Mornings can be rough, especially when your bed is your favorite place on earth. We all have felt the struggle to pull yourself out of bed and be productive before. Good news is, I’ve cracked the code on how to make this whole process a little bit easier. Follow these 10 morning rituals to kickstart your day and suddenly mornings won’t feel so bad after all.
As tempting as it can be to run to a giant cup of coffee or tea when you wake up, start your morning with water first. I personally like to leave a glass of ice water next to my bed so that I can start my day without having to jump out of bed immediately. If you have a water bottle that will keep drinks cold overnight, that’s perfect. If not, you can drink whatever water you have near you. Ice water is just my personal preference. While you sleep your body works hard to clean your system out of all the junk so drinking water immediately will quickly flush that all out so you can start the day feeling fresh. Once you finish your water you can then run to your coffee, tea, or green juice. Just be sure to continue drinking water throughout the day, too. (Water LITERALLY can solve all of your problems, clear up your skin, detox your body, rid yourself of headaches or muscle pain, etc.).
This is by far the hardest habit to fall into in your morning routine because most of us are wired to open our eyes and reach for our phones. Trust me, it took weeks for me to finally adjust to waking up without immediately checking Instagram. When you start your day by just focusing on how your mind and body feel, drinking water, and assessing what you need to accomplish today, you will notice a huge change in how you feel and your level of productivity. Remember, your phone, Instagram, and all of your emails or texts will be there in an hour but your peace of mind might not be if you don’t take the time to focus on it and center yourself. If you’re hesitant about this trip, I challenge you to try it for 30 days and see if you notice a difference in your life and your mentality. I guarantee you will.
This summer I spent a ridiculous amount of money on an IPad Pro so that I could use it to plan out my life. I’m not suggesting you need to drop thousands of dollars on an IPad, a cute agenda or even just a piece of printer paper can accomplish the same thing. Usually, I use my Sunday nights to plan out my week so that every morning when I wake up, I can just focus on that day and add in anything I might’ve forgotten to add or any new events or commitments that came up. Carving out 10 minutes in your morning to plan out your attack for the day will make it so much easier to get up and out of bed.
I hate that I’m even suggesting this tip to start your morning because the idea of getting up and working out is great in theory, but usually so dreadful when you get up and try to do it. I promise you though, once you do it and “get it over with” you’ll feel like a million bucks. After a few days of making this a habit, it won’t feel like a “get it over with” task, it’ll just feel like something you need to do to be your best self that day.
That being said, always keep in mind that it’s okay to skip a day here and there. As much as your body needs to move, it also needs to rest sometimes but the more you start to move it, the more in tune you’ll get with your mind and body which will make it easier to listen to it when you need a rest.
Right now, most of us have nowhere to go on a day to day basis. If you do have somewhere to go, I’m jealous. At the beginning of quarantine I was thrilled to have the opportunity to work from my bed in my PJ’s all day but after a while that made me feel less motivated. So even if you’re like me and stuck inside most of the time, I suggest getting up and getting ready for the day.
Sometimes I like to go for a full face of makeup and super cute outfit. Usually, those days are the ones where I’ll venture out and grab a coffee to show off my look. In the in-between days where I can’t find the motivation to move in PJ’s but don’t want my high waisted jeans to crush my esophagus all day, I’ll opt for leggings and a cute sweater. No matter what you choose to wear, taking a little extra time to “put yourself together” makes it a lot easier to feel productive.
Meditation is such a hard idea to wrap your head around if you’ve never tried it or if you have the attention span of a rock, like I do. It took me months before I could actually get myself to sit still for ten minutes to meditate but trust me, it’s worth working on. Once I got more comfortable meditating, I felt like a butterfly each morning. Yes, that’s cheesy, I know, but meditation has an incredible way of making you feel so light and free that you could fly. It’s also just a great way to focus yourself and clear your mind from all the stress of yesterday.
I know you’ve heard this a million times. Make your bed! This is an overused tip for a reason because it works. Making your bed will make you feel like your life is together even if it’s actually a disaster. It also makes it a lot harder to want to climb back into bed after you’ve gotten up already. If your room is your new home office like me, this will make it a million times easier to get up and work at your desk. If I’m feeling extra motivated in the morning, I’ll pick up my clothes or whatever else is making my space feel “messy”. This tip works for your office space, too. Set a timer on your phone for 3 or 5 minutes and take that time to rearrange and pick up around you. It’s a short amount of time, if you can spare it, that will help your motivation levels skyrocket.
I know your schedule is probably busy and it’s hard to find time for yourself but if you can spare 5-10 minutes, this is the time to do it. If you can, save yourself a few minutes in your morning routine to focus on yourself and get whatever YOU need to have a good day, do it. Take a second to check in with your mind and body to see what they need. Maybe one day you’ll really want to find out what happened in the last 5 minutes of your TV show episode last night. Watch it. If you feel like you want to laugh at some Tik Toks, do it. Take these few minutes to do whatever your best self would need or want to boost your mood or your mind.
(Pro Tip: If you can find time in your day, do this multiple times a day. Yes, most of us save “me time” for after work hours but you should not have to.). “Me time” is important because YOU are important.
I’m not sure what your food schedule looks like. For some people, they intermittent fast and do eat until later in the day. For others, they just aren’t hungry in the mornings. If these apply to you, no worries. Whatever works best for you is the best option but, if you’re someone who enjoys breakfast, take time to focus on making it a good one. Even if you just have to grab something and go, grab something you enjoy and that will fill you. Extra points if there are some good nutrients in there too!
On the car ride or walk to work is a great time to fit this one into your schedule. I know, I’m already suggesting you make more time for yourself in the mornings than you are probably used to but I promise, it’s all going to benefit you! My final tip to you is to remind yourself of what’s important to get you through today. What are you focusing on today? What growth do you want to achieve today? If you work with people who test your patience, use this time to remind yourself to breathe and that everyone’s just trying their best.
Things in our world can impact our days heavily but if you spend a few minutes reminding yourself that nothing is forever, life is short, and to show up as a ray of light even when the world around you makes you feel like you’re not, you will make a huge impact in your world and the world of those around you.
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