Time to Give Your Morning Routine a Makeover?

Do you ever find mornings are the most stressful part of the day? Don’t worry, you are not alone! I think many of us have felt stress in the morning – the alarm goes off, you feel unclear about what needs to done and then it is lunchtime before you know it. This is one of the reasons why it is important to have a morning routine.

I think many of us could do with a morning routine makeover and feel like it is a privilege to be alive. Do you agree? If so, the following five tips might help you makeover your morning routine. Quite often, it is not about making big changes, just a few tiny tweaks can get your morning off to a great start (if you choose to). 

7 Ways to Give Your Morning Routine a Makeover

Following are 7 ways you can give your morning routine a makeover –

1. Prepare the Night Before –

Your morning routine starts the night before. It is up to you what you choose to prepare, however I often will prepare food to eat, the clothes I am wearing (if I have a presentation) and also the know the most important tasks I need to complete. Some questions that might help you decide what to prepare include –

• What will you do when you first wake up?
• What appointments do you have?
• What are your 3 most important tasks for the day?

2. Practise Gratitude –

The morning is a great time to practise gratitude. You can write down 3 things you are grateful for and why you are grateful for them. This small tweak helps set you up for the day ahead and helps you to remember through the day the things you have in your life.

3. Formal Meditation Practise –

Most mornings when I wake I do a formal mindfulness meditation practise. The practise could be anything from a mindful self-compassion practise to listening to Solfeggio frequencies on Insight Timer. Meditating in the morning grounds me and helps me start the day with a clear mind.

4. Determine Your Wake-Up Time –

How much time do you need in the morning to complete all of the things you need and value in the morning? Once you know this (and it is in alignment with your values and needs) you can then determine your wake-up time and stick to it!

5. Avoid E-mail and Phone Distractions –

Yes even though my phone is my alarm and the device I use for meditating (if I am listening to something), I am doing my best to not check my e-mails, social media or messages before I have completed my other higher priority actions.

6. Review Your Priorities –

One thing I like to do the night before is review my priorities (if it is a Sunday night, I complete my weekly plan). As I have systemised many of my important tasks with due dates etc., I check over my electronic organiser and see what needs to be completed. These tasks are in alignment with my plans and priorities.

7. Check-in and Connect with Your Mind, Body, Emotions and Spirit –

One of my favourite things to do is to check-in and connect with my mind, body, emotions and spirit. I do it in the morning to see how I have woken up as I can be surprised! I often refer to it like a guest house, which is so well articulated in the following poem by Runi 🙂

Poem: The Guest House by Jellaludin Rumi

“This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,

some momentary awareness comes

as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,

who violently sweep your house

empty of its furniture,

still, treat each guest honourably.

He may be clearing you out

for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice.

meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.

Be grateful for whatever comes.

because each has been sent

as a guide from beyond.”

Over to You…

I hope this post has given you some insight in to ways you could give your morning routine a makeover and if you have any questions, feel free to ask them below!

Also – if there is something else you would add, feel free to share them in the comments section below.

What tiny tweaks are you going to make in your morning routine?

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