“It’s been said that the first hour is the rudder of the day. If I’m lazy or haphazard in my actions during the first hour after I wake up, I tend to have a fairly lazy and unfocused day. But if I strive to make that first hour optimally productive, the rest of the day tends to follow suit.” -Steve Pavlina
I honestly don’t know if other people are like this or not, but any time I get an email or see an ad for morning routines, I am immediately sucked in. I always want to know what other people are doing with their morning time.
Recently, I have had a few people ask how I find time to read or get a workout in every day and I thought I would share my secret with you all! It may only work for me, but on the off chance that it could help another person in need of good routine, I wanted to share.
The key to starting my day right is actually planned the night before.
I take some time to look at what I have on the calendar, I look at what workout is on the schedule and how long it will be. I also take into account the time my son has been waking up and what my husband’s morning looks like. (We often tag team in the morning with making breakfast and spending time with Ford.)
I then set my alarm for the next morning.
And here is a tip: I put my phone someplace I cant reach it from my bed.
I know that sounds unnecessary… but some people just need that extra motivation to get their bodies out of bed in the morning. You know who you are!
As for the morning itself, here are 5 things that I have found to shape my mornings into quality time that leaves my tank full and happy.
1) Start your day with water
I know the first inclination in the morning is coooffffeeeeeee but there are some major benefits to drinking a glass of warm water first! If you choose to go with warm water, it can increase your metabolic activity, allowing your metabolism to get kickstarted right then and there! It also helps with digestion, flush out toxins and improve circulation! Check out this article if you are interested in reading more about this!
2) Spend some time in prayer/silence/meditation
Whether you are religious or not, I find that most people do not have very many quiet moments throughout the day to check in with themselves and their bodies. This time in the morning is so important for setting the tone of your day and your intentions. Every morning I follow a prayer guide that takes me through verses in the bible and then leads me in prayer prompts. Sometimes I follow it and other times I pray for things that are on my heart and mind, but I love how it is scripture lead.
Meditation has been something that I have been slowly getting more interested in and recently I started using an app called Expectful that guides me through pregnancy/mother-baby meditations; it is perfect for the stage of life I am in. I have used Simple Habit in the past and have really enjoyed it and there are numerous others out there as well. I can normally only do 5 minutes at a time, but since I have started, I find that I am much better at it and I look forward to the silence and ability to check in with my body. If you haven’t already given it a try, I’d encourage you to!
3) Gratitude + Affirmation
There is so much power in seeing your life through a lens of thankfulness. When I start listing the things I am thankful for, it makes me tear up! If I am not intentional in listing those things, I often take them for granted (or worse, I don’t even notice them!)
Grab a journal, just a simple one for you in the morning. Take 5 minutes and write down 5 things you are thankful for. Trust me when I say, it has the power to change the way you see the day ahead.
And Affirmations! I have been learning so much about visualization and affirming to myself the potential I have. You see, I have big goals. I want to change the world! And I have to start somewhere. When I write down that I have already achieved certain aspirations, I actually start to visualize what that looks like, and instead of just dreaming it, I start planning it. I find myself making steps to get from where I am now, to where I want to go. I know my dreams aren’t going to just happen on their own… I have to be diligent in how I spend my time each day and what tasks I’m doing to help me get there. (Mind you, some days, my biggest goal is just to be a good mother to my son and keeping him alive and that is changing the world too!)
4) Read
I’m not sure what kind of reader you are. Do you like to read books one at a time or do you have multiple books going at once? I currently have a stack of books that I am reading, but I wasn’t always like that. I have found that in the stage of life that I am in, I have very limited time to read, but my appetite for reading has only grown since becoming a parent and a health coach. There are SO MANY good books out there! I can’t just read one at a time.
I normally read a section in a devotional of some sort, a parenting book, a personal development book, and a life-stage book. These are the types of books that I find most helpful in guiding me through my days right now and they help set my focus for the day as well. The strategies and tools I learn reading these books in the morning are used all throughout the day and often shared with my husband before I go to bed that night.
5) Get your workout in
If I don’t workout first thing in the morning, I am thinking about it all day and most often it is much harder for me to find the time or the motivation to get it done later. If I can plan ahead and get a 30-min workout done before my day really starts, I feel 10x more productive and I love knowing that I already did something great for myself! It is ALWAYS worth it for me to start my day like that!
If you are looking for a sure-fire way to get a workout in while not even having to leave your own home, check out the program we just started here! I can also give you some personal tips on how I have made this work for me and my family if you re interested!
So there you have it. This is what a typical morning looks like for me. Even though I find myself going to bed earlier and waking earlier (I feel like a real adult typing that haha) I think it has changed my days so much that it is absolutely worth it for me.
Give it a try! Let me know how it goes for you!
Coast x Coast Motherhood 