I am THE number one supporter of morning rituals. I find it's the best way to feel productive, even when the rest of your day doesn't turn out the way you planned it. It's the only time of day when you can truly prioritize yourself and your goals. I also find that when I'm stuck in a funk, having consistent habits can turn things around very quickly.
I have read a lot of books and tried a lot of different morning routines and have realised that there is no one size fits all morning routine. In this blog I’ll be talking about the things I like to accomplish in the morning on a weekday and how to adapt when life makes it hard to stick to your morning ritual.
I wanted to start by saying that it is more than okay to skip a morning every now and then. I often have 15 hour shifts and by the time I get home and shake off the day, it can be super late. Sometimes I have social events that go late. Waking up early the next morning isn’t always the best thing for my body and mind. You want a morning routine that you can realistically complete 80% of the time, and the other 20% you can savour a well-earned sleep in and a slightly less full on morning.
What do you want to accomplish?
When creating a morning routine I first write down all the things I want to accomplish in the morning. I found “The Miracle Morning” by Hal Elrod a really good starting point. He uses the acronym SAVERS. Silence (meditating, prayer, thinking time), affirmations, visualisations, exercise, reading and scribing. In an ideal morning routine there would be space for all of these, but in reality it can be hard to cram this all into the morning.
For me this looks like: meditation, affirmations, my vision board, going to the gym, listening to a podcast on the bus and of course using my Will & Way journal to set up the day. Other things I need to do in the morning includes; showering, breakfast, making my bed and my skincare routine.
Assign a time limit
Now that you know what you want to accomplish in the morning, it’s time to figure out how long all of this will take us. This will answer the dreaded question of what time we have to wake up. This part takes some trial and error. If you are like me and go to the gym in the morning, how long does this take? How long does it take to drive there and back? How much time do I want to allocate to meditation and journaling? How long does it take me to shower and eat breakfast? Then work backwards. If you have to leave the house at 7.30am, how long does it take to do everything you want to do? What time do you have to wake up? Is this actually realistic? I am a big believer in waking up early. But, waking up at 5am isn’t sustainable if you have a full on day at work and also have commitments in the evenings. Trim the fat off your morning routine, right back to the basics.
Build it up
Now that we have the map, it’s time to execute. Start slowly. I built up my routine by starting the day with going to the gym and journaling. To be ready to leave at 7.30 this meant waking up at 5.40 which whilst on the early side, is definitely realistic for me. I found getting up straight away, putting on my gym clothes and getting into the car was the best way to wake up and I always felt like I had been productive with my day.
Take a break
You know your body best. If you’re feeling tired and run down then sometimes the best thing you can do is snooze your alarm and take the time for yourself.