Success and great results don’t just happen and successful people don’t just show up every morning and react to life as it happens either. They have a plan. They are prepared. They come from a place of being proactive rather than reacting to the demands of everybody else. Most successful people start the day with a morning routine that sets the tone and the course for the results they want to achieve. Could your morning routine use a makeover?
Here are some of the best morning rituals for health, happiness, and success
If you are looking for a better morning routine, pick and choose from the morning rituals below:
- Start the day well-rested.
Making sleep a priority pays off – in focus and productivity, but also in feeling less hungry and having fewer cravings. Aim (and plan) for a solid 7.5 hours of sleep (or more) each night.
- Move your body.
Willpower is strongest in the morning, and exercise happens more consistently if you do it early in the day. Moving your body first thing sets the tone and can motivate you to make healthier choices as the day goes on. Get bonus benefits when you move your body outdoors. Being outside has been found to increase feelings of happiness and health.
- Get quiet.
Start your day by connecting with yourself. Take five or ten minutes to sit quietly, meditate, or just breathe. Meditating can help you clear your mind and improve your focus.
- Ignore your email.
Set your own agenda in the morning instead of letting your inbox guide your decisions (and your emotions). Set a policy of not checking email for at least the first hour of your day. Instead, use the time to determine your own priorities – one to three action items that are your top action items for the day.
- Hydrate.
Getting enough water helps you stay energized and dehydration can be misinterpreted as hunger. If you’ve been sleeping, your system hasn’t been hydrated for hours. Start the day with a glass of water (it can get your system moving too).
- Feel Gratitude.
Set your mental course for the day by focusing on the good. Feelings of gratitude are strongly related to happiness. Start the flow going in the morning. List three things you are grateful for. You can write them down, list them mentally while brushing your teeth, or tell them to your partner or your children over breakfast.
- Create a no-brainer breakfast
Start off on the right food with nutrition. Come up with ideas for a few breakfast ideas that are super easy, nutritious, and leave you feeling like you are off to a great start nutritionally. Consider what works best for you in the morning and work from there (my standby is a green smoothie).
- Journal.
The benefits of a writing routine can (and have) filled books, but you don’t have to write a lot (or even well) for journaling to be effective. Spending a few minutes every morning writing about your thoughts and feelings, your dreams, your gratitude, or creating your ideal vision for the day ahead can help you build a powerhouse approach to life.
- Read something inspirational.
Give yourself the gift of spending ten to fifteen minutes reading something that inspires you, motivates you, challenges your thinking, or connects you to what you believe. This morning ritual can be both restorative and incredibly powerful.
- Set it on autopilot.
Make your mornings as easy as possible. Choose your morning rituals and make them habit and routine. Do them at the same time, in the same order. Set expectations about when you’ll wake up – and stick to them. Put the things you’ll need in the same places every day so they are easy to find. Oh, and if you are a coffee drinker like me, consider a coffeemaker with a timer. Waking up to a fresh-brewed mug of coffee may just make everything else that much better.
Take good care,
