Creating an effective morning routine can help you develop an excellent mood with which to start the day.  There are many things you can do in the morning to improve mental flexibility and general attention. If you are not a morning person or you like to keep hitting the snooze button on your alarm clock, we have what you need. Here are lots of ideas, but remember, everyone is different, so try the various activities and find the right routine for you.

Morning routine: why is it so important?

Each of us has our own morning routine. The time following the alarm is a decisive moment, as it affects your approach to the whole day: a few hours or even a few minutes in which to think locally and set priorities for the day ahead.

However, many do not make the most of these precious moments, with consequences in terms of productivity. If your mornings are rushed and you rush out of the house, maybe it’s time to change your habits.

The important thing is to know that there is no ONE ROUTINE valid for everyone: yours should be as pleasant for you as possible, keep motivation high, and help you achieve your goals.

How to create your own morning routine

For your routine to be productive, it doesn’t have to start at 5.30, with a glass of lemon water and a meditation session. Obviously, there is nothing wrong with that, on the contrary, but know that ideal habits for many do not necessarily have to be for you.

It is therefore important not to adopt someone else’s morning habits just because they are promising: your routine will only really work if it is tailored to you and based on your needs.

Do you feel like you are not making the most of your start to the day? These questions will help you find the right routine for you:

    How is your ideal morning?

    How much time do you think you need in the morning?

    What activities make you feel really ready to start the day?

In short:

• A good morning routine is essential to be productive right away and start the day on the right foot
• There is no ONE ROUTINE valid for everyone
• Think about your personal needs
• Think about what’s important to you
• Take some time to devote to the activities that spark joy and always postpone

If a good start is half the battle, starting the day well gives you the energy, calm, a sense of satisfaction, and productivity to face all the following hours, until the evening.

Conversely, spending little time on yourself or rushing from waking up to work quickly can make you feel tired, frustrated, without the physical and mental strength to make the most of your day.

Perfect morning routine: how to find the one that’s right for you

1) Avoid those actions that can distract you or transmit negativity and fatigue such as looking at the phone immediately, thinking chaotically about things to do, fixating on negative thoughts, staying too much in bed;

2) Compare with the morning routines of others, then do a search on the internet and youtube, select the one that convinces you and experience

3) Think of the body and brain, mind, and spirit, as a complex in which all elements are interrelated, and those activities that can benefit them, also based on your biological clock.

Best activities and habits for a great morning routine

1. Wake up early

We strongly believe that everyone should make it a habit to wake up earlier. Even if you don’t know it yet, you are a morning person too. But in the modern world, there are those who would like us to think that we are a failure if we don’t wake up at 4.30 am or 5 am. Which is very far from the truth.

We think it would be crazy to assume that everyone should wake up at 5. Generally, it would be an excellent idea, but whether or not you should wake up early depends on your lifestyle (a student studying late at night and a person who has to be at work for 7 are unlikely to have the same habits). What you need is to optimize your sleep/wake rhythms, so that you are fully rested and healthy, and that this condition of yours supports you in reaching your goals.

Don’t make drastic changes! If you want to get up at 6.00 but for now you get up at 8.00, start at 7.45 and do it for two days. So it starts at 7.30. And so on. This will create a slow transition, and once you hit 6 AM, try to hold the point until it becomes a habit.

2. Drink 500ml of water

Your body has been without hydration for 5-8 hours. So he needs a good injection of fluids. Water activates your metabolism, hydrates you, helps you expel toxins, fuels your brain, and even makes you eat less.

3. Do some yoga!

Yoga is a wonderful gentle relaxing practice, especially to wake up the body and set your mind for the day ahead. If you can, even 10 minutes of yoga a day can make a huge difference as it’s a moment all for you to reconnect body and soul after the long sleep! You can follow one of the many online sessions you can find on YouTube even if we highly recommend trying something easy gentle and well-structured as one of the Yoga with Adriene’s videos! She’s the best online yoga teacher and offers easy to perform yoga sessions suitable for everyone.

If yoga isn’t your thing, you can find thousands of other 10-minute exercise sets on YouTube. For example, Cassey Ho, the fitness instructor, and creator of Blogilates offers 10-minute workout sessions suitable for every fitness level!

4. Take a lukewarm shower (followed by a COLD jet and fast breathing)

This will not only give you a sense of energy and freshness, but it will dramatically improve your physical and mental wellbeing, improve your immune system and digestive system, and can help you lose weight. Also, after exercising, there is nothing better than a nice shower.

