“DING DONG”.” it’s early. the noise you dread has abruptly made your beautiful dream disappear. you don’t want to move, let alone get up and start the day. you feel exhausted. you’re comfortably wrapped in blankets. thoughts of all you have to accomplish today flood your mind. you’re overwhelmed, so you hit “SNOOZE” again. running out of bed, you’re late, what a start to the day!
sound familiar? mornings are hard, right? Well, let’s make them friendlier and easier. (ps scroll down for some sample morning routines I pulled from pinterest. Hope this inspires you to create a schedule that suits your morning needs 💛)
here are some suggestions to make your mornings a little more pleasant and calmer.
ease in the day
it’s much easier to fall asleep when you’re not rushing through the day. you feel more motivated to open your eyes and let your body wake up properly when you have some time to laze in bed without jumping. After a few minutes of adjusting to the new day, follow these steps:
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open your curtains or any other barriers that prevent you from letting natural light energize you. exposing yourself to the sun in the morning can considerably improve your alertness and energy during the day
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put a little catchy tunes we — music illuminates the whole mind and body! the podcasts are great too. my favorites to listen to in the morning are Emma Chamberlain And daily meditation minute
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do some light stretches to get your blood flowing (I swear by this. I’m not a yogi, but a simple side stretch will not only wake you up, but get you ready for the day)
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log. I hated to write and I always thought it was useless to write in the morning because what thoughts come to me at 6:30 in the morning? i’m not kidding…i have so many worries in the morning about the day ahead of me. just write it all down and think about those thoughts at the end of the day (I laugh at the worst case scenarios that worried me at 6:30 and didn’t even happen) it’s so helpful! I highly recommend this 5 Minute Gratitude Journal. in general, journaling can create a positive mood for the day you are about to conquer!
these little things can help you start the day in a good mood, rather than feeling stressed about getting up and going.
have breakfast
I’m guilty of not having breakfast every day and relying only on coffee; however, coffee will help you wake up with a jolt… your body will eventually collapse without food. you don’t need to feast in the morning — a healthy snack (fruit, scrambled eggs, yogurt with granola) and a lot of water is all you need to start the day off right.
start working with a proactive mindset
plan your day with a planner or anything else that helps you write down everything you need to do. the point is not to stress you out even more. the goal is to visualize all your worries and overcome them one by one. remember that you CHECK OFF all the things that need to be done at the end of the day. this should motivate you to see a page full of checks. remember to take breaks. a friend of mine used to not give herself time for breaks during the day and became very overwhelmed. pauses are not a sign of weakness, they are a sign that you are human (woo!) and need to take care of yourself.
having a daily morning routine is not about adding more to your to-do list for the day. it’s about filling your mornings with the activities you need to help you recharge, reset, and refocus for the day ahead. it improves mental health and general well-being, structures your day and promotes better time management.
here is an example of what my morning routine looks like to inspire you (click on the + for more info)