day knowing that I got a delicious coffee to power my through.

7. Drink Water

I typically do this while I’m making my coffee, but I try and drink as much water as possible before the day starts. Although I always have water with me and I try to drink as much as possible, the day can get away from you and before you know it it’s 2pm and all you’ve had is coffee. I make sure to drink at least one glass before I leave for the day and I carry a 32 ounce Yeti with me so that I always have water with me. Water will keep you energized and less hungry throughout the day. Start your day by drinking at least one glass of water for a morning routine that will help keep you energized.

8. Eat Breakfast

I am very bad about this, truly I shouldn’t even include this because it is not consistently part of my morning routine, but it absolutely should be. I don’t cook and making time to actually sit down in the morning to eat just isn’t something I ever see myself doing. When I was in college I always was grabbing breakfast and running out the door, and I just haven’t ever changed that part of my morning routine. I am not always super good about eating in the morning, I’m not really hungry when I wake up so I tend to forget about it until later in the day. Then hunger hits and I regret not eating until lunch. I’ve been doing better to grab something, even if it’s just a protein bar. Eating breakfast will start your day with more energy and you won’t be hungry through the day and can better focus on what you’re doing.

9. Check Email/Social Media

I try to hold off with this as long as possible. I usually don’t do this until I’m in the parking lot of work. I am perpetually early and will never not be so this is the perfect time for me to catch up on things. I use this time to check email and social media and it doesn’t consume my entire day. It gives me a few minutes before work to relax and get stuff done before heading in to start my day.

10. Organize Everything For the Day

Before heading out the door I grab my lunch, coffee, water and work bag. I try to get everything together for the day. I try and get organized and prepare for anything else that’s going to happen through the day. If I’m heading to yoga later that day, I want to make sure that I’ve got my yoga bag and everything I need in it. I always do a mental checklist and go over the things that I absolutely need for the day to make sure I’ve got it all. I always have to go over this mental checklist before I can head out the door, it’s a reassurance that I have everything I need and that I will be ready for the day.