Make Your Mornings Great Again.

Cementing some morning habits into your life will have a huge impact on your physical and mental health. You don’t want to rely on motivation to get your day started right, taking care of your body and mind upon waking should be a non-negotiable just like brushing teeth. As soon as you wake up, you are faced with countless decisions which do not make it easier. Try to automate this morning routine process as much as you can. Find something that doesn’t take a crazy amount of effort to get started and get going. How we spend the first couple of hours upon waking will set the tone for the rest of the day. But don’t take my word for it, try it for yourself. With a little bit of discipline and consistency, your morning will have you feeling reallll good.

Here are my top suggestions:

1) Lemon water.

Start your day with lukewarm lemon water. It helps the immune system by hydrating and replacing lost fluids from overnight. It kickstarts your metabolism while balancing ph levels. Its high in vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, and potassium and serves as an antibacterial, antiviral, immune boosting, and energizing start to the day. In short, it’s very good for you.

2) Write. (Brain Dump / Gratitude)

Writing helps to clear the mind and organize our thoughts. Sit down with a piece of paper and write down anything that comes into your mind. Write down each thought as you are having it without worrying about whether it makes sense or not. From mind onto paper, free from internal judgment or control. Try to fill one page.

Write down one thing you are truly grateful for or that you are looking forward to on that day. It can be a big thing, it can be as small as a cup of coffee. Just put it on paper and take a moment to feel gratitude for it. Our mind likes to focus on the negative which is why starting the day by finding the good things is a very powerful thing to do.

3) Exercise

Go for a walk, jog, stretch, lift or do yoga. One reason we feel good after some exercise is that it helps remove excess cortisol and adrenaline from the bloodstream. Any exercise will do this. Yoga has the added benefit of allowing us to access our nervous system through breathing and allows us to find calmness, steadiness, and balance.

4) Breathwork / Meditation

Meditate. Observe your thoughts. See what’s going on. The point of meditation is not to control or silence the mind, it is to observe the mind. Silence is a by-product.

Focus on and control your breathing. How we breathe indicates how we feel. Our breath can be used as a tool. Use breathwork techniques to start the day feeling calm, centered, and energized.

5) No phone!!!

Do not use your phone first thing after waking. Protect yourself from information overload as you wake up. Everything we read and consume leaves a mental and emotional footprint. By employing a simple strategy of only getting onto your phone after you’ve done certain “non-negotiables”, you are allowing yourself a clear start to the day.

I think we owe ourselves at least one hour of self-maintenance every single day and the first hour of waking is the best time to do it. I have a Morning Routine tracker that can help you track your progress and keep you motivated as you try to implement some of these things into your morning.

One thing is for sure, you will only feel better.