Waking Up Well

I don’t often catch sunrise photos as I’m doing my morning routine or in the summer, it rises so early, but in the winter, the sun rises later, so I caught this beautiful sunrise one morning.

I’ve practised several different morning routines over the years, but none have really stuck. I understand the importance of a good morning routine, and I am always happier when I can get myself settled and set in the morning before the hecticness of everything starts, but inevitably, the lure of my cozy bed wins out over the alarm clock.

Recently, I took Mel Robbins’ Simple Steps to an Incredible Year course. I’ve done some online coaching and courses over the past couple of years, and I’m generally worn out from online engagement. I signed up for this one, though, and I thought I’d give it a try. It was phenomenal and she walked through some reflection and visioning exercises which I enjoyed. But her fourth video on setting a morning routine had the biggest impact (even if you skipped the first three sections and did the fourth, it would be so amazing). She talked about her morning routine and the science behind some elements of it which I found fascinating. She had some non-negotiables (which I totally negotiated, but I’m OK with that). I’ve been practising my version for the past couple of months and I’m truly enjoying it, so I thought I’d share. I highly recommend taking her course and creating your own morning routine (her course is totally free too!!)

Here is a recap of my newly revised morning routine:

No Snooze

I love snooze and the allure of staying in bed is so strong. There is strong science behind never hitting that button though. You can search it (I did as I wanted to know whether she was telling me the truth – she was) and I’m sure someone will explain it better than me. The short, simple version is that we sleep in cycles (I can’t remember exact times, but around 90 minutes). When we hit snooze, we send ourselves into another sleep cycle which we rudely interrupt when the alarm goes off again 9 minutes later. We often feel groggier and are less productive throughout the day because we didn’t complete the cycle.

I read up on the science and it made sense to me and I reflected on my experiences which aligned. I often felt worse after I hit snooze, and sometimes I played that game for an hour until I had to get out of bed and wake the kids up, and I’d then generally feel more tired than when my alarm initially woke me. The feeling I have when I get up and get through my routine far outweighs the time I stay in bed and hit snooze. To mimic the warm coziness of my bed, I heat up my Warm Buddy, and cover myself in a blanket in a comfy chair while I journal and read.

Make Your Bed

When you walk in your bedroom and your bed is made, you are less likely to climb back in during the day. For me, I have included tidying my bedroom and putting away any clothes that escaped from my closet. I love looking around my bedroom and seeing it clean and tidy. Then when I’m feeling overwhelmed by chaos or mess, I know I can go there to regroup.

Get Dressed

Mel says to get dressed for the day you want to have. If you want to exercise, then put on your workout clothes. I’ve been trying to wear some of my cute tops or sweaters and jeans rather than leggings or my Lululemon pants. For me, it helps me feel like I am creating some intention for my day. During the past year of working entirely from home, and not going anywhere, I haven’t been wearing my “cute” clothes and I feel the difference when I wear something other than lounge clothes.

Journal

Each day, I journal the following:

Gratitude – I choose three things from the previous 24 hours that I feel grateful for (see my posts on Searching for Optimism and Gratitude and Gratitude Reflection).

Excited - Then I choose one thing that I am excited about for that day. (There is research supporting this too which I explore in The Happiness Advantage).

Priority - I also choose one thing that is a priority for the day. Sometimes it’s something I need to do, but most times it’s more of an action that I can focus on for the day.

Journal - After that, I journal. Sometimes it’s superficial, but other times, I dig deeper. I allow myself to just journal without judgment or expectation.

Morning Routine - Lastly, I write out the 8 steps of my morning routine and any reflections I have on them.

High Five

High five your reflection in the mirror. This one is a bit awkward, but it’s one of Mel’s non-negotiables (and since I decided to negotiate one of her non-negotiables, I thought I’d give this one a try). I often forget, but I’m working on it.

Plan Your Day

I do a rough plan of my day in blocks. So it might look like this:

7-8 shower/get ready
8-9 deal with email, 3 small tasks
9-11 work on project
11-12 meeting
12-1 lunch/walk
1-2 workout
2-4 work on project

 I’m more specific about the projects, but it’s just rough. There are days when I don’t end up following it, as something veers me off course, but it helps me plan my day a bit so that I don’t waste as much time thinking about what I need to do. I also look at my tasks and calendar and choose my top three most important, non-negotiable things to accomplish that day and write them down. (I do this after the rest of my routine but before I start working or looking at email).

No phone

I’ve started leaving my phone plugged in upstairs. I didn’t realize how much time I wasted on it in that first hour. Mel talks about carving that first chunk of the day just for you before you let anyone else in. So powerful. The odds that someone needs me before 7:00 am is pretty small. (I aim to get up at 6:00 am so that I can have an hour of quiet alone time before everyone else wakes up).

Read

I generally take the rest of the time until 7:00 am to cuddle in with a good book. I’ve been reading way more this way too which is great! On days I get up right at 6:00 am, I can get 30 minutes of reading in. On other days, it isn’t as much, but whatever I get is better than nothing and helps my day start better.

The order of these elements are flexible. I often don’t get dressed or make the bed until after I do the other things which is fine. What is important is that you create set elements and commit to doing them every day.

How we show up to lead is tied into our mental outlook. To lead well, we need to have a clear head space, and having a strong morning routine helps clear our minds so we can tackle the challenges our day may throw at us. I’ve always tried to get up early, but until recently, I worked during that extra time. For the past couple of months, though, I have created a different kind of morning routine and I have to admit that I love it!