5 Tips to Create a Morning Routine
Do you have an established morning routine? Or are you constantly pressing snooze and then rushing out the door trying not to spill coffee on yourself?
Research shows that having an intentional morning routine leads to:
More confidence
Better organizational skills
More happiness
It comes as no surprise that Oprah Winfrey, one of the most massively successful women of our time, starts her mornings with spiritual exercises, mediation, and physical movement.
When I first start working with a new life coaching client, she often tells me that she wants to create more structure or routine in her day. We live in a world that is fast-paced and work-obsessed. We stay up late watching Netflix and then scramble to get to work in the morning. It makes sense why working women don’t slow down and take intentional time to start their mornings right.
As a Life Coach who has helped dozens of professional women create and implement effective (and sustainable!) morning routines, I’m sharing my top tips for starting your mornings in a way that will set you up for success throughout the day.
5 Tips to Create a Morning Routine:
Connect with your vision or purpose. We all have hopes, dreams, goals, and future visions for ourselves. But with the day-to-day monotony and busyness of life, we often forget the bigger picture. Start your day by intentionally connecting with your vision or purpose– your big “why” for yourself. Here are some actionable ways you can connect with your vision:
Close your eyes and visualize your ideal future in specific detail.
Spend time with your vision board each morning.
Journal about your ideal future.
Read your personal mission statement out loud to yourself.
Create a Power Statement, affirmation, or mantra. These statements will ground you, center you, and remind you of your power and your purpose. It could be, “I am confidently stepping forward in the direction of my dreams,” or “I expand in success, abundance, and love every day as I inspire those around me to do the same,” or “I am full of energy and am feeling fueled to tackle anything I have to do today.” It’s important to create “I” statements that affirm your intention for the day and align you with your power. Spend a couple of minutes each morning saying your Power Statement(s) out loud, writing them down, or meditating on them.
Express gratitude. Start each morning with a gratitude practice, intentionally focusing on what you are thankful for. When you start the day with gratitude, you are inevitably bringing positive emotions into your life. Your mind simply cannot focus on gratitude and also be negative at the same time. You can write your gratitudes in a journal, say them out loud, or pray about what you’re thankful for.
Incorporate physical movement. Simply put, moving your body makes your brain happy. Whether it’s stretching, a morning walk, a spin class, or a long run, exercise in the morning is a surefire way to bring energy and joy into your day. While it might be tough to get started initially, your body will thank you later.
Don’t over-commit. Your morning routine does not have to be lengthy! All you need is 5-10 minutes to get started. Don’t over-commit and set yourself up for failure by creating a morning routine that is 2 hours long and starts at 5 am that you know you won’t be able to sustain. For a morning routine to be effective, it must be realistic and enjoyable.
If you currently have no morning routine, I suggest starting with 1 or 2 of the points above and sticking with it for a week consistently. From there, you can make necessary adjustments. The important thing is to pick something and get started!
