Rise and Thrive: Make Your Mornings Work For You.

Written By Melissa

There is no shortage of discourse when it comes to morning routines.

The internet is full of posts telling you to wake up at 5am, do yoga on the beach, drink a green juice and meditate- all wonderful things, but what if your mornings don’t look like that? What if they can’t look like that? Does that mean your morning routine is sub-par? Absolutely not.

Your morning routine should work for you and no one else, and what you do in the morning should fit in with your schedule, values and goals.

 

Why is a morning routine important?

Starting your day in a way that is meaningful to you is a form of self-care that lets you fill your cup first, so you can show up in the way you want to over the course of your day.

I have always been a morning person, but some things I have noticed since being more intentional in the mornings include:

  • Feeling less stressed

  • Reduced brain fog

  • Finding it easier to focus during the day

  • Increased fitness levels

  • Reading more

  • Improved creative thinking

 

Your mornings don’t need to LOOK a certain way

There are countless stylised images and videos of the “perfect” morning routine (lots of these are undisclosed ads, but that’s another blog topic), which can be equally inspirational and demoralising.

You should never compare yourself to anyone online, or in person, ever.

Your mornings should be about how you feel, not how things look in comparison to someone else.

When deciding what you want your mornings to look like, consider these three things:

What does your schedule allow?

Work out how much time you actually have in the morning, so you can work out what to fit in, and what to leave for later in the day.
Sometimes your work or family commitments leave little space for the things you want to do in the mornings, and that’s ok- the goal here is to work with the time you have and be gentle with yourself.

What are your values and goals?

If you value peace, a quiet start to the day could be your goal. If you value your health, maybe you want to try not to skip breakfast. Maybe you value being organised and want to get better at writing down a to do list in the mornings.

Working out what your values are will help you decide what to include in your routine to help you get closer to achieving those goals.

How can you arrange the time you have to make these things happen?

You might choose to wake up at the same time each day to start with. A couple weeks later, you might add a quick walk or making your lunch before you leave for work.

Choose no more than a couple of things to work into your mornings to start with, then build up once they become a habit. Start small, build up and remember to make your actions directly reflect the goals you want to achieve.

 

What do YOU do then Melissa?

My morning routine is designed to be flexible. I don’t have rigid times for the things I do, rather I have a handful of things I do each morning that can be flexibly adjusted depending on how I’m feeling that day.

This flexibility is important because as someone who gets migraines, I can’t control when they show up or how strong they are.

On mornings where I wake up with a migraine, aren’t feeling well or perhaps didn’t sleep well the night before, I have the flexibility to be a little gentler with myself without feeling guilty for falling off a routine that’s too rigid.

Every morning, I like to:

  • Try and wake up at the same time each day

  • Eat breakfast

  • Read for 20 minutes while drinking my coffee (essential)

  • 20 minutes of low intensity exercise, usually walking and stretching

  • Have a shower and get ready to start work at 8:30

I can fit all of that in on a good day, with flexibility to drop the exercise or coffee if I wake up feeling sick.

It is worth noting that what you don’t do is equally as important as what you do choose to do in the mornings.

Things I don’t do in the mornings (or at least until I start work) include:

  • No social media (I may listen to a YouTube video while walking)

  • No replying to messages (unless it’s urgent and from one of three people)

  • No reading the news

  • No checking work emails before my start time

  • No skipping breakfast. Even with a migraine I’ll eat something small to help with the nausea

 

Morning routines give you the chance to set yourself up for the kind of day you want to have.

If you’re feeling stuck, remember that your morning routine should align with your values and goals.

For example, the goals my routine aligns with are:

  • Wanting to read more.

  • Keeping fit.

  • Maintaining flexibility.

  • Reducing stress.

  • Keeping my body clock consistent.

     

By taking the time to create a morning routine that aligns with your values and goals, you are giving yourself the best chance at succeeding in what you set out to achieve.

Remember, be flexible, take baby steps and be kind to yourself. Those are the keys to long-lasting change.

You got this x

 

Melissa