Do you find you get to the end of your day, and amongst tending to your partner, family, friends, emails, the boss, colleagues, perhaps children, the dirty dishes, that never-ending to-do list, the missed calls from your mum, and the fact that you still haven't been to the gym... You feel like you never get a split second to yourself?
Enter the brilliance of a Morning Routine.
Something so simple yet often overlooked or completely missed, this little slice of time for you can make all the difference in your day/day's/weeks/hell, lifetime! So what's it all about then?
A Morning Routine is just that - a routine or kind of a rhythm that is yours, and you do each morning. And the beauty of it is that it can be whatever you want it to be. There's plenty of research stating exercise first thing is best. Just as much to say creative projects are best, or that your brain is at it's sharpest so get that study or exam prep done. Regardless of what it is, the benefits of having a morning routine can be seen quite clearly when you go about investigating what successful people actually do - Sarah Wilson says it's the one thing about 80 per cent of the health experts she's interviewed, from The Dalai Lama to Oprah’s life coach, have in common.
Your Morning Routine
I've found overtime that uncluttered is best. By that I mean keeping it simple. If you find yourself packing in everything you can possibly think of (say drink lemon in warm water, then run, then meditate, then write, then do some yoga, then brew a cup of coffee, then read the paper of fav fiction novel chapter, followed by dry body brushing, a warm shower, oil massage to follow, clothes on, make a green smoothie, create chia pudding, then off to start the day...) you've got waaaaaay too much in there girl! It will end up being overwhelming, take too long, unpleasant, and then not happen. Whereas if you map out something like this - Wake up. Water down the hatch. Walk outside. Tea at home. Then contemplate with said hot tea cup in hand staring out into space. That's more likely to get done.
Everyone that I have observed who has their own morning routine, typically is less frantic. They know what they want in life. Their days are a little more streamlined, if they are still busy and running all over the place (the thing is, they're doing it from a place of excitement, not stress and anxiety).
My Morning Routine
So what do I do? It varies. I'll say that straight up. And that's the way I like it. If you find that a rigid structure doesn't suit you or your days are always varied with waking times, then having a looser Morning Routine might work really well for you. This is what mine typically looks like:
// 6.30am - 8am: Wake up without an alarm (the time always varies with how my body is feeling) and I'm totes a-okay with it. I head to the kitchen for a tall glass of water. Followed by a glass of my probiotic powder + glutamine powder. If my partner also wakes up we then straight to the beach. If not I either go alone or potter round the house til he's up.
// Beach walk. Or a jog is I'm feeling like an energiser bunny. I prefer a gentler approach first thing. On occasion if I wake real early and it's freezing, I might roll out my yoga mat and do an online workout in the living room.
// After that, I'm more than ready to eat. I'll take any herbs I may be on and get prepping - protein pancakes, acai smoothies, eggs and veggies, whatever we feel like. Perhaps a black coffee, a bulletproof coffee, or a green tea along side. And we both enjoy this on our deck whilst checking emails and social media, or reading The Collective magazine - my fav.
// Then showers and kick start into work and play mode with whatever we've got on for the day.
My routine is really simple and nothing out of the ordinary. I don't meditate in the morning as I'm usually awake, ready to rock it, and for me, meditation is useful to get me into the stillness, and so I find it's better for me later in the day. The only time I may skip my morning routine, was previously if I slept in and felt I had to "get straight to working it"... but I no longer buy into this point of view. I found that regardless of what time it was, if I hadn't gone outside for fresh air and sunshine, and felt my feet on the earth, I was cranky, and would spend half the day messing about and getting no more done anyway.
So whether its coffee in bed with the paper, a yoga class followed by juice at the cafe nearby, or an hour of meditation + creative writing + oil pulling.... the choice is yours my dear and that's the beauty of it! Make your morning yours before anyone or anything can pull you sideways. And you might just find, that sideways or not, you still feel centred.
So tell me, What's your Morning Routine look like?
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