7 Ideas for a great start to your day
Start your day right!
I love to have a morning routine, it keeps me grounded and helps me focus for the day. If I wake up with a burst of energy I tend to want to rush into the day and start to almost tumble over myself and get anxious, trying to do everything at once. If I wake with less energy, without a routine to get me focused I would drift through the day and get nothing done!
It had to be said that a morning routine doesn’t have to be complicated and take hours to do. It’s all about what suits you and what work for YOU. Now my routine works for me and may be something that doesn’t appeal at all to you, so think about what might work for you instead.
Also the routine does not have to be set in stone. I have a number of things that I do that help me and I move from one thing to the other either day by day or do something for a few days or weeks and then realize its no longer working for me and I change it up. Being flexible and listening to you own body or mind signals is what’s key.
So here are some ideas for you.
1. Leave plenty of time for your morning routine. Leaving time in the morning so you don’t feel rushed helps you stay balanced for the rest of the day. If you have to be at work for a certain time, work backwards when you have decided what you want to include in your routine so that you can have a calm start to your day.
2. Wake up at the same time every day. What time this will be depends on you, whether you have commitments you have to get to, whether you are a natural early riser or are better sleeping a little later. Listening to your natural body rhythms is important. Also consider how much sleep you need, which can vary from person to person. I need my full 8-9 hours so as my natural wakeup time is 7.30am I work backwards from that and make sure I am in bed by 10.30/11pm.
3. Start the day with a grounding drink. I love to have a cup of tea in the morning and tend to make it and take it back to bed or out on my deck, either just to savor the drink or to write my morning pages or journal. I make it mindfully and taking that first sip in the morning consciously, is so delectable! Here’s how to make a mindful cup of coffee or tea.
4. Morning pages. I’ve recently started to write morning pages again. If you are not familiar with Julia Cameron’s The Artists Way, morning pages is one of her basic tools to start to recover your creativity and break through blocks that are holding you back from your full potential. The idea is to write three pages in your journal each morning, not thinking about what you are going to write; just writing whatever comes into your mind, just a stream of consciousness. It does not have to make sense; it doesn’t have to flow from one thought to another. There is no right or wrong way to do it. Just write. It helps you connect to your creative right brain and quiet the left-brain monkey mind. You may be surprised on what insights you have!
5. Movement. Making time in your morning for exercise may be just what you need to balance yourself. A full workout, a short walk, a yoga practice, a few stretches even or any other type of movement that appeals to you.
6. A healthy mindful breakfast. Making time for an unrushed breakfast is important. Depending on what your body is telling you this could be a full balanced breakfast or just a big glass of hydrating water. The key though is to not multitask, to sit down and be present with the food you are putting into your body.
7. Get washed and dressed. Personally, I like to shower each morning, it makes me feel fresh and ready for the day. My routine includes Ayurvedic practices of body brushing, tongue cleaning and oil pulling. As I work from home, getting dressed and ready to work helps me get in the mindset of being ready, to have marked the start of my day, rather than staying in my PJ’s and having no clear definition to the start of my work day.
So those are some of my ideas on a morning routine, to get you ready and empowered for the rest of the day! Let me know if you try some and how they work for you!
