Picture it—rising with the sun feeling rested and refreshed, you head to the kitchen for your cup of tea and take a few moments for some yoga stretches. After a little journaling and a fabulously filling breakfast, you lavish yourself with an essential oil infused shower then find the perfect outfit with ease before heading out to start your day at work. Driving to work, you can’t help but smile at the ease, comfort, and luxury of your morning routine. Sounds ideal, right? Sounds a bit impossible? It doesn’t have to be.
You can definitely ditch the days of checking your emails from your phone with one eye open while still in bed. You don’t have to press the snooze three or 400 times before realizing the time then, flying out of bed to throw on whatever smells clean. Then, skidding out of the driveway, crossing your fingers in hopes of getting all green lights so that maybe…just maybe, you can drive through McDonald’s to get something that we’ll call “breakfast.” It’s true, you don’t have to start your day like a bat out of hell.
Here’s the game plan to escape the chaos and use a morning ritual to get more done (promise!):
1. Early to Bed, Early to Rise: If you are staying up late but envision yourself waking up before the rooster crows, you can kiss that pipe dream goodbye. The early bird really does get the worm. This cliché just happens to be true, so get to bed early. If you typically lay your head at midnight, tried to get to bed 15 to 30 minutes earlier each night until you find your well rested sweet spot.
2. Set Yourself Up for Success: The secret to a morning routine your friends will envy is all about planning ahead. Want a deliciously decadent breakfast? Shop ahead of time to make sure that you’ve got the goods in your cupboard. Do you desire a wardrobe that gives you the perfect look every morning? Take the weekend to clean out your closet—if it doesn’t fit or hasn’t been worn in a year, ditch it, that way you have a closet that rivals Beyoncé. Success in the a.m. is all about advance preparation.
3. Let the Moonlight be Your Guide: Getting more done each day, actually starts the night before. Having an evening routine that nourishes your soul will definitely create an environment where you are feeling rested and ready for the next morning. This means taking all electronics out of the bedroom (if you must keep your phone, definitely put it on airplane mode.) Also, consider laying your clothes out the night before. I know you’re mom has been telling you this grammar school but she’s right.
4. Get a Game Plan: Close your eyes and take two minutes to picture your perfect morning. Next, work backward from the time you need to leave the house or hit the computer, then add all of the elements that would leave you feeling ready and refreshed to step into your morning. Budget your time in accordance with your ideal morning routine. The vision and writing out your game plan will let you know what time you need to pull back the sheets.
By creating a morning ritual, you are committing to stepping your best foot forward into every day. When we start the morning with self-care, we avoid stress and feeling behind the ball by being rushed throughout our whole day. By beginning the morning trotting rather bolting out of the starting gate, we set the pace for our day so that we are able to get more done with ease.
BONUS TIP: Stay the course. The first week of implementing your new routine, give yourself some wiggle room—habits are sticky, the longer you stick to it the better reward.
So happy to have my first article published in Aspire Magazine! I’d love to hear from you, what’s the best element of your morning routine? What do you wish you could change?
Let the moonlight be your guide. Love this one!
What a great article! My morning routine involves:
1) Kissing good morning to my boy-friend and giving him a hug;
2) Eating breakfast – always the same one, oatmeal with almond milk, peanut butter, cinnamon, and honey;
3) Watching news – NY1 – and discussing what is happening in the world.
I agree with you, Bailey, that rituals are very important. But it is also important to create such rituals for yourself. For instance, I noticed that I started to buy too much clothing and decided to create a ritual that helps me to fight with my consumeristic self. Basically, I just started ask myself if I will be wearing the piece that I am planning to purchase all the time. If the answer is no, I am simply leaving the store. This little ritual helped me not only to develop healthier relationships with money, but also to create a meaningful wardrobe. You can read more about my approach to shopping here: http://stylesprinter.com/the-danger-of-non-repeatable-clothing/
http://stylesprinter.com/
Totally how we roll in my house!! Im always surprised at how many people go to bed with their phone next to their head every night!! I beg you… leave it somewhere else!!!