MY MORNING ROUTINE
So as morning routines go, my morning routine is fairly uncomplicated. I have to say, I used to be one who just winged-it and procrastinated on just about everything. It actually wasn't until I got pretty sick with a stress-related illness that I had to check in with myself and put some systems in place to help me get at least one "win" each day!
You know, morning routines are all the rage now in the personal development and entrepreneurship space. I don't know of one self-help podcast you can turn on and not find at least one episode about the subject, or a guru who chats about it being the "key to their success." Look, I don't know if the implementation of a morning routine makes me a better entrepreneur, but I definitely have no doubt that it makes me a better person, and citizen of the world...for sure!
My morning always starts with not one, but two wake up calls! The first is from my alarm, which goes off seven days a week at the same time! Not that this is necessary, as I find alarms very...alarming! But, my body actually wakes itself up prior to the alarm going off, which is how I can tolerate setting it! I find that this consistency with waking up at the same time everyday keeps my accountable to my routines. When this alarm goes off I wake and this is when I say my morning prayers.
I think that getting anchored into my spirituality first thing in the morning sets me on the path of clear purpose and provides me the grace I need in order to make it through the day.
Now, the second wake up call comes from my pup! This wake up call I never mind as it always seems to put a smile on my face first thing in the morning! I mean, I think after my morning prayers, it is the best way to get my day going! My philosophy is when you have a smile on your face you have no choice but to be happy.
After morning hellos with the pup the first thing I reach for before getting out of bed is my water. I keep a carafe of water next to my beside. This encourages me to start my day on the right foot with hydrating my body. I always want to make certain that I am positioning myself for daily wins from the start and anything that is going to keep me on track with my hydration goal is a 'heck yes' from me!
The next thing on my agenda is actually visualization. I visualize my life. I think about what I want to create, how I want it to look. I literally focus in on the desires of my heart and picture it in living color. I know this sounds quite "woo-woo" but I find that when I lock in on my vision and desires, it gets me motivated to do what is necessary to get there, even the mundane tasks that I may not want to tackle or those that I am prone to procrastinate on from day-to-day. Sometimes I will keep an inspiring book or magazine near and skim it for a few minutes to spark some inspiration! There are some great strategies to living life by design in the book by Steven Covey, entitled, 7 Habits of Highly Successful People.
After visualizations it’s time for my workout. I always try to do it in the morning before my brain actually knows what’s happening!
Once done it is all about the personal care! I wash up and moisturize! Moisturizing is a big part of my routine! And I don’t just focus on my face! My current skin care favorites are a body soufflé and ginger moisturizing oil, that I am sure I lather on way too much of, though it makes me feel absolutely delightful.
After my moisturizing party the next thing I do is to deep stretch. I find that when I incorporate deep stretching into my daily routine I am less uptight and it puts me in a state of relaxation. This is definitely a win for me a bit later if I am having to tackle morning traffic. I find that when I stick to this routine I am not in a rushed or agitated state, which I believe, helps me get to my destination safely, well, that and activity number one...prayer!
Once I am dressed, which I always attempt to do no matter if I am working from my home office or heading out to a formal meeting, I head to the kitchen. This is when I will tend to the pup, grab my prepped breakfast and get my coffee or black latte going!
While I am waiting for my morning latte, I prep a glass of water mixed with my favorite electrolyte booster, grab my personalized nutrition in the form of vitamins, which I always make sure to set out the night prior. I make sure to get these vitamins in every morning, because our bodies can only metabolize certain vitamins at specific times of day. So my morning vitamins are specifically ones that I must take in the morning in order to get the benefits of them. I grab the pup and head out to the back patio and turn on the morning news. While he is running about this is when I sit and catch up on the happenings around the world; I watch just long enough to finish my second glass of water and electrolytes. This is actually one of my favorite parts of the morning because it allows me to take in some fresh air and feel the breeze on my face, and depending on the time of year it guarantees I am truly awake!
I head back in after 10 minutes or so and make a bee-line to my latte! At this point I feel like I have earned it! From here, I head to my office, turn on my essential oil diffuser and practice my French vocabulary for about 20 or 30 minutes. (Becoming a strong French speaker is on my 100 things list!) Then it's time to shift toward work so I begin to check emails and pull my calendar up to start work for the day.
At this point in the morning I have attended to all my needs and still have quite a while before others start their day and the phone starts ringing! It is really nice to have accomplished so much in terms of attending to my needs, as I feel like I am ahead of the game.
Now, this routine has taken me a while to nail down and get into the groove of doing it consistently. I had to work out the kinks in order to make it work for me. If something is off I can really see it manifest in my productivity for the day, which I have to admit can be an irritant. I look at my routine as a free pamper party! It is like being at a nice hotel and having someone attend to your needs and having access to the spa whenever you want. I have just made this my day-to-day reality by infusing spa-like touches from the water carafe to the essential oils and everything in between! It makes me feel like I am on vacation and I mean, who would not love to have their life feel like a never-ending vacation. Am I right?!
Would you be interested in mimicking my routine or at least incorporating a few of my ideas into your own established morning? Tell me in the comments below what your morning routine looks like and if there is something new you would like to incorporate!
And just in case something in my routine piqued your interest, I have linked my favorite products that help get my morning started off right. Hopefully you can incorporate them into your morning in order to purposefully start your day off on the right foot!
