Being Mindful and Intentional With Your Morning Routine
Morning routines tend to set the tone for the entire day! With a proper routine set into place, it can help jump start your morning so that you are set up for success for the whole day. As we start each day fresh, we can better focus on what is in front of us, prioritize our time, and, ultimately, increase our productivity. If our morning routine seems chaotic and unhinged, what tone is that setting for the whole day? Today, we will take the steps needed to find what we love in our mornings and how to be more mindful and intentional with our routines.
Find Your Time
The most important thing isn't what time you get out of bed - it's getting in tune with your body's clock for a good routine. There is a lot of pressure to be the early bird, which, if that is what is best for your lifestyle, then early rising is excellent, but perhaps you work later at night, so adjust your waking time to ensure you get your eight hours of sleep. According to Sleep.org, your body knows what it should be doing and when. Don't force yourself to set the alarm for 5 am if you can't fall asleep before midnight.
Getting enough sleep and waking up when your body is ready helps lead you to a productive day! Forcing yourself out of bed before your body has had enough time to adjust and rest means your brain and body hasn't fully recovered for the next day. You'll find that continuously forcing yourself out of bed before it's ready will cause significant burnout. Plus, the habit won't last long. If you're not a morning person, you can't force it, and your body will only work with you for a few days before it wears down.
Finding your optimal time of day to wake up is the first step to starting a mindful morning routine. Be intentional about the rest your body needs and what schedule will suit your best for a productive day.
Find Your Focus
There is not a one size fit all morning routine. That's why you need something that helps you set your mind on what you want to focus on for the day. Find things that are a necessity for mornings. These include showering, brushing your teeth, eating breakfast and a cup of coffee, packing a lunch, etc. These are the things that must happen in order for you to have a successful morning. Observe your current routine and pick out the few things that are consistently getting done. Implement them as part of your routine. If these tasks are continuously getting done, you are being mindful of what you need and intentionally setting yourself up for success!
Once you have found your "must-do" morning tasks, search for something you want to make time for and bring peace to your mornings. For some, this may be going to the gym or a morning run, meditation, reading for thirty minutes, etc. These are the things that you enjoy, and that gives you a moment of silence to focus on you! Having "would-like" tasks in our routines keeps us centered and focused on what is essential. It doesn't have to be a lengthy routine. Yoga, meditation, journaling, reading, or a quiet walk can all fit into a lesser time frame. Focus on the outcome, not the practice, to get the most out of this particular time where you can focus on yourself and center on your heart's content.
Keep Yourself Accountable
Once you have dialed in a routine that brings you peace and success, keep yourself accountable for executing that routine. You know that these are the routines and steps that make you happy and start your mornings with balance, so make a promise to yourself that you will continue to do what's best for you. It doesn't mean you cannot enjoy a day off to sleep in, but for the majority, a morning routine allows you to focus on you.
Every morning there will be a reason, or an underlying motivation, to everything you do and plan to do for your day. It's your reason "why" you want to rise out of bed and be the best you can be. Knowing the answer to this question will remind you that you are here for a reason and have all the power within you to be successful at whatever drives you to wake up and face new challenges that may come your way. Knowing the why behind what you do can provide the motivation to transform a random collection of practices into a dependable routine that will set you up to succeed at what you really want.
Final Thoughts
Morning person or not, you are capable of making your best routine and setting yourself up for success! Find your time to maximize sleep to ensure you are getting proper rest. Then, find what things you want to focus on and create healthy forming habits. Last, find your reason, and keep yourself accountable. You are capable of making mornings the best part of your day and bringing center, balance, and focus throughout the day by making your mornings peaceful. Stick with a routine and see the impact it makes in your day-to-day life. If your routine needs to adjust, make adjustments, but don't tip the world off its axis. It’s the little changes that ensure you are moving toward a healthier lifestyle.