I’m typing this at the end of the hectic morning with my littles.
Some days are easy breezy. (Nope, strike that.) EVERY day with my 1- and 3-yr-old boys has some element of chaos to it. Which is why I’m really intentional about making sure I start my day on the right track. My morning routine is absolute bliss.
And while I’m happy to share my morning routine with you (and I will in just a sec), I also want to give a few helpful guidelines that have made designing my morning routine a lot clearer for me. After all, my perfect morning is probably totally different from your perfect morning.
As a background, I’ve always loved mornings. I really have! Even back in high school and college swimming days when I was up early to jump in the cold water (I HATED morning swim practice!), the feeling of being finished with a workout by 7 am just made me feel sooo good. I fell in love with morning workouts just from the sheer fact of knowing that at the end of it I would feel like a million bucks.
My mornings before kids were much more prolonged, because (duh) I was only taking care of myself instead of myself + two others. And while I definitely miss those leisurely morning routines where I could pack in a barre workout, a gratitude journal routine, a breakfast taco from Polvos, a shower, AND blow dry my hair before starting my work day, I know that’s not sustainable for me at this point.
Should You Create A Morning routine?
We’re all different, and I know that there are some of you who are night owls instead of early birds. (Must be nice on NYE… 😉 )
I believe that morning routines are essential to my day, but they’re totally customizable and can happen at any hour that I wake up.
I know without a doubt that when I go too many days without my morning routine, I can become depressed, listless, and lacking any real clarity or direction in my life. It’s pretty drastic how my life quickly changes when I fall out of habit from doing the things that help me to live at my highest level.
I really believe that a morning routine can be beneficial to anyone, and once you find the things that totally spark joy and bring you alignment, you start to crave that morning routine because you know how good it will make you feel.
The first hour of the morning is the rudder of the day.
What's important in a morning routine?
It really has to do with the goals in your current stage of life. I can tell you that the things I prioritized in my morning routine during my maternity leave were WAY different than my mornings pre-pregnancy!
A few things that you might want to be prioritizing, depending on your stage of life.
Calm -> meditation, waking before the rest of the house, or maybe just some deep breaths.
Rest -> sleep! I know that my morning routine basically consisted of getting as many minutes of sleep as possible during Dayton’s first month of life, and I felt so accomplished every time I could make that happen.
Clarity -> meditation apps and gratitude journaling.
Fitness -> morning studio classes or at-home workouts.
Productivity -> a coffee ritual and a quiet place to tackle an early to-do list.
Nature -> starting your day with some time outdoors.
I’ve done all of these depending on the particular stage of life I’m in. And I’m confident that my morning routine will continue to evolve throughout the coming years!
4 Tips To Designing A Mindful Morning Routine
1. Less is more. Ha! Coming from the girl who has definitely tried to squeeze it ALL into a 30 minute morning (meditate and visualize and gratitude journal and coffee and workout and shower and get a few chores done and then work at my desk and then CHAOS. Haha. It wasn’t good,) less is definitely more in a morning routine. I mentioned this little tip, and it has served me well.
Even though there are lots of teachers and coaches out there saying, “THIS is the number one thing you should be doing with your morning!!” the reality is that you simply can’t fit everything into your morning.
2. Find something that’s FUN. If it’s not fun, you won’t want to do it first thing in the morning.
This is why I was a member at a barre studio for so many years – even on those cold, rainy winter days, I would wake up in the dark morning, put on my soft barre socks, and drive to the cute, cozy studio where I was greeted by a kind (caffeinated!) instructor who had a 50 minute workout prepared. I seriously looked forward to it, and that made me get in the best shape of my life.
3. Choose your priority. Look at the list I made above and choose the thing you’re prioritizing at this stage of life. (It might be something else that I didn’t list!)
If you can find out what’s important to you right now, you can choose the activities that are most meaningful to you to start your day on the right foot.
If your mental health starts to get a little rocky in the afternoon, you might choose to download an app to start a meditation practice, or purchase a fun notebook to start a daily gratitude journal routine.
Or if you’re trying to get your body feeling strong and in shape, your morning routine could involve a 30 minute yoga class that you take each day.
4. Pick 2 activities to start. I’ve totally tried to do more than this, and sometimes it works…but I’ve found that 2 activities in my morning routine is kind of the sweet spot.
Here’s an example of 2 activities that go well together: wake up and brew your morning coffee, and focus on being mindful of every act of your coffee-making process (MINDFULNESS) including the smells, the feel of the water kettle in your hand, the sound of the coffee bean grinder. And then sit down with your coffee in a cozy, quiet corner of the house and spend 10 minutes writing down things that fill you with the emotion of GRATITUDE.
Here’s another example for picking 2 activities: wake up, and before you have time to get your brain going, sit on a meditation pillow and spend 5 minutes focusing on your breathing. Then, head to the yoga studio or lace up your running sneakers and do your morning fitness routine.
My current morning routine
Just like I mentioned in this post, I’ve been dividing my morning routines into two different time blocks: MENTAL health, and PHYSICAL health.
On a morning when I’m doing my mental health routine, it will look like this:
1. Wake up, grab my cozy robe and slippers, brush my teeth.
2. Make my morning pourover
3. Head into my office and do a 20-30 minute meditation (I have a few guided meditations I’ve collected throughout the years from various courses I’ve taken, books I’ve read, and podcasts I’ve listened to.)
3a. Mini version: if I’m short on time, I skip the meditation and do a 5 minute gratitude journal practice instead. You can read all about how I do gratitude journaling right here!
And here’s my physical health morning routine:
1. Wake up, brush teeth, immediately change into workout clothes that I put out the night before.
2. Do the workout I decided to do the night before, no negotiations
3. Make my coffee, shower, and start the day.
Right now, at this current stage of life, I’m probably doing my mental health routine 4-5 times per week and my physical health routing 2-3 times per week. That’s just where my priorities are right now!
But like I said before: I’m sure they’ll change and evolve as I continue moving through life.
So, what about you? Are you a morning routine person?
Any absolute MUSTS on your morning routine? Like, if you had to pick 1 non negotiable to be in your mindful morning, what would it be?
I’m actually super curious and I’d love for you to leave a comment and tell everyone!
Ok friends, I’m off to get some work done. Talk to you tomorrow!
PS: here’s my guide to making a great cup of coffee at home, and my 2 little tips for morning productivity.
