I’ve always said morning people are the best kinds of people!
Winning our day starts by winning our morning. The busier we are, the greater the need for a set morning schedule to complete our daily tasks. When we’re able to operate on automatic, we increase our productivity and time efficiency, which will ultimately lead to more time and space for ourselves. We also save much needed brain power for other important decisions that need to be made throughout the day, in addition to creating a positive state of mind to flow throughout, as we’re able to dedicate time to doing what we want first. Spending the first hour of your morning to yourself, can have a profound impact on your overall mindset and available free time.
Your morning routine can consist of whatever you want and can be as short or long as you wish it to be. As we know, the key to success is planning. At Working Against Gravity, it’s important to us that our members are well equipped to tackle each and every day confident and in control. Below are some suggestions in how to create and what to include in a morning routine.
How to create a morning routine and things to keep in mind:
- Select the things that make the most sense to you. Think of what has to be done, then add what can be done - List your priorities such as eating, personal hygiene, meditation. Then add in your extras.
- Do or have something you love first thing in the morning to motivate you to get up - Hot chocolate, favourite breakfast item, cartoons, anything you look forward to.
- Decide how will you wake up (Alarm clock, phone, music, certain ring tone on the phone)
- Decide what time you need to wake up and then what your ideal and necessary amount of sleep is. Then know what time you have to go to bed. Make this non-negotiable - (see bedtime routine blog)
- Remain consistent - this is key! Just like taking your body weight or hitting your macros, the key to success is to be consistent.
- Experiment - take note of what is working and what isn’t. Continue to try new things.
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Things that could be included in your morning routine:
- Glass of water - After a long night's sleep, hydrate yourself and drink a glass of cold water to get the metabolism moving
- Meditation - Allocate time to be still and get clear. Even as little as 10 mins will be a great addition to your day. The app Headspace is a great start here.
- Journal writing / Reflection / Gratitude - Whether you sit in silence, list things you’re grateful for or reflect on a current situation, spending time navigating your thoughts and emotions in the morning can be an extremely helpful, fulfilling and powerful daily process.
- Affirmations / Revision of goals / Visualizations - Spending time reviewing our goals, hopes, dreams and future aspirations helps to motivate and inspire our daily actions to ensure we remain on the path to goal fulfillment
- Reading a chapter of a good book - Not only will this engage your brain, it will also provide you with some morning coffee gossip topics with your co-workers
- Make a hearty breakfast - Start your day and brain off properly with a fat, fiber and protein filled breakfast to keep you nice and satiated throughout the day. Not only will this help you focus but you’ll start chipping away nicely at those macros.
- Make your bed - Creating a clear space, not only creates clarity in the mind, it’s also one task that you’ve accomplished and sets you in good motion to complete other tasks for the remainder of the day.
- Open up the windows and doors, to get fresh air and natural light - Bright natural light and the smell of fresh air increases our mood and energy levels.
- Create a to-do list the previous day, then revise this list in the morning or create your list of priorities for the day.
- Exercise /Stretch - Get the body moving with some light stretching or a daily walk to clear the mind, smell the fresh air. Taking the dog for a walk is great idea!
- Hold off on social media, emails or messages - No news is good news. If something is urgent or critical someone will call you. Allow your morning to be free of distractions and unfavourable news. This can be the worst way start to the day as you’re putting others ahead of yourself. If the information we receive is not what we like, then we don’t typically feel great and this will carry over into our day. Save this for once you’ve left the house.