I’ve talked about why a good morning routine is important before, so today I’m finally taking you through what mine typically looks like! It’s simple and divided into big chunks because I don’t like overly-planned mornings – they get boring quickly for me. I also stress listening to what your body wants as much as you can – being “intuitive” has been a life-changer for me because it keeps me productive and inspired.
Generally, my morning looks like this:
- BREAKFAST
- TACKLE
- WORKOUT
- BREAKFAST
Depending on how hungry I am as soon as I wake up, I’ll either have breakfast first or last. Then, I’ll decide where my inspiration is focused today and spend a proportional amount of time “tackling” or working out.
Tackle sessions can be:
- writing or blogging
- being creatively active (work on a project)
- study something new
- bullet journaling
- avoid responding to emails or doing mindless tasks like that – they aren’t the best start to the day
Workouts can be:
- yoga
- a Nike Train session
- a YouTube video
- a walk with my dog in the neighborhood while listening to an audiobook/podcast
- a run (though I don’t do that anymore)
Hope you get some ideas and let me know what your morning routines are in the comments below!
I wrote a little bit of a script to help me through this video, so you can read it below or watch it above!
First, I think I should preface this by saying I’ve tried a ton of different routines – at first, my routine involved rolling out of bed with 15 minutes to spare and rushing out the door. Then, I wanted to have the perfect, consistent routine that gave me time to read, write and workout. But that wasn’t very sustainable. Not only did I realize that I HATE following the exact same specifically elaborate routine for more than a week at a time, but I couldn’t adapt it if something came up, and while it’s sometimes nice to have a 3-hour morning routine, it sort of defeats the purpose. I think morning routines should be simple, short frameworks that helps you make the most of your morning and your day started. From there, if you have more time you can add things to it!
They’ve also got to be realistic – I would recommend having no more than 2 or 3 general tasks to do each morning as part of your routine.
So let’s get started.
A good morning starts the night before. I’m currently working on going to bed earlier, simply because I love waking up early in the mornings, and I’ve found that sleep is essential for being productive and happy. I know people who can operate efficiently on 6 hours of sleep each night, but unfortunately I’m not one of them. I need at least 8 hours or else I’ll be tired, my brain will be foggy, and I’ll be lazy and unmotivated. I try to wrap up what I’m doing by 10:00, and be asleep by 11:00, but this fluctuates day to day. Last night I went to bed at 8:30 because I was exhausted. The night before it was midnight. Consistency is important, but don’t sweat it – stressing about it is not worth it.
Ideally:
- Brush teeth + change + whatnot
- Journal – my memories spread is a great place to write something I learned that day. I have to do this before I read or else I’ll have ideas swimming in my head and I’ll be too worried I’ll forget them to focus on anything else.
- Read for 30 minutes to an hour
- Relax, stretch: you can do yoga or meditate
This whole time I love my music. I have a playlist called “Moodyoana: chill vibes” that I listen to with string and vocal music. I also really dig an artist called “Elisha David” – you should definitely check him out on YouTube. He approached me to share his music and I actually genuinely love it because it’s exactly the sort of thing I listen to at night.
In fact, his song “Tazo” is what I use for my morning alarm! It’s the perfect blend between upbeat to wake you up but gentle to allow you to enjoy it without feeling the need to turn off your alarm right away.
I usually set this the night before – and I wake up at 7:00 each morning. To be honest, it’s become such a consistent thing for me that even if I go to sleep really late and am really tired I’ll wake up at that time naturally and have to consciously make myself fall asleep again.
In the morning, I really try to listen to myself and how I’m feeling.
First and most importantly, I charge my phone away from my head overnight. It’s on a little box at the foot of my bed, and when I wake up I try to leave it in airplane mode until I’ve at least finished part of my routine.
When I wake up, I would love to spend a bit of time in bed stretching and taking a moment of stillness to “be grateful” but I usually am too excited to get started. Being awake is so much more exciting than being asleep, I guess? But some things you can do in these first few minutes of the day include meditating, stretching, mentally (or actually writing down) a list of things you’re grateful for or things you want to get to that day.
Next I take 10 minutes in the washroom getting freshened up. At this point I’ll decide if I’m really hungry and want to eat breakfast right away or if I’m really excited to work on something first. I also decide if I want to focus on my workout or my tackle.
Generally, my schedule looks like “brekkie, tackle, workout, brekkie” – and I’ll cut out one of the brekkies depending which I want and play with the length of the tackle and workouts. If we’re getting into the specifics.
So I’ll get some water and get some food next. I’ll either eat my breakfast or go upstairs with just a glass of water or tea while I spend the next hour or so (from 7:15 to 8:00) “tackling” something. This can be writing a post, doing some homework, usually not reading because that’s more of a passive activity and I want to get things done in the morning. Most often though, I’ll end up doing little tasks like responding to emails, bullet journaling, and posting on social media – and I’m slowly trying to get out of that habit.
Around 8:00 I’ll go downstairs and spend 30 minutes doing some form of physical activity. Sometimes I’ll do a short workout, a yoga sesh, or go for a walk while listen to an audiobook or music. At 8:30 I’ll be back and I’ll take a 15 minute shower. Then, I’ll change into what I’m wearing for the day by 9:00 and I’m ready to go! If I have time to spare, I’ll go back to whatever I was tackling and keep working on that.
You can also focus on tackle or workout depending on the day of the week. For example, you can choose to do a longer workout and short tackle say on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and focus on “TACKLING” say on Tuesdays Thursdays and weekends. Personally, that didn’t work for me because I ended up dreading having things already planned. It’s still pretty new to me, but this word “intuitive” has been a life-changer. I listen to my body as much as I can and try not to force things. You’ve got to be kind to yourself and do what you want to do – because that’s often what you need to do too. If you don’t get around to working out in the mornings, do it when you feel like doing it at some point later that day. It’s so much better and you’ll find you’re not only happier but also more productive when you’re in tune with your body’s natural calendar.
And remember: don’t stress your morning routine – hope you got some ideas from this video and that you make sure to listen to your body – work WITH it to start off your day mindfully and gently, and get everything in motion.
