It’s Monday, you hear your annoying alarm and then snooze it 15 more times trying to get in those extra five minutes of ignoring life, until you finally roll out of bed. First thing you do is check your phone, mindlessly scrolling through your feed on every single platform from emails to Instagram. Little did you know that this simple habit takes up 5-15 minutes of your morning and all that you did there was highjack your morning with cortisol and dopamine, putting yourself into fight or flight from the moment you woke up. Not to mention the other feelings that you get when you see that girl you envy on Instagram travelling to Europe AGAIN or the wild night your buddies had without you.
Your already running late so you speed through your morning making sure you get the basics done, teeth brushed, hair combed, shower and get dressed. Doing all of these completely on autopilot because you haven’t had your morning coffee yet and your brain is a bag of mush until you do. Finally on your way to work you grab your regular java order and try to feel somewhat normal even though your anxious, tired from your lack of proper sleep and the last thing you want to do is drive yourself to work. But you do it anyways because something has to pay the bills.
Sound familiar? A bit of an exaggeration but the truth is so many of us believe that we’re “not morning people” and accept our unpleasant and mediocre daily experience because we fail to question what role we play in the story. It’s a problem for most of us, and that 1% of the world that has managed to break out of this narrative and create a morning that maximizes their potential, and its working! If you win your morning, you win your day. Making your morning something that gets you up in the morning and brings you more joy, peace of mind and clarity can make a world of difference in the quality of your life after years of living in a way that does not serve you, and its not just that your “too busy” to make it happen. No one’s asking you to wake up with the 5am club and chant OM for an hour.
We have come up with 15 simple ways you can maximize your mornings and take back your peace and calm that you are SO deserving of.
First things, first:
1. DO NOT CHECK YOUR PHONE. We cannot stress this enough. Check your phone at least 15-minutes after your morning routine, if possible an hour after you wake up. No emails, messages or scrolling through social media. There are functions on your phone now that will limit screen time until a certain time, or putting your phone on airplane mode to help you.
Next:
2. Start a journalling habit first thing in the morning. Keep a notebook and pen beside your bed and start with 3 gratitudes. The highest vibration is gratitude, and an attitude of gratitude is only going to attract more abundance into your life. This shouldn’t take more than 1-5 minutes depending on if you want to go for a full journal entry or just a simple 3 gratitude practice. If your having trouble with this, pick up the Five Minute Journal that has it all laid out for you!
3. Hydrate! Chances are you haven’t drank any water for the last 8-10 hours so getting yourself a full cup of water by your beside each night will help make this habit super easy to install. It’s all about making this as easy as possible for you so that you don’t resort back to you old ways, especially for the first 21 days.
4. Move your body! We have been in one position all night, your body is bound to be stiff and sore but getting up, playing your favourite tunes and shaking it out or even a quick morning yoga practice can get your circulation going, clear some of that brain fog and make you feel a little happier, thanks to endorphins. This should not take longer than 5 minutes, your not going for a full 5k marathon, I mean you can if you want but maybe we should start here first.
5. Last but not least, take 5-10 minutes to simply sit in silence, take deep breathes and still your mind. Chances are, your brain is already running 1000 thoughts per minute through your mind and all that noise can be exhausting. Starting your morning off with a meditation or breathework practice does not have to be hard! There are apps these days like Calm or Headspace to get you started but truly it can prepare you for even the most difficult days. Shift your nervous system into parasympathetic mode first thing in the morning, it will make a world of difference especially for those of us who suffer from anxiousness.
There it is! This routine should not take you more than 15-minutes, and if you don’t have 15 minutes for yourself in the morning then you need to take a hard look at your priorities. You should always be your #1 priority. Mornings will come and go in the blink of an eye, the whole year will pass. Wouldn’t you rather look back on your life and think about all the mornings you spent changing the entire trajectory of your day rather than rushing through life begrudgingly ?
When you do this consistently, these start to add up to a greater positive effect on your brain and well-being then we can put into words. Each day won’t be perfect, but starting it off a little better will put you into a more calm, productive and creative state.
Which one would you rather have?
