The Importance of Creating a Strong Morning Routine
Image by: Christian Lambert on Unsplash
The thought of creating a routine can often spark a ton of opinions for people: some find them extremely helpful and essential for their day, while others may find them stressful or hard to follow. In fact, holding onto an assumption that you need to be extremely organized and methodical can feel downright overwhelming for many people. But when you step back and think about it, routines are nothing more than just habits, which, whether you may realize it or not, is likely something you’re already doing. From where you drink your coffee in the morning, to what time you leave for work, there’s likely some sort of system you follow in the morning.
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Creating a solid morning routine sets the tone for the day. It allows you to prioritize your self-care by ensuring your needs are accounted for, which can help you show up for the people you care about. To dive into this a little deeper, imagine that you have a large pitcher of water that you need to fill up every morning. This pitcher takes a few minutes to fill, but by doing so, you’re able to fill up everyone’s glass with crisp, cold water all day long. However, if you woke up and decided you were too busy to fill up the pitcher that day, you may only be able to get a glass or two out of it. Think of utilizing your mornings to prioritize your self-care through the same lens.
Self-care looks different for everyone since it’s entirely depending on your own, individual needs. However, creating a morning routine allows you to allocate time for activities that specifically check the boxes of some of your needs. It doesn’t need to be a long or elaborate process, just something that leaves you feeling ready for a great day ahead.
To show you how easy it can be, I’ve put together a simple morning routine template for you. There’s no set schedule or times that need to be followed, just a couple of activities that can help you get your day started.
Morning Routine Template
START THE NIGHT BEFORE
I always recommend that people try to do as much as possible the night before for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it frees up time in the morning. Instead of doing the things you have to do, such as making your lunch or picking out your clothes, it allows you an opportunity to do the things you want to do. Secondly, it helps to ensure that you aren’t forgetting anything. Have you ever packed for a trip last minute, only to realize you’ve forgotten something important? The same thing applies to your day, too. Something as simple as packing your briefcase the night before can help to ensure you remember your laptop charger versus trying to get it done in the morning. Ultimately, the goal of creating a routine is to make things as easy on yourself as possible.
WAKE UP A LITTLE EARLIER THAN YOU NEED TO
Give yourself a couple of extra minutes in the morning to prioritize your self-care. This doesn't mean you need to wake up 3 hours earlier to complete a 10 step self-care routine, even just an extra 15 minutes in the morning to yourself can do wonders. This can look like spending a couple of minutes reading to yourself, taking a walk, or even just spending some extra time in the shower.
SET YOUR INTENTION FOR THE DAY
I typically do this with a coffee, but you can do it in a way that works for you. Setting your intention for the day is sort of like putting out what you want to attract into the universe. If you have a presentation at work, it could be something such as wanting to attract confidence. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by a busy day ahead, it could be something like the strength you need to make it through.
HAVE A MINDFUL MOMENT
Mindfulness can come through a multitude of different avenues, depending on your own interests. For you, it could be through journaling, or meditation, or even yoga. Ground yourself in the present moment, before you begin to worry about everything you need to do for the day.