disclaimer: these are things I would like to do and sometimes do but cannot claim to do these all the time
Morning routines are the great revolution of our generation. Don’t get me wrong. I have a great morning routine. I sip my coffee, journal, read, and get my daily dose of movement.
Despite being an advocate for the morning routine, the rest of the day can still be a mess.
The college lifestyle is lack of routine so a morning routine won’t do much if you don’t set yourself up for the morning.
To make your personal morning-coffee-gratitude-writing-extra-walk-and-HIIT-routine beneficial, here are 10 things you can do to make sure you have the best morning routine for you.
Be resonable
Don’t make a 15 step, 4 hour routine if you have to get to work at 8. Maybe your routine is coffee-meditate-workout-work. Quick and simple. When you create the routine, set reasonable expectations for what YOUR life looks like.
Get outside
Did you know that getting outside will help you sleep better? And sleeping better will let you have the morning routine you want! Your circadian rhythm loves for you to get sun during the day.
Move
The best way to sleep on time is to be physcally tired. We all end the day mentally tired, but if you’ve ever spent the day hiking, skiing, swimming, ect. you know what it feels like to be physically tired. Try incorporating movement every day to help
Stop the caffeine
Figure out how late in the day you can drink caffiene without it affecting your sleep. I can drink up till about 1 or 2 p.m.. Any later, I know it will affect my ability to sleep. And bad sleep = bad morning.
Don’t save it for bedtime
Unless you KNOW you do your best at night, nighttime is not when you should be working. You shouldn’t have a ton of work left for the evening if you’ve carefully prioritize your day. If you can, save the night for friends and family. Try to engage in hobbies or relax a little bit before bedtime.
If you can, put whatever you left to do at the top of the next days list. If you can’t sleep till its done, get it done. Just be sure to shorten your morning routine so you don’t have to cut sleep.
Lay out your gym clothes
Make the steps in your routine easy. Coffee? Get it ready the night before. Gym? Lay out your clothes in advance. Homework? Have you work area clear and ready to go.
Set your phone away from your bed
No middle of the night checking. No first thing in the morning checking. Make your phone and bed strangers. This will help you go to sleep and wake up with a clear mind.
Set your alarm 10 minutes earlier than you think you need
Because a rushed morning ritual isn’t worth it. It’ll just add stress. The morning routine needs to have room to breathe– shortened and lengthened to how long you have that day. Get up a a bit earlier so you’re already going before you need to and if you need to hit snooze, you have time for that too.
Make a list
You have to know what you’re going to do. Start your day knowing the most important things you are going to do that day. This leaves less room for procrastination. I like to make a general agenda the night before so my day is fairly sketched out before I even start it.
Go to bed
Gotta be able to get up to get at it! Go to bed at a reasonable time so you can feel ready for the next day. This means limiting T.V., games, YouTube, scrolling, working, etc right before bed.
Prioritize your sleep. You’ll be more likely to start your morning routine if you can get out of bed.
Halle Brown 