Do you have a morning routine? I’m definitely not a morning person, I have always struggled to get out of bed, even when I’m enjoying my job or am excited about my day. What I really love though, is lists and plans and processes, and I love getting stuff done, so my messy lethargic mornings were holding me back.
Earlier this year I came across Beth Kirby’s slow morning routine via her blog Local Milk & decided to adapt it for myself & see what happened. Could creating a routine not only improve my mornings, but also improve the rest of my day?
Reader, it worked.
I am getting up earlier, feeling more calm and relaxed as I start my day, and once I get started I am getting a lot of things done efficiently. Not every day is perfect, some days I do none of the things on the checklist. But most days I do most of the things, and that’s enough to put me on track.
Here’s my morning routine, perhaps you might like to adapt it for yourself. The routine is the same on weekends.
6.45am Alarm goes off, no matter what time I went to sleep. Cuddle the cat and my partner for a few minutes to wake up gently.
7.00am Yoga and Meditation, the latter being 5 to 10 minutes
7.30am Shower, dressing, hair drying, packing backpack, preparing breakfast
8.00am Eat breakfast & read, usually a short story
8.20am Feed cat & water plants
8.30am Leave for work, or start weekend activities
The biggest trap that can disrupt my morning and throw my routine into disarray, and my mind with it, is my phone. I don’t allow myself to even look at it to check the time from when I dismiss my alarm until I start eating breakfast. I found checking the time led to checking notifications, and then my morning was gone, so staying away was my only solution.
Tips:
– Though I have been doing yoga classes for quite a while I like having videos to refer to. I’m a fan of Yoga with Adriene on Youtube for her calm voice and no-nonsense videos, I also really love Dana Falsetti on Instagram.
– I use the app Headspace for guided meditation. The first month is free if you want to try it out and see if it is for you.
