Our morning routine used to be your average, run of the mill rush to get up and out of the door on time. Snooze the alarm, get showered and dressed in a rush, stress over breakfast taking too long, pleading with S to just-put-the-damn-coat-on. Then last year I read Hal Elrod’s Miracle Morning and started thinking more about my morning routine.
The idea of the Miracle Morning is that you get up early in order to perform a routine before starting your day; you start your day with an intention and a positive mindset rather than just panic and stress. At the time I had been struggling to fit exercise into my day, so I started getting up early to do a workout, to meditate and to read when I could. This didn’t go exactly according to plan to start with. S would often be woken by my alarm, and that meant company when I was trying to perfect my Downward Dog or meditate. I would often end up snoozing my alarm and getting up later.
Over time though, I’ve adjusted my routine and we’ve fallen into a rhythm that works really well for us.
These days my Fitbit has an alarm set for 5:30am every day. The Fitbit just vibrates against my wrist, so it wakes me without disturbing S and I can go downstairs alone. We have an agreement that when S wakes up and I’m not there, she can play a game on the tablet until I come back upstairs.
My morning routine now looks like this:
5:30am: alarm goes off. I get dressed and head downstairs where I exercise. After exercising I meditate, watch a mindset video and write in my journal for the day before sitting down to read a book. I set myself the goal of reading ten pages of my chosen book each morning. At the moment I’m reading Brett Moran’s Wake The F#ck Up which I will be reviewing soon. You might have seen photos from the book which I’ve been sharing on social media:
6:45: second alarm goes off. I go upstairs to say good morning to S, if she hasn’t already come to join me on the sofa. She gets dressed while I have a shower.
In order to do this every day, I have a new bed time: I go upstairs at 8pm. I might read a book or watch a YouTube video in bed, but 9pm is always lights out. I trade off time in the evenings (usually spent watching crappy TV or messing about on Facebook) with productive, organised and motivating time in the mornings and it works well for me.
Last week I watched a YouTube video by Brett Moran, who talked about his morning routine. He said he stayed in bed for half an hour after waking, to visualise how he wants his day to go and then to think about his future goals. Here’s the video:
At first I thought, that’s mental; if I stayed in bed after my alarm went off, I would just fall asleep! But the next morning I decided to give it a try. It’s actually a great way of setting my focus for the day. I think about the things I need to get done through the day, and visualise myself getting them done. Then I think about where I want to be in a year, two years and further into the future. I don’t stay in bed for half an hour, because my time is at a premium at that time of day. I’m eager to get downstairs and start my workout, and I’m also paranoid about falling asleep! Still, I’ve found that taking a few minutes to think about how my day will go helps me to start my day in a positive way.
Morning rituals can be really important in progress and success, whatever field you’re in and wherever you want to succeed. Tony Robbins advises an “hour of power” every morning. Personally, I find that starting my day with good habits sets up my mood and keeps me on track for what I want to achieve.
Every morning I think about what I want to achieve in my life and what my goals are. By keeping them at the forefront of my mind I’m more likely to do the things I need in order to achieve them.
Do you have a morning routine? What does it entail?
2 Comments
Mrs Tubbs · 20/05/2016 at 20:11
Wake up, get self and Tubblet ready to get the school bus on time …! As long as I do that, the day has got off to a good start!
E J Frost · 22/05/2016 at 20:26
Great post!
My morning routine has taken me years to achieve. I probably could have done it when I was working for others, but I’ve always felt so guilty about not getting to work “on time” that I never tried it. So it’s only since opening my own firm that I’ve been able to develop a routine that suits me down to the ground.
I don’t set an alarm anymore. Morning is all about MY time. My teen is old enough to get herself ready and go to school on her own, but even when she was younger, I encouraged her to set her own alarm and get ready with minimal help from me, which has meant that I can wake up when I’m ready, and she’s grown increasingly independent in the mornings.
Since I don’t set an alarm anymore, I wake up when my body’s had enough sleep, which is usually around 7:30. I lie in bed for a short while after waking. I day-dream during this time, letting my mind free=associate. I find this makes me feel really refreshed and alert when I get up.
Once I do get up, I check on the teen to make sure she’s getting ready and has had something to eat and drink. Then I wash up, make myself a light breakfast, and sit down to write for two hours. There are a few timed interruptions during this period (arrival of teen’s friends, making myself more tea, feeding pets) which get me up and moving so I’m not sitting still this entire time.
Around 10 am, I check my work email. If everything’s going well and it doesn’t look like there are any emergencies, I allow myself 15 more minutes of writing time. Then I get up from the computer, stretch and do sit-ups. I need the exercise after sitting so long and it also helps me make the mental transition from my creative writing time to my professional life.
I’ve been maintaining this morning routine for about two years, and these have been some of the happiest and most creatively productive years of my life. When I can’t follow this routine (when I’m traveling or have morning meetings), I notice after a few days that I’m really out of sorts. I appreciate this sort of routine isn’t for everyone (or even possible for everyone), but it really works for me!