Creating a powerful morning routine
It seems that having a morning routine is the thing to do these days. Everyone seems to be talking about it. I first came across the idea when I read the Miracle Morning book a few years back. I even joined the Miracle Morning Facebook group in the hope that it would keep me accountable. Many people were raving about the Miracle Morning, and how it transformed their life. It sounded great, and so, naturally, I wanted to be a part of the club, too. Except, very quickly, I realised that I didn’t really fancy getting up at 5am every morning. As good as it was meant to be for me, quite honestly, I love my bed, and I didn’t enjoy having to sneak around the house as not to wake everyone up.
Some days, I would successfully manage to sneak past my son’s bedroom - on other days, I wasn’t so lucky. Having a young child demanding your attention isn’t exactly what I had in mind for my Miracle Morning. Don’t get me wrong - this method has its benefits, but its rigidity never quite fit my family life, and so I began exploring other options.
What is a morning routine?
Before we go any further, let’s talk about a morning routine as a whole. What does it mean to you? Collins dictionary describes routine as ‘the usual series of things that you do at a particular time. A routine is also the practice of regularly doing things in a fixed order.’ In other words, a morning routine is a set of actions you perform most days, before starting work. I say most days, because I believe that for this to work, there has to be flexibility, but I will dive into this later on.
Taking the Miracle Morning routine as an example, this would involve starting your day with meditation, affirmations, visualisation, followed by exercise, reading and journaling. The key to any routine, in my opinion, is making it fit in with your individual lifestyle. As ambitious as we may be, creating a routine that starts at 6am if you’re a night owl, isn’t going to work for long, and it might do more harm than good, as you begin to resent the activities.
These days, whenever I see a specific plan to follow, I pause to see whether it could actually fit in with what I need, or want, to do. Just because something worked for one person, doesn’t mean that it will work for you. I’m a big advocate for finding routines, or anything, for that matter, that feels good to YOU.
Why having a routine is actually good for you
According to Harvard Professional Development, ‘Studies have shown that when our energy and self-control are depleted, our motivation wavers, making it difficult to focus on tasks and follow through to completion.’ Having a replenishing morning routine can actually help us to feel more focused, and as a result, more productive throughout the day, too.
Another small study recently showed that ‘reattaching’ can be a useful component in our routine. The idea is that we often detach from work at the end of the day, but we don’t often spend much time ‘reattaching’ to work in the morning. The practice of reattaching can help us to stay on track and provide the motivation to continue working towards our goals. It’s about mentally preparing yourself for your workday.
The study suggests that we can reattach by reflecting on some simple questions each morning, such as:
Why does the work I do matter to me?
Who are the people - both at work and in my personal life - who support me and my professional success?
What would I like to focus on today?
Not only is having a routine good for your productivity, it can also be used to feed you creatively and provide you with the much needed headspace before you begin your day. There’s a reason why so many successful entrepreneurs rate their morning routines so highly.
Creating your perfect routine
Firstly, consider what it is that you’d like to bring more of into your day. What is the intention behind creating a morning routine in the first place? It might be that you want to feel more focused and productive, or perhaps you want to stop yourself from getting hooked on an endless Instagram scroll, and draining your energy before your day even gets started.
Below is a list of things you might want to consider. But before you do - please remember this. There is no right or wrong here, and just because the majority of the world starts work at 9am, this does not mean that you have to do the same. Creating your very own routine means testing things out, it means trial and error, and most importantly, it means doing things that feel good to YOU.
What is a reasonable time for you to get up? Taking things like school or work commitments into consideration, do you want to have a consistent time you wake up each morning, or are you more concerned with having a more flexible lifestyle?
What would you like to do most mornings? Do you enjoy starting your day with some gentle yoga? Or perhaps you prefer to have your coffee and read a newspaper or book. What would you like to include in your everyday routine?
Create a list of all the things you enjoy doing in the morning - for me, these things might include meditating, journalling, exercise, and generally having a relatively slow morning. What does that list look like to you? It might include a bath, a book, dancing, taking a walk - you name it. Create a list that you can pick from on days where you feel like you have more time to give yourself. Your very own pick and mix list, if you will. Sometimes, it’s the days where you don’t feel like you have much time to spare that you might benefit from a routine the most.
Check in with your energy levels - being flexible with your morning routine means that you can pay attention to how you’re feeling each morning. Various things will impact this, with your menstrual cycle being a big one to keep an eye on. Doing this has been a big game changer for me, as it’s given me the permission to go easy on the days where I’m feeling low on energy.
Creating a useful morning routine isn't about ticking off seventeen things off a to do list. It’s about creating a supportive environment for your focus, concentration and mental health, too. It’s about nourishing and looking after yourself, so that you’re not constantly pouring from an empty cup. Since adapting my morning routine, I’ve found that on days where I don’t take even a few minutes just for myself, my focus is scattered, I tend to switch between tasks and generally get a lot less done, not to mention the lack of ideas or creativity. Feed your mind and it will reward you tenfold.
If you prefer, you can listen to my latest podcast episode, where I chat all about your morning routine and creating something that works for you!
If you’re curious about working together, head on over here to find out more.