Happy Monday! I’m sharing another quick Monday chat with you today. If you want to see all of them, click here to see posts like what I eat in a day, weight gain + food blogging, and the truth behind free restaurant meals for bloggers.

Today I’m talking about something very near and dear to my hear: my favorite morning routines!

Whether you realize it or not, you have a morning routine. I didn’t think I had one until I read Laura Vanderkam’s book 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think in which she encourages her readers to track their daily time spent to see how many hours per week they’re spending on each activity, like sleeping, working, eating, etc. (And how much time is wasted on “unknown” activities!”)

Here’s what I realized: I thought I was waking up earlier than I actually was. I used to tell people I woke up around 7, but when I tracked my time spending for a week, I didn’t really accomplish anything until about 9:00 am. So, it turns out that my morning ritual was pressing snooze, checking instagram, scrolling through my emails (but not actually responding to them), and generally wasting my morning hours.

I mean…it wasn’t an exceptional morning routine. It wasn’t something I had even tried to create. It just happened to me, and I was living it mindlessly.

I’ve made several intentional changes into my mornings in the past couple of years, and as a result, I’ve noticed much more clarity and precision in my days. I also feel much more peace and happiness in my life when I follow these routines.

Now, I’m not saying that my particular routines are right or wrong…they’re just, you know, mine! They work for me, and I’d love to hear what works for you. Leave me a comment, please!

My Favorite Life-Changing Morning Routines

1. Waking up early for barre classes. (You knew I’d mention this one, didn’t you?!) I love waking up early for my workouts at The Barre Code because I feel so powerful having accomplished an intense workout before 7 am. I don’t have to think about working out for the rest of the day..I’m just done!

I shared tips to wake up early for a morning workout right here, and then 5 more tips here.

I love this morning routine because it puts my physical and mental health as the first priority of my day. When I’ve taken care of my body and my mind, I feel much more capable of taking care of other responsibilities.

2. A morning pour over. I was a low maintenance coffee person until I met Nate 5 years ago, and now my coffee routine is so complex. But I love it because it brings me such a deep, flavorful cup of coffee. There’s mindfulness in brewing my own cup of coffee each morning, and I look forward to the mental clarity and energy jolt that caffeine brings me.

I use this stunning electric kettle to heat the water, this coffee grinder, this pretty white gram scale, and either a Kalita Wave, an Aeropress, or a Clever to brew the coffee.

I love to make my coffee and then sip on it while I’m working through my email inbox or moving on to morning routine number 3…

3. 10 minutes of writing in a gratitude journal. Friends, writing in a gratitude journal has absolutely changed my life. When I choose to start my day by focusing on the positive and the abundance instead of the negative and the lack, my entire mindset shifts for the entire day.

I’m a firm believer that I create more of whatever I focus on (Law of Attraction), so when I focus on the good in my life, I create more of that. And when I focus on the lack, I get more of that! So, starting my day with gratitude is HUGE for creating happiness, abundance, growth, and love!

My monthly goal for this month is to write in my gratitude journal every single day. My goal is to make it as much of a habit as drinking coffee! If you want to see all 12 of my little monthly goals for 2019, click here.

I’m currently using a this pretty gratitude journal, although in the past I’ve just used my regular moleskine notebook. Both are great. It’s not about the notebook, the pen, or even the words on the page; it’s all about the emotion of gratitude. That’s why I like to set my timer for 10 minutes and feel gratitude for all 10 minutes. The number of pages I fill up during that time is inconsequential.

4. Making my bed. Sooo simple and easy, but it makes a huge difference in my morning! Here’s why I love making my bed:

• Keeping my bedroom tidy helps my mind to stay organized. Since I mostly work from home, it’s important for me to keep things cleaned up throughout the day. That all starts with my bed when I wake up.
• If I put something really quick and easy on my to-do list and I cross it off first thing in the morning, I get a sense of accomplishment. Making my bed takes less than 60 seconds, but it creates a snowball effect on the rest of my day. It’s an initially small action that can create a powerful trajectory on my day.

I feel like most people are either #teammakeyourbed or #teamidontcare. Haha. I’m clearly on the former, but I’m also one of those people who loves making a to-do list and including things I’ve already done just so I can cross them off.

I’m guessing you can relate to making your bed, you also relate to the list-crossing-off thing, too. 😉

5. Tidy living room/unload dishwasher. These are the two little things I like to do every morning before I ever open my laptop and get to work.

Since our living room is the first room I see when I walk in the front door, I love for it to look tidy. I pick up couch cushions, books, coasters, water cups….anything that might be askew from watching a movie the night before.

And I always unload the dishwasher right when I get home from my barre workout! If I put everything away, I’m able to keep dishes loaded throughout the day (if I eat lunch from home, while cooking/eating dinner, etc) and it keeps things from piling up throughout the day.

I mean…is it too much to call unloading the dishwasher a “life-changing routine?” I don’t think so!

Unloading my dishwasher takes 2-3 minutes, but when I skip this in the morning dishes start to pile up in the sink during the day and they get all crusty and gross. It’s just a quick little step to take in my morning that makes a big difference throughout the day.

I’d love to hear from you! What’s a routine you’ve incorporated into your morning that has made a profound difference in your life? Let me know!

Looking for more posts in my Monday chat series? Click here!