5. Meditation

In the morning we can easily get overwhelmed by all the things we need to do, our schedules, our goals for the day, and so on. Meditation can be the right tool to start disconnecting with unhealthy negative toxic mindsets while focusing on what truly matters, having the right proper positive approach to manage emotions, handle stress and acknowledge our presence in the moment appreciating our life each breath at the time!

Check our article about the best guided meditations to give this amazing discipline a try with some easy to follow and effective sessions. They are free, beginner-friendly, and absolutely useful to find inner calm, balance, and relaxation.

6. Do something you love

If you have a special hobby like crafting, drawing, gardening and more why not dedicating to these moments of reconnection with your interests and the things you love by spending some time doing that? It will keep reminding the good things of life during the day and it will become your safe shelter to be yourself and express your creativity and love towards something that sparks joy!

7. Journaling

Journaling is a wonderful way to express yourself, get rid of something that is stressing you while acknowledging the good things. It’s a great way to externalize how you feel as, in our everyday life, we are often called to be a 10, to be invincible and strong. We all know we are not always at our best and this is totally fine. We are human after all! And writing about how you feel, how you would like your day to be like, and so on will give you some extra chance to analyze some aspect of your life and start working on how to be the best version of yourself. If you want to learn more, check out our article about The Best Motivational Journals and our Ultimate Guide on How to Journal.

8. Have a healthy breakfast

Don’t skip breakfast! The first meal of the day is so important to recharge after a long night of starvation, to rejuvenate and have the proper energy to face the day. Plus, eating a healthy breakfast with some cereals and some fresh fruits can also help you boost your metabolism and get to lunchtime not too hungry! A great way to avoid overeating!

9. Reading

Take a few minutes each morning to read something you like. It would be better to avoid reading the newspaper or reading the news as they could bring stress and anxiety and we don’t need that kind of energy right after waking up! No matter what kind of book you are reading, immersing your mind in something will ignite your creativity and free your imagination. Each book you read contains at least one good idea that you can make yours; this helps you to grow personally or professionally. So when you open a book, look for an idea, and you’ll soon see them line up. Try to read at least one chapter each morning!

10. Affirmations

Affirmations are definitely one of those tools you might need if you need some motivation, some self-love and you want to feel guided and supported all over your day. You can write them on some post-it notes and place them in plain sight to use them as a reminder and to bring some positivity into your life. Law of attractions works a huge part here and by using positive affirmations the universe will be more likely open to granting you the dreams you want to make come true. Some great affirmations can be:

• I love my life
• I enjoy my work
• I get what I want

But you can totally customize them as per your wish and needs!

11. Gratitude pages

Together with journaling the gratitude pages are just the top way to cultivate some love towards your life and what and who’s around you. Being thankful for who you are and what you have is important to keep living your life with an open heart and a more aware attitude. We are used to focus on what we still don’t have rather than focusing on what we already have and what we accomplished so far. It’s time to shift this perspective and acknowledge all our doing so far and boost the confidence in yourself, your skills, and your life path!

12. Define and review goals

To make things happen you need to define and review your goals. This is very important because if you are aware of the things you are striving for, it is easier for you to focus your attention on them. Lenses work like a camera lens. If you set the lens well and focus well, you will be able to get a good photograph. If not, the photo will be blurry. Focus on the year ahead, define 3-5 goals, for the most important areas of your life (work, health, social relationships, personal growth, travel, etc.). Make your goals specific, and express them as you would if you had already achieved them. And once you’ve got them fixed, go back and review them to see if anything can be improved or adapted.

13. Visualize your goals

Once your goals are established as your direction in life, you need to visualize your path to achieving them. By adding a clear path, and the emotion you would feel if you had achieved them, you put your mind in a position to believe you are already capable of achieving them.

14. Develop a strategy

Goals set. Path displayed. Now you need to create a simple strategy to let your vision come alive and accomplish your goals. What are the things you need to do to make your goals come true? What are the main points? What is the deadline? What are the possible blocks? When these things are defined, you need to detail them further.

15. Set priorities for the day by keeping it real and doable

Your priorities should come from your strategy. The high-impact activities you should focus on throughout the day should bring you closer to achieving the goal. Ideally, you should set 3-5 activities and establish a hierarchy of importance between them. Try to keep it real otherwise, you will start being a bit too demanding about yourself and you will get frustrated not being able to accomplish, for example, 15 tasks in a day! 3-5 tasks would be a great start!

Conclusion

At first, it might be a bit challenging to create, follow and stick with your morning routine but, if you choose to bring into this routine all things that make you feel good, positive, and connected with yourself to a whole new level you won’t skip a day and your morning routine will be your safe place where to practice some self-love by having some time to dedicate to you, to the things you love to get ready to rock your day being the best version of yourself!