When starting your day with a morning routine. It is one of the best things you can do to start your day off right. By allowing yourself to get into the habit of doing things repetitively. Which makes your day easier. Therefore, most parents have a normal schedule for their kids. As adults, we get away from these or we might not have learned them. Once you set your day with a morning routine, it set the motion for the rest of the day, making your inspiration, organization, and production excel. That is why so many successful people have routines they follow.
Kids do much better when they have a morning routine to follow. It allows them to learn what they need to do and when to do it. Get up, get dressed, have breakfast, then get ready for school. Which sets the stage for the rest of their day. Parents make sure kids have a nightly routine to ensure they get plenty of sleep for the next day.
Know Yourself
Yes, that is what I said. What do I mean by that? Reflect on yourself. Think hard about what you need to do. Here are a few questions you should ask yourself. This will give you the knowledge required in order for you to set up a schedule and create your morning routine. Be honest when answering these questions. It will not do you any good if you lie to yourself. Like saying, yes, you are a morning person, then you hit snooze six times. If this is the case, then you will have to allot more time in your schedule.
- Can you stick to a schedule, or do you procrastinate?
- Are you a morning person? If not, then what is required in order for you to get out of bed?
- Place the clock on the opposite side of the room.
- Set more than one alarm.
- Going to bed extra early, ensuring you get enough sleep to hear the alarm in the morning.
- Do you like to get dressed when you get up or lounge around in your pajama taking your time?
- How about showering? Do you do it in the morning or in the evening?
- Want a hot breakfast or a cold one?
- Are you prone to unexpected guests showing up at your door?
- Do you have kids to get up and make sure they stay on track with their morning routine?
- Pets to be fed, walked, or given attention?
Waking Up Early
If you are not a morning person, it could be difficult to crawl out of the warm, comfy bed. This can be true even for a morning person. So, what are some benefits of getting up early that might entice you to crawl out of bed?
- Allows you to not have to rush. Nothing is worse than having to rush around trying to get everything done, only to realize you forgot half of what you wanted to do or something important, like your wallet or your office keys, because you got up late.
- Allows you to relax and enjoy your morning drink, whether it be coffee, tea, juice, or something else, like an energy drink. A glass of water is most beneficial to your body, because it helps to rehydrate the body’s cells, plus it is great for flushing out toxins. While you sit near a window, enjoying the natural beauty outside and watch mother nature’s creatures move about.
- Plan out your day. Look at the projects needing to be accomplished. Make the project you dread the most, number one on your task list. That way, once you have it tackled and marked, complete. You know the worst is over and the rest of your day should be smooth sailing. Well, you can pray, right?
- Journal your encouragements, inspirational quotes, or things you want to learn. Record the accomplishments you have achieved. The things you are grateful for. Are you blessed? If so, how? What things do you want to focus on in the future? We all want to self-improve, and this is a great way to track your success. Remind yourself of your attributes. For example, you are strong, smart, capable, kind, and worthy. Today will be a great one. You could even use inspirational stickers to help. Check out Erin Condron’s and Amazon.
- If you are your own boss or someone that needs to, track expenses. This is a great time to log in your expenses from the previous day.
- Opportunity to have a healthy breakfast. Give you plenty of time to prepare it. A wise decision would be to plan out your meals for the week, then you know exactly what you will be having. This is great in case something needs to be thawed out, plus, you will know exactly how much is required to prepare the meal.
- Give yourself time to leave early. There are delays that happen every day. For example, bad weather, traffic, a flat tire, your vehicle does not start, or a kid missing the bus. If you take the bus, it gives you time in case the bus comes early or late.
- A morning exercise program will get your blood pumping. You will focus better during the day. A ninety-three-year-old woman walking around Walmart said, “The key is to keep moving.” Sometimes, it is wise to listen to our elders. Here are some ways to keep moving.
- Yoga
- Tia Chi
- Walking
- Running
- Biking
- Treadmill
- Exercise Bike
- Personal Trainer
- Take time for yourself. What do I mean? Set aside time solely for you to do your favorite things, such as soaking in a tub with bubbles and candles. Do your nails or read a book. Meditate to get your spiritual side aligned with your body. Listen to your favorite shows:
- Podcasts
- Radio
- News Station
- Avoid your phone. Have downtime for the tech world, it will still be there when you have to tackle it. However, you will be better prepared because you will be in a positive mindset to do so.
Many people keep track of their tasks using their daily planner book, others use planners on their devices (i.e., phones, tablets, or computers), and some use a journal or a checklist. Either way, when you start off setting up the schedule that you want to follow, it may be difficult at first. However, in the long run, it will make your daily life easier to stick to and become second nature.
It can help relieve stress, anxiety, and allow you to become more productive, which gives you a sense of accomplishment. Allows you to prioritize your time. Freeing up time to spend on yourself or a loved one.
When setting up your schedule, you want to make sure that you do not overbook yourself. There will be trial and error until you get it right. Give yourself at least a five to ten minutes interval in between your tasks. This allows you extra time should something run over. There is nothing worse than having a pack tight schedule to the point when one thing runs over it throws your whole day out of whack. Making you feel depressed or down because you did not accomplish what you set out to do.
The last thing you want to do is get frustrated and give up because your schedule went haywire. Do not think this will not happen. Well, it happens all the time. Even to successful people. So, learn from the people before you in setting up your routine. Make sure to always schedule time for yourself and your loved ones.
Now you can use more than one planner to set up your routine, or you can put it all in one. You will need to think about what is best for you. This falls under the section above getting to know yourself because only you know what you like. You may try different things until you figure out exactly what is the best way for you. Do not fret, that is perfectly fine because it allows you to grow. If you have to start over, it is not failing; it is progressing. Just continue until you achieve your goal. Let us face it. We all want to be successful in our lives, which is why it is good to start the day with a morning routine.
Another thing to consider is The Importance of a nightly routine. You will see how it can all tie together to make you prioritize your time. The best thing about routines is it allows you to reinforce what you are capable of, what you can control, and to handle the things you cannot.
Karen Carnahan 