This blog post shares the best morning routine for success and the 3 secrets you need to know about it.
Morning routine content is everywhere nowadays. There’s the belief that if you have a good morning routine, then you’re bound to have a successful day. If you’re like me, you probably love watching others’ morning routine videos on social media. You might take inspiration from them and feel excited to incorporate some of the same elements into your own morning routine. On the flip side, you might feel downright overwhelmed and find yourself wondering what the best morning routine for success actually is.
Truth be told, the best morning routine for success is the one that works for you — there’s no one “right” routine that works for everyone. There are, however, 3 secrets you need to know in order to create your very own.
Secret #1 – Consider three key elements
In order to have a morning routine for success, you should consider including habits touching on physical, mental and spiritual elements. When we wake up, we should start our day by getting in touch with ourselves. Jumping out of bed and stumbling around to rush out the door before you’ve even checked in with yourself is definitely a recipe for disaster. Let’s get into each of these elements a little bit more.
Physical
When you first wake up, it takes a few minutes to get going. In order to signify to your body that you’re awake and ready to start the day, you should definitely get some movement in. This doesn’t mean you have to do a super intense cardio workout or go on a five mile jog. Something simple like stretching or doing a few of your favorite yoga poses will do the trick. My personal favorite thing to do is go on a gentle thirty minute walk, either in my neighborhood or on my treadmill. Not only does this wake my body up, but it also wakes up my mind and gets me out of my groggy morning state quicker.
Mental
Once you’ve warmed your body up, it’s time to tend to your mind. If you start your day off by going on your phone to check emails or scroll through social media, there’s a good chance you’ll end up feeling anxious or negative in some way. Instead, try warming your mind up in other ways. You could do this by checking your calendar/planner to review your schedule for the day. Consider doing a quick language lesson on Duolingo, the Wordle of the day or even journaling with a fun prompt. Activities like this will let you decide how you want the day to go.
Spiritual
One of the biggest keys to having a morning routine for success is doing something good for your soul. Whether or not you’re a religious or spiritual person, we can all do something to make our inner selves feel good. If you are religious, you could take some time to pray or read scripture. Lots of people opt for meditation early in the morning so they can set a positive intention for the day. If you’re not into any of that, try blasting your favorite music or soaking up some sunlight on a gorgeous day. Whatever feels like a mood-boosting activity to you is the one to include in your morning routine.
Secret #2 – Create different “levels”
Even though it’s tempting to have a one-size-fits-all morning routine, we need to acknowledge that no two days are the same. Maybe Tuesday morning was bright and sunny and you also got 8 hours of sleep the night before, so you had no issue going through all your morning rituals. Wednesday morning, though, is cold and gloomy, plus you tossed and turned all night. You can barely get out of bed, and when you do, you kick yourself because there’s not enough time for a walk or reading your book. You think, “Well, this day is gonna suck” and do your best to get out the door on time so you’ll only be late to work, not super late.
To give ourselves grace and combat that black and white perfectionistic thinking, we need to create different levels of our morning routine — one for high energy days, one for mid-energy days and one for low energy days. You might even divide your levels up for other reasons, like having a quicker morning routine on days you have to be in the office for work vs. a slower, more mindful routine on days you work from home.
To do this, start off by writing down your most ideal routine. You can visit my blog post “Building a Routine | The 5 Best Steps For Success” for more guidance on this step. This will be your high-level routine. For your mid-level routine, cut out the parts that are nice to have but not necessary. For your low-level routine, make sure you only include the bare bone basics.
Here’s an example:
High-Level Routine (AKA you got enough rest/ woke up on time/ are in a good mood)
- Wake up 6:30am
- Meditate for 20 minutes
- Go to the gym
- Shower
- Morning skincare routine
- Get dressed and ready
- Review planner
- Eat breakfast
- Pack lunch
- Leave for work
Mid-Level Routine (AKA you woke up a little late/ you’re feeling just okay)
- Wake up (at whatever time)
Meditate for 20 minutes(listen to favorite music instead while getting ready)Go to the gym(Go for a 10-15 minute walk)- Shower
- Morning skincare routine
- Get dressed and ready
- Review and update planner
- Eat breakfast
- Pack lunch
- Leave for work
Low-Level Routine (AKA you didn’t sleep great/ woke up late/ you’re not feeling great)
- Wake up (at whatever time)
Meditate for 10 minutes(listen to favorite music instead while getting ready)Go to the gym(Go for a 10-15 minute walk)Shower(Wash face and use dry shampoo)Morning skincare routine(Apply moisturizer only)- Get dressed and ready
Review and update planner(Do this when you get to work instead)- Eat breakfast
Pack lunch(Give yourself grace and get lunch out later on)- Leave for work
When you give yourself these options, you won’t ever have to feel bad about not following routine. Even if you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, you can still feel good about getting the essentials done and make the most of the day ahead of you.
Secret #3 – Give it a test drive
Once you’ve dreamt up your ideal morning routine for success, test it out before committing to it. On a non-important day, either on a weekend morning or on a day you know will be low-key, wake up at your determined time and run through your routine. Why? Because there’s nothing worse than saying you’ll do something only to realize it’s virtually impossible when the time comes.
Take this for an example: If you’re the type of person who likes the idea of meditating but never really feel like it “works” for you, be honest with yourself after you’ve completed your test run thirty minute session. Do you really see yourself doing that each and every morning?
A lot of times, routines sound better on paper than they do when the time comes to actually do them, especially if you’re trying to make a routine for the ideal you, not the real you. Only do what you have to do plus whatever makes you feel happy.
In Conclusion…
The best morning routine for success is the one that makes you thrive! And you’re the only person who knows what does that for you. What is your morning routine for success? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!
This blog post was all about creating a morning routine for success.
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