HOW DOES YOUR DAY START?

My morning routine used to be…

 

Alarm goes off at 5.50am.

Get up.

Check phone.

Brush teeth, get dressed.

Pack my pre-prepared breakfast / lunch into my bag.

Hit the road, sometimes still wiping the sleep from my eyes.

 

I would arrive to work feeling uninspired and unmotivated for the day to come.

 

Then one day, I decided to get up just 10 minutes earlier to fit in a mini meditation before I left the house. My mornings suddenly changed for the better! Since then, I have been experimenting with the way I start my day, adding in additional components and tweaking my routine to make it fit within my time constraints.

Once an ‘up and out the door in 20 minutes’ kinda gal, I now set my alarm half an hour earlier than I need to in order to give myself this little window of quiet time before the working day begins. My morning ritual has become part of my everyday routine, and to me it is an important reminder to slow down, appreciate the little things, and just take a few deep breaths.

 

To perfect my morning ritual took a little bit of trial and error, but it now goes something like this…

 

Alarm goes off at 5.20am.

Get up, avoid looking at notifications on phone.

5-10 minutes of stretching and foam rolling (first thing in the morning is a great time to do some stretches if you wake up feeling achey and sore!)

5 minutes of positivity: I write down something that I am grateful for, something that I am excited for, and one or two goals or positive intentions for the day.

10 minutes of breathing / meditation / visualisation practice.

Brush teeth, get dressed.

Pack my bag for the day.

Hit the road, usually with a Spotify playlist or podcast to enjoy on my way to work or the gym.

 

By the time I leave my house, I’m feeling awake and alert with a spring in my step. My morning ritual sets me up with my head in a positive space. I have had the chance to mentally prepare for any big events coming up, and I’m feeling calm and relaxed, ready to tackle my day.

Could you be getting more out of those first few waking moments?

A few ideas could be:

  • Exercise or stretches (of course, at the top of the list!)

  • Meditation / Mindfulness

  • Gratitude practice

  • Visualizations

  • Journaling

  • Writing a good intention for the day

  • Music

  • Positive affirmations

  • Diaphragmatic breathing

Mould your morning ritual to be whatever you want it to be - it can take as much or as little time as you want. Whatever you think will give you the best possible kick start for the day ahead! Listen to your favourite song? Sure! One minute dance party? Why not. Run a lap of the house naked? … I’ll leave that one up to you.

 

*** DISCLAIMER *** I do have to admit - I am one of those annoying ‘early bird gets the worm’ kind of people, and I do realize that not everyone is this way inclined. If a morning ritual is off the cards for you, why not create a bedtime ritual instead, to give yourself some time and space to wind down at the end of the day? Or a moment of mindfulness during your lunch break, to unplug from the day and remind yourself of all the things that you have to be grateful for?

Give it a go and see the difference that it makes to your day!

Yolanda van Vugt