If you’re anything like me, hitting the snooze button is the only logical option in the early morning hours. When the grogginess takes over and you know you have time to sleep longer, why wouldn’t you take that opportunity? That is until you’re fully awake and rushing to get out the door. It follows with a string of chaos for the rest of the day. Suddenly your daily to-do list is ignored, you’re trying to play catch-up with what you can, and your meal plan? Yeah right. With how this day’s going, you need a Starbucks Frappuccino, some pasta, and a hug. Sound familiar? If so, then you need to rethink how you spend your mornings. If you’re looking to feel better, get more done, and stick to your game plan, it’s time to implement these morning rituals into your daily routine.
Give Yourself Time in The Morning to Have Morning Rituals
If you want to form better daily habits and follow any morning rituals, the first step is to get your sleep schedule in check. Maybe the idea of getting up a few hours earlier doesn’t exactly thrill you. But if you can sacrifice your Netflix binging for some earlier shut-eye, 7-8 hours of sleep is still possible to maintain while getting up earlier.
Once your schedule is adjusted, try your best to stick to it. Even on weekends. Your body will adjust to your new routine within a few days and by keeping your routine consistent every single day of the week, you won’t have to readjust. You’ll notice your body will naturally become accustomed to rising at the time you set.
To make this transition easier on yourself, keep your alarm on the opposite side of your room or far enough so you have to get out of bed to shut it off. This will help you wake up faster and not fall back asleep.
1. Start Your Day with Coffee or Tea, and a Book.
Avoid your phone the first hour you’re awake. Take some time to let your body wake up by sipping on coffee or tea and relaxing with that book you’ve been meaning to read. Even if you have a list of tasks you plan on tackling before it’s time to leave the house, get some reading in every morning to get your wheels spinning and help you finally get through your book list.
This quiet time first thing in the morning with a hot drink in hand is exactly what your body needs to gracefully prepare for the day ahead and can reduce stress levels.
2. Keep a Journal
Journaling is the perfect outlet to get all your thoughts and ideas out. Take 10 minutes a day to pour your thoughts onto a page to reduce stress and let your creativity flow. You can really write about whatever you want!
Take the time to write one positive thing that happened the day before (even if everything seemed to go wrong) to help you improve your mental health. By doing this, you’ll help yourself stop focusing on negativity, and you’ll become a stronger person in doing so.
3. Clean!
Set your timer for 15-20 minutes and see how much cleaning you can accomplish. You’d be surprised by how much you get done and may find yourself cleaning faster than normal when the clock’s ticking! Nothing feels better than knowing you got your chores out of the way before your day really starts. This frees up time in the evening for other activities or some extra relaxation time before bed.
Focus on one major chore that needs to be taken care of or do a quick tidying up of each room that needs it. You’ll be rewarded with a cleaner house and have one less thing you have to worry about.
4. Exercise
Start your day off with a morning workout to boost circulation in your body, improve your mental clarity, and energize you for the day ahead.
How you exercise is up to you. You can strength train with weights, go for a high-intensity bodyweight session, or take a walk or jog. Set a specific goal, and figure out what exercises you need to do to meet your goals. Block out a time every morning to dedicate to fitness. Do what works best for you.
5. Check Email and Social Media
Spend 30 minutes in the morning to respond to clients so you can focus on other tasks for the rest of the day. Your clients are at the heart of what you do. Take some time to thoughtfully respond to them, but don’t get sucked into emails or social media and fall behind on other important tasks. Set aside time in the morning and at night to respond to your clients every day.
7. Positive Affirmations
It’s been proven that speaking positive things about yourself and your life daily can rewire your brain. What you think about yourself and your circumstances will have a huge impact on your choices and how you choose to live your life. It even makes a huge impact on your health.
Do negative thoughts and emotions rule your life?
Even if you’re going through a tremendous amount of stress, make it a habit to look yourself in the mirror and repeat positive affirmations to yourself every day to start seeing a change in your thought patterns and habits.
Tell yourself things like, ‘I’m a gorgeous woman. Today’s going to be a great day, and I’m going to work as hard as I can to get me closer to reaching my goals. I can and will do whatever I set my mind to and be damn good at it. Keep a list on your mirror and in your car if you need a reminder of the things you want to tell yourself.
Speak it into existence!
You’ll find you’re a lot happier and feel better. And you may just find yourself motivated to succeed and excel at what you do.
8. Make Your Bed
When you first wake up, choose to start your day by making your bed. This will help you feel accomplished and prepared for anything that comes your way.
During a commencement speech at the University of Texas on May 16, 2014, Navy Adm. William H. McCraven discussed with his graduates, the importance of making your bed every single morning.
‘If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task, and another, and another. And by the end of the day that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that the little things in life matter. If you can’t do the little things right, you’ll never be able to do the big things right. And if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made. That you made. And a bed made gives you the encouragement that tomorrow will be better.’
9. Wash Your Face
You already know it’s important to clean your face daily if you want clear and smooth, glowing skin. But waking up and washing your face right away comes with other surprising early-morning perks.
The warm water splashing on your skin will relax you while helping you to wake up faster. The same goes for if you shower first thing in the morning. It’s an instant energy booster but gives you a little relaxation time and a sense of calmness.
A clean face is an amazing sensation. I find that it gives me a little more motivation for my day ahead and some mental clarity. It definitely gets me in the mindset to tackle all my goals for the day.
10. Drink Water
Your body is dehydrated upon rising due to the lack of fluids through the 8 hours of sleep you just had. Drink water on an empty stomach to rehydrate, purify your colon (which helps to detox the body), and to help you avoid over-eating.
Start your day off with a large glass of water (16 oz. to be exact!) on an empty stomach to get things circulating in the body. Water provides mental clarity by helping your brain to function properly. Your body is made up of mostly water so it’s no wonder it’s key to keeping your body functioning!
A hydrated body means you’ll have more energy, you’ll be able to focus better on the tasks at hand, and you’ll be detoxing your body in the process.
Kickstart Your Mornings
Everyone is busy and have stresses that weigh them down. But if you can make a habit to fit in even a few of these morning rituals into your daily life, you’ll notice an improvement in your thinking, your body, and your life.
Do you have any other morning rituals you follow every morning? Let me know in the comments below!
Share this post with someone you think needs some morning guidance ❤❤❤
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