How to create an active, healthy, morning routine.
I really believe in the power of a good morning routine, to empower you, energise you and build your confidence. Read on to discover my magic morning routine and for tips to get your mornings, healthy and active.
How’s your morning routine?
Who do you wake up for? Who is your priority in the morning? Your job, your kids?
If your current morning routine has you rushing to get ready, shouting at kids, pumped with caffiene, or leaving the house feeling edgy or stressed, you could really do with reviewing your current morning strategy and creating one that works for you.
First failure of the day? Hitting snooze.
I don’t really believe that it’s true “failure” if you hit snozze, but these small actions repeated daily can really reduce your self efficacy. Self-efficacy relates to our belief that we can succeed in meeting goals and completing tasks. Really, you’ve let yourself down on the first commitment of the day.
You created an intention by setting your alarm, but then you bailed on yourself by hitting snooze. If your alarm was set so that you could meet a friend, or get to work on time, would you just hit snooze?
If you wouldn’t do it for them, don’t do it for yourself. Keeping commitments to yourself is really effective in raising self-efficacy, which has a greater impact on helping us build confidence and resilience than self esteem.
“Win the morning and you win the day”
Why do we need a morning routine?
There is so much science that says how we start the day has a major impact on the rest of the day. In fact many people believe that the first hour of your day is the most influential.
Many successful people such as Bill Gates and Barack Obama, have clear morning routines, which include exercise! A quick Google will bring up many articles about the morning routines of highly successful business people.
But, morning routines are not just for rich entrepreneurs and politicians, they are for everyone. We all have responsibilities and a desire to live well.
Taking time for yourself every morning means that finally you wake up to meet your own needs first, which means you can be better able to meet the needs of others later, such as children, work etc.
You know what they say - attend to your own oxygen mask first, before helping others.
If you don’t believe that a morning routine will improve your life try an experiment, you’ve nothing to lose - Create and maintain a healthy morning routine for two weeks and then stop for two weeks, see if there’s a difference.
big achievements are built on the basis of very small ones attained on daily basis. These are the basic early morning routines that highly successful people used to strengthen their willpower.
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My Morning Routine
Over the years my morning routine has been up and down. Having children, changing jobs, moving house, have all impacted it.
My commitment to my morning routine was reignited two years ago, after moving abroad, not having work and becoming very aware that not having structure and routine was very bad for my mental health!
So my current routine has been a long time in the making, but it works for me and is complete before my kids get up!
Wake up at 5am and at the moment I still look at my phone (I’m working on it)
Get up quickly, I don’t lay in bed because otherwise my thoughts become negative or I talk myself into pressing the snooze button.
Wash my face with cold water and brush my teeth first to wake myself up. I follow this with two glasses of water, whilst I make a coffee.
Take my coffee outside, do 7 minutes of breathwork, using the ‘State’ app, drink my coffee, then listen to affirmations and spend 5 minutes visualising (imagining) how I would like my life to be, using my homemade, simple vision board.
Finally I do a brain dump (writing down everything that’s on my mind) and read for 10 minutes - something educational/inspiring.
This may sound like a lot, but it has taken time to refine and on a good day it’s all done within 40 minutes.
You may also be wondering where the ‘active’ part of my morning routine is? Well after I’ve finished my ‘morning routine’ at home, I walk to work and lead the Active.Morning Collective in 30 minutes of bodyweight exercise, followed three times a week by a 20 minute kettlebell session.
Five actions for a great morning routine -
Get up earlier and when you say you will - Don’t hit snooze. Better to be up wandering like a zombie for the first 5 minutes, but keeping your commitment to yourself, than staying in bed and robbing yourself of a calm, productive morning. Getting up at the same time every day is great for regulating your circadian rhythm and can help reduce sleep problems as well as tiredness and low productivity.
Movement - wake up your body and mind, with something that suits you. I, of course, recommend the Active.Morning Collective, but yoga, stretching, a walk, or a bike ride works. Also there is no perfect order, movement can be at the beginning end, or in the middle of your routine. If you are out for a walk, you could combine it with a walking meditation or listening to something uplifting or inspiring - such as a podcast or music.
Hydrate - water, hot water and lemon, herbal tea, before your caffeinated drink of choice would be great
Stillness and silence - Start small and work your way up to a length of time that suits you. It may seem strange to begin with, but it is great for starting the day with clarity and checking in with how you feel. You could meditate, visualise the day ahead, use a breathing app, or just sit, whatever works for you. If you join the A.M Collective four minutes conscious breathing practice is included every morning.
Read, write - Or do both!
My top suggestions for writing are - Top three tasks for the day, brain dump of everything that’s on your mind, a gratitude list, positive affirmations
My top suggestions for reading are - positive affirmations, a few pages of a motivational or inspirational book, a daily reading (there are many on the internet!)
I don’t recommend - social media, the news, emails, or whatsapp messages!
4 tips for creating a routine that’s achievable and brings great results.
Start the night before - The best kept secret of a good morning is a good night - Go to bed earlier, prepare what you can - breakfast, school bags, work bags and a space to carry out your morning routine. This really helps my motivation to get up, knowing those jobs are already complete.
Prioritise what’s important, not what’s easy - If you have been trying to increase your activity levels or lose weight the number one priority could be movement. If you’re frazzled and overworked, stillness and a brain dump can be top of your list. Remember what’s most important might not be the easiest task but it will probably be the one that gives you the clearest results.
Start small - To begin with you may only choose to give yourself 15 minutes, so start small and keep it simple. Two glasses of water and 5 minutes breathing, followed by a brain dump. Or the 10 minute mobility section of the A.M Collective. Everyone can do something, just pick something and start.
Be flexible - Things happen, there are interruptions and distractions. Your morning routine is for you, not anyone else. It’s not an opportunity to beat yourself up for not doing it perfectly, it’s about making small changes, one day at a time. If it doesn’t happen one morning, it’s no biggie, just move on to the next.
I think it is really important to be open minded, to see what works and not be afraid to change it up as life changes.
If you think that your mornings need an overhaul, why not start by joining the Active.Morning Collective. Live, daily workouts with me, via Zoom.
