I feel like “morning routine” can be a bit of a buzzword. It makes sense since whatever you do coming out of your deep (or not so deep!) slumber can really influence how the rest of your day will go. I have a morning routine that I am pretty happy with. It has very much become a habit and sets me up for the day before I go into a full day of taking care of a small human and ALL THE OTHER ADULTING THINGS. LOL.
I’ve had to tweak it a bit, but I have found that there are three things that must happen for me to feel superhuman (kidding!): quiet time, movement and some element of inspiration.
Quiet time can be a meditation (my favorite meditation apps are Calm and Mindful Mamas) or just sitting quietly and doing some deep breathing for a minute or two. Movement is either going for a walk, yoga, a workout (Burn Bootcamp is my jam) and/or tap dancing. Inspiration takes the form of inspirational reading or listening. I have a few physical books I read as well as daily emails I receive. Listening is always some sort of inspiring podcast (I’ve been an avid listener of the Daily Boost for nearly 15 years).
However, things change and one must adapt. Though I have tried hard to make sure these three things stay pretty constant. Most of the time (let’s be real here! LOL.).
My spring and summer morning routine looks a bit different from my fall and winter morning routine. In the summers I would typically get up, do yoga and a meditation, some inspirational reading, and go for a 1 mile walk (on our beautiful backyard golf course at that!). It was glorious! The colder months have changed that. I’m not a walk-with-a-headlamp type of gal. So I’ve had to adapt. I still do the yoga and meditation but have added tap dancing to my morning routine. Not a lot, 10 mins or so, 20 mins tops. That’s on days where I go to the gym later in the morning with my son. When I don’t go with him (which has basically been this entire week because he has been under the weather), I roll out of bed at 5am and make a 5:30am class (while listening to my inspirational podcasts in the car). Once I get home I have my quiet time but skip the yoga and tap dancing. So all the boxes are checked!
When I am not in my own bed … it all goes out the window! Seriously. LOL. Haven’t figured that one out yet.
So that’s what I do. I thrive on routine. When I have to, I adapt and go with the flow. And just turn my brain off and DO THE THINGS. That’s why making it all just a thing you do, a habit, is a game changer.
“First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you are inspired or not.”
~Octavia Butler
What can you make habitual in your life that will help you feel GOOD? Go do that.