A morning routine you’ll actually follow and prepares you for the day is an important first step to productivity and happiness.
Some of the steps will be the same no matter who you are, but some of them will be very specific to your own, individual needs.
Answer the following questions to create your own successful morning routine.
Does your routine need to be different on different days?
For instance, you may want your weekday routine to differ from your weekend routine. Or you may need to organize yourself different on Wednesday than you do on other days.
How many categories do you need?
How many unique routines do you need to build to match your needs and what days do they cover?
Here’s an example for someone who works Monday – Friday and has a club they attend first thing in the morning on Thursdays.
- Workday Routine: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday
- Club Routine: Thursday
- Weekend Routine: Saturday, Sunday
Now, pick one category and answer these questions / complete these steps:
What is the first thing you are required to do in the morning that you are not in complete control of, and what time does that happen?
For instance, your job requires you to be to work at 8am.
If you don’t have a morning requirement like that (eg. you’re self-employed and have no set starting time), then identify your most important priority for the morning. What do you want to be a driving force for your day? What activity or result do you want your morning to prepare you for?
With this information, you’re going to create a routine that helps you:
- Get out of bed.
- Prepare your body for the day.
- Prime your brain for good work.
- Set your tone for the day.
Getting out of bed
Sometimes, getting out of bed can be the hardest part of the morning routine. This should be easier when you have your “why” figured out (the thing you’re motivated to prepare yourself for). But to help, here are some things you might try to make those first moments easier:
- Use a light-based alarm. Rather than waking up to a jarring noise, try a daylight mimicking alarm that will slowly get brighter to wake you up. A noise-based alarm can trigger a panic response that makes you want to immediately silence it and go back to sleep.
- Keep a glass of water by your bed. A glass of water when you first wake up will immediately make you more alert and more likely to get out of bed.
- Don’t keep your phone by your bed. Even if you wake up on time, it’s too easy to distract yourself until your time is gone.
- Adjust your bedtime. Waking up at the right part of your sleep cycle helps a lot. Try adjusting your bedtime until waking up at the right time feels more natural.
Waking up your body
Once you’re out of bed, your body tends to wake up more easily than your mind. Help it along with some sort of physical activity that loosens it up and gives your mind time to catch up.
- Shower first. If you’re really stiff in the morning and struggle to wake up, making a hot shower your #1 priority can help your body loosen up. It’s also more motivating to get out of bed for. This is a good first step even if you have to take a second shower later.
- Stretch. Just 5 minutes of stretching in the morning can make your body feel better all day long and gives your brain a moment to wake up and start thinking about your priorities for the day.
- Exercise. Some vigorous exercise first thing in the morning really wakes you up. It’s hard to make the time for it, but even a short exercise session first thing in the morning is better than continuously missing it in the evening.
Waking up your brain
With your body ready for the day, it’s time to do something to sharpen your mind. There are lots of quick activities you can do for this.
- Drink coffee. It works.
- Work on a crossword puzzle. Or do some other quick but mentally stimulating task.
- Play a video game. Just a few minutes with your favorite video game will help.
Do whatever you can to make time for an enjoyable activity like this in your morning routine. Developing research has shown that having an enjoyable activity to do first thing in the morning helps with motivation to actually get out of bed on time.
Repeat…
Once you’ve completed the steps above, you have a well-crafted plan for a morning routine.
Now, this routine applies to one category, so you’ll want to make sure to adjust it as necessary for your other categories.
As you implement this routine, try to be lenient with yourself. Implementing it may be difficult at first. That’s to be expected. Instead of focusing on getting it perfect every day, focus on learning what is and is not working for you. That way, success is tied to improvement rather than perfection.
It may take several weeks to find the perfect routine for you but, once it’s established, it will improve the whole day.