For some, mornings are a time to work out, pay bills, clean the house, and make several stacks of pancakes before the workday even begins. Others, not so much. They dread the early-morning hours and play multiple rounds with the snooze button before succumbing to the daylight. They’re the ones who demand the smell of coffee beans under their nose upon opening their eyes and avoid chatting with anyone before noon—the ones who may be asking, what morning routine?
Regardless of your feelings towards your alarm clock, mornings can be a productive or relaxing start to your day. (Relaxation IS productive, after all.) Whether you’d rather slowly rise with a cup of tea while reading a book or get your boost with a 5 am jog around the neighborhood, you can devise a regimen that fits you best. Below is a guideline on how to create a morning routine that works for you and kicks starts your day on a good note.
Creating a morning routine: THE NIGHT BEFORE…
AVOID LATE-NIGHT BINGE-WATCHING
To become the morning person you dream of being, you should consider your current bedtime habits. If you are someone who battles waking up in the morning, it could be because you’re getting less than the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep a night, or perhaps the sleep you are getting is low quality and not as restful as it should be. By not getting enough rest, you’ll inevitably feel tired and drained when it’s time to wake up, prompting your desire to hit snooze.
The obvious solution would be to go to bed earlier—which for many means avoiding late-night binge-watching. Perhaps make a rule for yourself to turn the TV off at 10 pm before unintentionally consuming an entire season of Ted Lasso in one night. For instance, if you’re still awake well beyond when the late-night talk shows air, it’s probably time to hit the hay. You may also want to try making your bed a device-free zone, since the light from screens can throw off your sleep cycle further.
PLAN YOUR MORNINGS AHEAD OF TIME
Another way to build a successful morning routine is to plan them ahead of time. Think about what you can do in advance to make your mornings as effortless as possible. Just knowing that several steps have been accomplished will ease your mind and make a start to your day much more pleasurable.
One suggestion is to lay out your outfit beforehand so you’re not rummaging through your closet half asleep looking for the mate to your heel. Or, organize your gym bag and leave it at the door so you can make that early Zumba class, no excuses. Even pre-mixing pancake batter and storing it in the fridge can make the process much quicker when you’re short on time. There are so many tricks like this to ease morning stress, you just have to experiment long enough to find the ones you can fit into your PM schedule and stick to in the long run.
Creating a morning routine: THE MORNING OF…
FOLLOW A CONSISTENT SLEEP SCHEDULE
Just as your bedtime plays a factor in your morning routine, so does the hour you wake up. It’s often challenging to transition from our weekend habits (staying up late and sleeping in until lunchtime) to our regimented weekday cycles. Although your days off are a great time to catch up on some much-needed rest, weekday mornings won’t be so difficult to bear if you follow a consistent sleep schedule.
Despite the temptation to catch the latest installment of SNL and sleep way beyond breakfast hours, it’s helpful to be consistent with when you go to bed and wake up. Inconsistent sleep and wake up times throw off the body’s natural rhythms—sleeping in on the weekends and trying to rest every Monday actually has the same effect as jetlag. Your body will eventually get accustomed to this schedule, making it easier than ever to rise before that 9 am meeting… Promise!
START YOUR DAY DOING SOMETHING THAT WILL MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD
Morning routines vary with every person for many reasons. Not everyone wakes up each day and immediately hits the gym, meditates, journals, or has half of the day’s chores completed by dawn. So if you don’t feel ready to tick things off the to-do list right when you wake up, don’t worry. For many of us, mornings are about stillness and easing into the day regardless of what’s on the agenda.
Start your day doing something that will make you feel good. If that’s lying in bed for an hour to read or moving to the couch with your coffee for a while, that’s perfectly okay. Even if you simply want to catch up on a TV show you’ve been eager to watch, that’s fine too. You won’t mind the early morning hours (and maybe become a morning person) if you’re doing things you enjoy, that boost your mood and gets you motivated for the day to come.
How do you find motivation in the mornings? Share your morning routine with us.
