A SUCCESFUL morning routine, the recipe for a successful day.

A good day starts with a good morning. But the foundation of a good morning actually begins the night before. How you go to bed does indeed has an influence on how you get out of it. So, it helps not to spend time on your phone before sleeping. Instead, grab a book, as sleep experts recommend reading before bed. This can shift your thoughts and help you let go of any worries, allowing you to sleep deeper and better. If you’ve planned to exercise in the morning, it also helps to prepare your workout gear the night before. This way, you’ve already decided not to fall victim to that horrible snooze button and you’ll be extra motivated to complete the task ahead.

Ah, the snooze button, is it your best friend or your worst enemy? Before I established my own morning ritual, I have hit that snooze button countless of times. How could it be any different, I thought back then. After all, I worked out a lot, had a demanding job, and a busy family life. I wanted to make the most of my sleep, and snoozing helped, right? Turned out, the opposite was true. By hitting snooze, I was already getting out of bed too late, which left me with no time for a proper breakfast, got dressed and then rushed to the door, only to take off to work. If I was lucky, I could give my kids (and wife) a quick kiss on the way out. So, I was already behind by 1, 2, 3, 4-0.

Due to this weak start, I was less capable of handling other challenges later in the day. But of course, I didn’t realize this at the time. I wasn’t (yet) aware of my routine. You see, just because you, as the reader, haven’t consciously established a morning routine doesn’t mean you haven’t formed one, even if it is unconsciously.

Good (and bad) habits

You inevitably form habits and patterns in life. The more you repeat something, the more it embeds itself in your neurological pathways. In the brain, there are certain neurons that communicate with each other and send neurotransmitters. Dopamine and serotonin are just a few of the active hormones that come to play with this process. The more certain behaviour is associated with certain rewards, the sooner (unconsciously) behaviour forms to collect those rewards. So, you might plop down on the couch with a bag of chips after a long day, which can be quite enjoyable. However, if you do this too often, you might start craving chips just by looking at the couch. This is caused by the association made between the reward (bag of chips) and the trigger (lounging on the couch). Let’s take a look at the things you can do to start a good (morning) habit. Remember, it may take a while for new habits to settle in, so have some patience and don’t forget to enjoy the process.

Get up early

Personally, I now quite enjoy it to wake up early. You feel like you have a head start on the world that’s still asleep, and you can calmly organize your thoughts for a good start to the day. Little sidenote: Make your bed right away, then you’ve already completed the first task of the day. And if the day doesn’t go as planned, you’ll have a nicely made bed waiting for you in the evening, inviting you to try again the next day. Also, start with a large glass of water. This has numerous benefits, from promoting the removal of toxins to boosting your metabolism.

Shh, be quiet

It’s not only nice for your fellow residents if you quietly slip down the stairs, but it’s also the foundation of a good start for yourself. Take a moment without your phone, and start the morning in a complete zen state. Meditating, thinking about things you can be grateful for (write down a few) and visualizing the goals you want to achieve (that day) contribute significantly to a productive and happy day. These are also habits you can build up. Just by thinking about what makes you happy, you train yourself to experience those happy feelings more often.

Move

Walk, run, climb, swim, jump, plank, have sex, do some exercises, whatever: basically anything that gets your heart rate up is good. For me, it works to go for a run with friends once a week (at 05:15 am!). Yes, if you think you’re the only one crazy enough to wake up so early, you’re mistaken. Ask some friends, and you’ll be surprised at the enthusiasts who are willing to break a sweat with you early in the morning. It gives a tremendous sense of accomplishment and it helps to connect with likeminded people. On the other days, I do some stretching exercises or a circuit with some basic push-ups, sit-ups, and/or burpees.

Take a cold shower

There’s nothing better (and more refreshing) than stepping under a cold shower after a good workout. If you still have trouble waking up, you’re definitely wide awake now. A cold shower has numerous benefits, it can help combat depression, and it is said it can even help you lose weight. So, if you want to extend your workout, step under the cold water.

Read a book

Open a book, even if it’s just to read a few pages. Reading is something you can do entirely for yourself. It offers a quiet moment, but also new insights and stimulates your imagination. Here’s a book tip for you, take a look at https://www.miraclemorning.com/, where author Hal Elrod takes you further in creating your ideal morning routine.

Write

You won’t be the first to be inspired to write after reading (see previous step). But even if you don’t want to entrust your life story to ink, it’s good to take a moment to write something. This can be difficult at first because, what should I write then? Well, start by writing down what you can be grateful for. Or which tasks you’re definitely going to accomplish that day (and then don’t forget to actually do them). Write down your affirmations, which you want to start the day with or that are important to you. It provides stability and a helpful thought that you can use throughout the day, even when things get tough. This way, you have all the tools to make every day the best day.

Breathe

Yeah, duhh, this is one of the points that I normally intend to keep doing. Great advice… Haha, no really, breathe. Take a minute to be aware of your breathing cycle. Many people only use a small portion of their lungs and don’t utilize the capacity that a good and full breathing rhythm offers. This promotes stress and poor circulation. Relax and focus on your breath, breathe in deeply through your nose and out through your mouth. Don’t force anything and feel completely here, in the now. It might sound a bit airy-fairy, but in a world where thinking has taken precedence, it’s good to daily consider what you feel. There’s plenty to find on this topic, just google the Wim Hof Method, which covers many benefits of conscious breathing.

Conclusion

Make some time to wake up earlier (and go to bed earlier 😉) and see how such a routine fits into your day. After this, you’ll have time and attention for all the things that demand your attention, but a good start is winning half the battle, and when you start to feel at home with it, you’ll see what you can accomplish in one day. The most important thing about a good morning routine is, of course, that it must work for you. So play around with it and see how you can create the most SUCCESFUL mourning routine for you.

Start small and see how it feels. You can easily start with the above points, do each of them for a minute or five and see what works. Personally, it has helped me immensely. Where I used to navigate myself through all the Lego blocks and Barbie dolls, quickly said goodbye to my family, and hurried to work, I now sit fresh and lively with a cup of coffee waiting for the kids to wake up. I run upstairs to cuddle or play with them before we start the day. This way, I’m not easily thrown off balance during the day and I’m fully prepared for all the challenges that come my way.

Have a great day!