the importance of a morning routine.
Over the past two months, work has been ruling my life.
While I’m so grateful to be this busy it hasn’t left a lot of time for my personal life. I noticed I was getting into a bad habit of jumping right into work as soon as I was out of bed and wouldn’t stop until late at night. I was beginning to feel the burnout, baaad and knew I needed to do something about it. Honestly, it was starting to feel like I was literally running on a hamster wheel 24/7 and I was unable to keep up.
One of the perks of owning your own business is that you’re supposed to be your own “boss” right? So I decided instead of letting the work tell me what to do, I asked myself, what do I want to be getting out of my days? What would make me happy?
The first thing that came to mind was a slower morning. I realized that jumping right into work didn’t make me excited about the day ahead, no matter how many cool projects I was working on, and thought a morning routine would be a great way to flip the script and reset the way I was working.
Here’s what I’ve been doing every morning to start my day off right!
1. Make my bed
I have never been the kind of person to make my bed consistently. I’d make it when I changed the sheets or if I had company coming over and there was a chance they’d see into my room but never just for myself. Honestly, I never saw the point of it. But when I was looking up popular morning routines to create one for myself, this was always on the list so I wanted to give it a try.
I’m telling you, it’s life changing.
It instantly changed my perspective. For me, it’s a great way to close off the night before and prepare for the day ahead. I’ve also found that I started looking forward to crawling back into bed that night. I don’t know how or why but for some reason it feels more cozy!
2. Meditate
For the last year or so I’ve been meditating before bed. My mind tends to run a mile a minute even when I’m tired and I used to overwhelm myself by thinking about all the things I needed to get done the next day. I found meditation to be a great way to relax my mind and get my body prepared to rest.
But I never started my day with meditation. Since I’d been using it as a tool to relax and fall asleep, I thought it would just make me more tired. Wrong. Instead of thinking about the next day before bed I had just gotten into a bad habit of thinking about those things as soon as I woke up. I was adding more stress to my life by “rushing” to get to work.
I work from home. Why was I rushing? Adding meditation in the mornings has been an amazing tool to help me focus my thoughts and become more present in the moment. It automatically slows me down and eases me into the day.
3. Gratitude journaling
I love a good journal entry and I’ve been doing it for years. It’s been a great practice that helps me get out my thoughts and feelings or document my day to day when travelling but I had begun to notice that I was mostly complaining about things I was unhappy about or frustrated by or wish was different. Especially over this past year.
Listen, it’s been a hard twelve months, everybody knows that. Dealing with a pandemic is a lot and while journaling is helpful in getting my feelings out, I wanted to change the narrative and remind myself of all the good going on in my life.
After I’m done meditating, I usually aim to write about three to five things that I’m feeling grateful for in that moment and why I’m grateful for them. I have found that it automatically starts my day off on a positive note.
4. Get outside
When I was in the habit of jumping into work as soon as I got out of bed, I never made time to go outside. I’d just keep working until I was done and that usually meant it was dark outside. Sometimes I’d have a bit of a lunch break to go for a walk but it was rare. I didn’t realize it at the time, but not regularly getting outside was taking a toll on my mental health.
So now, before I eat breakfast or check my notifications, I get my shoes on and take a walk. I’ll bring a bottle of water with me to drink while I’m walking and listen to a podcast or audiobook. I try not to rush myself during this morning routine but once the water is finished, I know it’s time to head back home. Making a point of getting outside has been a great way to centre myself and feel more connected to nature.
5. Make breakfast and read
Breakfast had become a serious grab and go situation. Because of that, I wasn’t making the most nutritious choices which at the end of the day, made me more tired and lethargic. I had to remind myself that putting off work for an extra fifteen minutes isn’t going to be the end the world and I deserve to have a quiet and healthy breakfast before work.
So now, after I get back from my walk, I make myself a nutritious breakfast and do some reading while I eat. I combined the two because I’ve been finding it hard to carve out time in my day to do any reading and reading is something that gives me joy!
After that I get to work! This routine usually takes me about an hour to an hour and half (sometimes two if it’s a low energy day) but like I said, I don’t rush myself.
Recreating my morning has made me feel more in tune with my body and I’m finding I go into my work day more clear, focused and ready to work. Honestly, it’s been so worth it for me and something I look forward to doing every morning.
