CREATING A MORNING ROUTINE FOR SUCCESS

A typical morning routine for teenagers often includes going to bed at sunrise. Personally, I’ve never been a late night person. While some of my friends can stay up and text people until the early hours of the morning, I’m usually in bed by 11 PM. I guess that makes me boring, but I don’t mind. From my perspective, I don’t see it any better to wake up early to get your day started. Some people just prefer the night time, and that’s okay. The early bird may get the worm, but the night owl can always get the mouse. What may set you apart though, is developing a good morning routine.

Although many people’s “morning routine” starts in the morning, I am using the term loosely. If you wake up at noon and are ready to start your day, who is anyone to stop you? The key is to not let a late wake time lead into an idle mood. How you start your morning, often sets the tone for the rest of your day and, over time, can make a big difference in your life.

Jack Dorsey wakes up at 5:30 AM. Kylie Jenner starts her morning with celery juice. To set your day up for success, you don’t have to do anything weird or crazy, It’s really about being mindful and forming good habits. And, before you get into some of these, your day starts with waking up.

If you need to be out the door at 9 AM, try to be up an hour before, 8 AM. I know I said that to create an impactful morning routine, you don’t need to wake up early. And, this is true… if you have no obligations. However, if you’re a teen in high school, or someone working a 9-5 job, chances are, that you probably do have obligations…early ones. In order to have a routine in place, you need to have at least an hour to carry it out, otherwise you are just scrambling for whatever pair of pants are on the floor and grabbing a cup of coffee as you fly out the door. Not very mindful.

It’s easy to mimic other people’s routines. You can watch one hundred “morning routine” videos on Youtube, do exactly what they do, and still not have a solid idea of what will help you be successful. Ultimately, there are three main points that everyone’s morning routine should include:

1. Listening to your body
2. Planning for your day
3. Practicing mindfulness

Really, everything that is important to do in the morning, can be placed into these three categories. Yet, most of the time, all three get neglected, and we end up with a routine that makes us feel tired and uninspired. Once you recognize the three categories, you can then work on building a routine that works and prepares you for your day.

Start by looking at the first category, “listening to your body”. This can mean a variety of things. When you wake up, ask yourself how you’re feeling. You may have slept in an odd position and need to stretch for ten minutes. You could be starving and ready to make yourself some pancakes. Or, you could have a lot of pent up energy that you need to run out. Figure out what your body is “telling” you and what you feel like doing that day, along with what you know you have to do. Not only will this keep you feeling good, it will also give you some things to be excited for throughout the day.

Next, you have to do things to plan for your day. I have talked about this in past posts, but planning is a surefire way to boost productivity. You can make a to-do list, and work on conquering the most difficult task first. Or, you can just decide that today, you are going to dedicate your time to finishing that Netflix show. Even if you don’t have anything pressing on your schedule, plan out something fun to do, it will help you realize that you have a break and can spend it wisely instead of wasting it.

Lastly, throughout the morning, you want to ensure that you are practicing mindfulness. Each morning is a fresh start. It’s a time to clear your head and look at the life and day ahead of you. Be mindful of both the big and little things throughout your morning. I try to make a promise to myself that I won’t go on my phone for an hour after waking up (although this doesn’t always happen, I’m working on it). Use your morning to do whatever helps you start your day on a positive note without any distractions. Write down some affirmations, watch the birds flying outside, really enjoy that bite of warm oatmeal, and realize that today is a good day to have a good day.

“I love that this morning’s sunrise does not define itself by last night’s sunset” -Steve Maraboli

Happy Living 🙂

Featured image by @jfelise on unsplash.com