First, let’s drop the limiting association of the word routine. Everything you are doing in the first 30 minutes of your day is already your “morning routine”. Call it as you wish – practice, ritual, that thing you do before you get to your coffee/home office/company’s office, it doesn’t change the fact that what you do first in the morning can make or break your day.
I know, I know. It sounds a little bit cliché but think about it. We have all days which start with disasters – the dog runs away and you have to chase him, you spill coffee all over yourself, your car won’t start. And how do these days continue? With the same energy, right? It is because if you begin the day frustrated, the feeling carries on (unless you discharge it well). It is the same with good energy. If you start your day feeling relaxed, abundant, energised, healthy and like you can kick ass all day, you end up… kicking as all day while feeling abundant and healthy!
Often the day you start the day is the way it continues. By having a morning routine that feels good you change yourself with good energy for the rest of the day. You stock up on abundance, gratitude, energy, focus – whatever you need, that you can spend on the day ahead.
Design your morning for the person you are now
A mistake many people make when they design a new morning routine is that they make it for their future selves, not for who they are here and now. To get some inspiration you might google what successful people do and try to copy it. However, if running 5k, eating vegetables and meditating for 20min feels difficult at 1PM on any given day, then probably you should not make yourself do these things first thing in the morning. I also talk about this in my morning guide for people who don’t like routines – make sure to check it out, if you haven’t yet.
Your morning routine is your path to becoming the person who can achieve better things, and every path is walked one step at a time. Instead of putting so much pressure on yourself, design your morning for your current abilities.
Progress is better than perfection
So you have already aligned your morning practices with what you can do today. You are motivated to give it a go. You start on Monday and by Thursday you crave 10 more minutes of sleep, or you don’t feel like working out early in the morning. You want to reach for your cup of coffee from bed and you definitely don’t want to meditate knowing how many things you have to do before the weekend. You give up on your whole routine because you can’t do everything.
Then don’t do everything. We all have days that are crazy busy. We all feel lazy some mornings. For example, some days I can’t meditate so instead I put on a song I like and I just lay on the group for 4 minutes enjoying the music. On such days, I am still grateful to myself that I took the time to do even this small thing.
Doing even one beneficial activity in the morning is progress and making progress always feels great, while seeking perfection often ends up in disappointment.
Acknowledge the rewards
Once you start doing something that is good for you, you will inevitably start seeing and feeling the effects of it in your daily life. Working out might make you so energised that you’ll be able to get twice as much done, and if not – then at least you’ll feel great that you took care of your body. Meditation and mindfulness exercises might result in better emotional management and increased focus. A healthy breakfast might contribute to a steady flow of energy until lunchtime. Writing affirmations might make you more confident and motivated to achieve your goals.
The positive changes will start emerging subtly and your job is to notice them. Once you do it, your brain will register that certain rewards come from your actions and it will look for cues to engage in your morning activities more often. In other words, your brain will try to make a habit out of your morning routine. How cool is this?
Having a routine that feels good will make you want to stick to it. It can also replace your unhealthy morning habits such as getting up and starting work right away. If you want to know more about how habits are formed, check this post. You can also check my morning routine guide for people who don’t like routines and get started with creating a morning habit that you love right away.
