Last updated on July 12th, 2023 at 08:36 am
Picture this: waking up ten minutes after your alarm rings, hurrying to do the dishes, rushing to eat your breakfast, clocking into work at a minute past resumption time then going back to brush your teeth thankful that you work from home. Is this you? Can you relate? Does picturing this stress you out?
Whether or not you see yourself as an old soul, we all stand to benefit from a slow and intentional morning routine. Our morning sets the tone for the whole day and should be accorded the intentionality and sacredness that it deserves. It’s harder to have a morning routine when our night routine is nonexistent, so, I’m admitting now that a morning routine is almost only as good as an evening/night routine.
Some are able to work with a morning routine even with a shaky night routine but it still doesn’t change the fact that an evening routine exists. As usual, the goal is never perfection but to create the space for our new habits and goals to exist.
Every morning routine should be tailored towards the individual, but here is what an uplifting morning routine looks like.
A set wake-up time:
How many hours of sleep per night work for you? What time can you wake up in the morning and feel good—not guilty or crappy but refreshed? Having a fixed time to get up daily and sticking to it feels good not only because your body likes routine but also because it’s the first feat of the day. Waking up at the same time daily is the first victory of the day, you can be sure to get your to-do done without having to hurry.
Organising your space:
Any chore in the morning should be more of a bit of tidying up here and there, not cleaning the whole house. The aim is to be slow and almost trance-like in your activities. You want to lay the bed, spend some time to make the house look decent, and put a few things in place. Nothing too serious or tasking.
Some minutes to ruminate:
Whatever works for you, be it meditation, prayer, reading a chapter of a self-help book, taking a walk, or simply reflecting on what you have to do for the day. This simple step can help you feel more balanced, less agitated, and more grounded as you go into the uncertainty of a new day. It doesn’t have to be too elaborate. If five minutes is enough for you, so be it. If you have thirty minutes to spare, you do you.
Gratitude:
When you think of a morning routine, you’re probably not considering this. In my journey so far, I have seen that the relevance of gratitude cannot be overemphasized. It’s not about toxic positivity or faux enthusiasm as much as choosing to find joy in the vast occurrence that is life. It’s early; before your mind gets too busy, loud, and anxious, look around and find one or two things that you’re grateful for. Practise this for some days consistently and watch how your mind and outlook transform.
Getting dressed:
If your work takes you out of the house, this is a no-brainer. However, if you have to work from home or it’s a weekend, it’s very easy, too easy in fact, to not bother with our appearance or hygiene. On weekends, you want to be lazy and sleep in, and for someone that works from home, no one is going to see you, why bother? These excuses are easy, but a morning routine is not just for some days in the week. You have to show up for yourself over and over and if this means committing ten minutes daily to look decent, so be it. Not to mention that getting dressed—cue applying lotion gently to your body, can be therapeutic.
Some choose to have their breakfast while others do brunch, some prefer to add their workout to their morning routine while others do not. Just do what works for you. For instance, I prefer a morning walk, so it’s part of my morning routine.
A morning routine is really just accessing a balanced mental state through a set of physical activities. Hence, you do not need an arduous routine, instead, you want a slow and stable introduction to a new day. You want to give yourself a leg up as you face the remaining hours of the day.
Do you have a morning routine or are you struggling to find one? Let’s discuss this in the comments.
