How to design a high-impact morning routine that will have you thriving
Everyone talks about how important a good morning routine is for good reason: its impact on your health, mood, perspective, and productivity is significant.
I’m a big believer that what you do (or don’t do) first thing in the morning will impact your entire day.
A good morning routine gives you energy and a sense of direction when you might otherwise feel tired and groggy. It affects how you show up in your work, as a parent, a partner and nearly everything else that you do.
But there is ‘no one size fits all’ approach when it comes to building out a great routine. Ultimately, the best routine is the one you create for yourself - one that suits your life, needs and personality.
I cling tightly to my morning rituals, and thought about sharing them here today. Instead though, I’ll share something even more valuable: my process for designing a custom morning routine that will have you thriving.
First, make sleep a major priority
Sleep is as critical to your health as diet and exercise. It’s the time in which your body repairs, heals and restores itself. It also helps your brain to function properly.
To understand how important sleep is to your morning routine, consider what it’s like to wake up and move through the day when you’re not completely rested. It’s harder to get out of bed in the morning, energy levels are far lower, and the brain is foggy - which hinders healthy decision making.
A good night’s sleep does the opposite for you. It will help you wake up earlier, give you far more energy for the day, and allow to you make more conscious choices for yourself.
All great morning routines start with a good night’s rest - at least 6-8 hours of it.
If you struggle with getting enough sleep, start with a simple goal to go to bed earlier. Then, facilitate that goal with the right habits: eat dinner earlier, take a warm shower or bath to relax, put away devices, and read before bed to help you fall asleep faster.
Work at becoming an early riser
Those who wake up with the sun understand there is something very special about those early morning hours.
The world is dark, quiet, still sleeping. It’s the only time of day that we can trulymove at our own pace, without disruption.
Mornings are the perfect time to do things for you, before your obligations for the day pile up and your personal priorities become “something you’ll get to tomorrow”.
The earlier you can wake up in the morning, the more time you have to yourself to do the things you crave (more on that shortly). It’s as simple as that.
If you struggle to wake up in the morning, going to bed earlier will certainly help. It’s also good practice to start slow and not get too ahead of yourself.
If you normally wake up at 7AM, just set your alarm 30 minutes earlier for 6:30AM. Do this all week and you’ll have gained an 210 extra minutes. Do it all year and that’s 10,950 extra minutes (182.5 hours!) you’ve carved out for you, and only you.
Don’t let emails or social media hijack your focus
The majority of people reach for their phones less than a minute after opening their eyes in the morning, despite there being zero need to scroll, check-in, respond to or share anything that early on in the day.
Why does this matter? Because what we see when we’re on our devices redirects our thoughts and energy. It affects how we see, hear and react to just about everything that follows.
Avoiding your device in the morning isn’t just about getting more time back for yourself either (though that's a definite perk) - it’s also an important practice in being less reactive.
By choosing not to see texts or e-mails, and not to mindlessly scroll Instagram or Twitter, you’re saying I own my headspace this morning. And you make it much easier on yourself to just focus on you.
To stay present as you start the day, try to keep your phone in another room while you sleep, delete social media apps each night before bed, and read physical books instead of digital - all of these have helped optimize my morning routine immensely.
Pick 3 - 5 comforts to kick off your day
A great morning routine is one that you look forward to. I like to think of it as something I wake up for, not something I have to do.
How you spend your time each morning is up to you. But ideally, it’s filled with things that make you feel good and give you energy.
A great book or article, a warm coffee, exercise, journaling, a juice or smoothie - these are a few of the things I currently do for myself each morning. Not just because they expand my mind, are good for my health, and energize me - but because I truly enjoy them.
Starting your day with things you love also emphasizes an important habit: putting yourself first.
The better care you take of yourself, the better you can be for everyone and everything else.
Purge your thoughts
A clear mind is a healthy mind.
Finding a way to clear your head every day is so important. If you neglect to, you'll hold onto negative thoughts and feelings instead of letting them go.
If we don’t learn to release these thoughts each day, we may feel stuck, unable to focus on the things that are most important to our happiness and progress.
There are several exercises you can explore to reduce anxiety and brain fog and increase mindfulness at the top of your day. Getting outdoors, meditation, journaling and breathing exercises are all great places to start.
Personally, I like to free write in a journal each morning for 3-5 minutes. The goal of this exercise isn’t to write anything profound or even coherent. Like other mind-clearing exercises, it is simply a means to unload thoughts and feelings that may be burdensome, which allows me to focus better on big picture things.
Figure out what type of activity will do this for you, and then make a habit of doing it.
Change your narrative
There will be days where you do not rise and shine first thing in the morning.
Some days you may wake up later than you’d like, have a change in schedule, or not be in the mood to do the things that you normally enjoy.
When that happens, you may start to think that your rituals are no longer working for you, or may become frustrated and abandon your routine all together.
But changing the narrative about your morning routine may be more helpful.
Morning routines aren’t just about accomplishing a bunch of tasks or doing the exact same thing every single day. In fact, most days, you probably won’t get to do everything, and that’s okay.
It’s actually good to change up your routine so that things don’t get boring or repetitive, so don’t beat yourself up if it happens from time to time.
The less you think of your morning rituals as a to-do list, and more as a small handful of things that allow you to be your best self, the better. Framing it that way will ensure you can successfully build the routine you deserve.
Let go of the idea that a morning routine is a big deal or something that you have to ‘get right’ every day.
It’s a small part of your day for you.
A way of showing up for yourself.
Something you can look forward to or come back to, that calms and balances you and helps you put your best foot forward every day.
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