I once read a blog post about how to become a morning person. They suggested to “Start your morning with something you love.” So I did. I slept in more. Because there is nothing I love so much in the morning as sleeping in.
But, then I started teaching English online. I had to start getting up at 4:30 am. And I had to be awake and ready to teach by 5:00 am. For a girl who hit the snooze button 4 times every morning and set 3 alarms before finally waking up around 6:55, 4:30 hit me like a ton of bricks. Not only that, I was teaching by 5:00. AM. I had to figure out a way to force my body to be ready to help a little mind when I was barely awake myself. That is when I learned the beauty of a morning routine.
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Benefits of a morning routine.
If you had talked to me a year ago, I would not have been able to tell you much about a morning routine. Getting up and moving in the mornings has always been difficult for me. Sure, I can do it if I have to, but not because I want to. Never because I want to. But, this summer, I have willingly chosen to continue teaching for VIPKID even though I no longer need the extra income. In fact, I usually wake up energized and ready for my day.
Setting a morning routine helps me wake my brain up, start my day at an easy pace, take care of myself, and be more productive. I honestly still cannot believe how helpful just this one thing has been with getting my morning started.
The best part is, morning routines are not just for people who get up early. If you work the graveyard shift, and get up at 3 in the afternoon, you can still have a “morning” routine. The routine is just there to help you start your day well and sets the stage for a productive, positive day.
Related: 8 benefits of a morning routine
Who is a morning routine for?
A morning routine is for anyone who wants to start every morning with purposeful steps that help you feel awake and energized. It is for anyone who wants to be more productive in their day. It is for anyone who wants to feel less stressed in the mornings or who wants to be healthier and enjoy their day more.
I’m guessing most of you think this sounds amazing. I sure do. I just didn’t think I could do it.
How important is a morning routine?
Let’s get this cleared right off the bat. A morning routine is vital. If you want to wake up feeling more energized and have a more productive day that is. Without a morning routine, I was basically zombie Meghan every morning. I got to work 2-3 minutes late at least twice a week, and I stumbled around my apartment as I groggily tried to get everything together for work at the last possible second. Because someone invented snooze.
But, a morning routine is a game changer. You might still press your snooze button every now and again. But, when you do get up, your brain is trained to go through the same steps that help it wake up. Now, no matter how tired I am, I can make it through the steps of getting ready in a decent amount of time. I am less rushed and less stressed.
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How should you start your morning?
Are you wanting to wake up earlier, but unsure how to start your morning? It is extremely hard to get things done, much less get things done efficiently when you are groggy and sluggish. Setting an established routine will help you keep going while you slowly wake up so you can start your morning well.
- What is the best time to wake up?
- What is the first thing I should do in the morning?
- What are the best things to do in the morning?
- How do you start the day with a positive attitude?
What is the best time to wake up?
I don’t have any real answer. Right now, I am waking up pretty early most mornings. But, I do sleep in on Tuesdays and Sundays. I still go through my morning routine those days as well. I found I like having time to get ready, drink a glass of water, have a quick workout, and pack my things for the day.
In order to choose the best time for you to wake up, start with what time you need to be at work. If you don’t work, decide what time you want to be completely ready for your day. Once you have that time, follow your morning sequence backwards. Subtract how long it takes for you to
- Commute to work
- Eat breakfast
- Get ready
- Any other morning activity you want to do.
Once you have allotted time for all of you morning routine steps, you will arrive at your ideal wake up time.
For me, I teach my first class at 6:00am. It takes me 5 minutes to brush my hair and teeth (5:55), 3 minutes for me to put together a morning snack (5:52), 12 minutes for me to set up my classroom (5:40), and 5 minutes for me to drink a glass of water (5:35). I like to give myself a little wiggle room, so I wake up at 5:30.
What is the first thing I should do in the morning?
The first thing I do every morning is drink a glass of water. Not coffee? No, not coffee. Believe it or not, water helps me feel more invigorated than coffee.
Once I have finished my glass, I feel less sluggish and more awake. I don’t chug it down, but I usually pour and drink half of the glass first thing. Then, I sip on it for a few more minutes.
I am usually dehydrated in the mornings, and the glass of water helps considerably. Plus, according to Angela Lemond, the national spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics , drinking a glass of water first thing in the morning boosts your metabolism by rehydrating your body and helping your metabolism run correctly. (USA today). So, win-win. I feel less tired, and my metabolism is better balanced for the day ahead.
What are the best things to do in the morning?
Everyone’s morning routine list will look a little different. But these are the steps that have worked best for me as I worked to establish my mornings and feel more alert and productive.
- Drink a glass of water.
- Brush my teeth.
I like to brush my teeth right away too. It may sound silly, but the mint helps me to be more alert and focused.
- Eat a healthy breakfast.
Eating a healthy breakfast is ideal. It not only helps me wake up, it gives me something to look forward too when the alarm is going off, and it sets the stage for a better day.
- Make my bed.
Hubs is still sleeping when I get up, teach, and leave for work. So, I don’t often get to do this step. But, I noticed that if I can make the bed, it helps close off the temptation to crawl back under the covers and have a nap. Even if I wasn’t planning on doing that, something about making the bed brings a finality that helps me keep moving.
- Do a quick workout.
A quick workout gets the blood moving. Five minutes of cardio or some easy stretching really helps me wake up and feel ready for the day.
- Complete fast chores.
Talk about productive. I feel so much better about my day if I complete one or two chores. I choose things that only take 5-15 minutes like folding a load of laundry, clearing the dishwasher, or tidying one room.
How do you start your morning with a positive attitude?
Mindset is everything. When you wake up in the morning, and you are sluggish, tired, and grumpy, it doesn’t set a great stage for the day. Now, don’t get me wrong, first thing in the morning, I am not very fun to be around. But once I have moved through some of my morning routine, I am in a much better frame of mind.
I find having a goal helps me considerably. I am a driven person, but I will not work for nothing. I need some sort of motivation to spur me on. Tutoring in the mornings has been helpful because I know my students are going to be there waiting for me. I cannot miss the class. But that is not the only perk. I have found how settling it is to start my day with enough time to take care of me instead of rushing around.
When I am tired or wondering why in the world I keep doing this to myself, I have to put both my goals into my mind. I think about the students and how beneficial waking up early has been to me, and I begin to feel better.
Set your own goal. Why do you want to get up early? Do not try to force it without a reason. You need something to really motivated you especially when you are tired or are tempted to hit snooze one more time.
How long should a morning routine be?
You get to answer this one. You are in charge of you morning routine. In order to find out what is best for you, start by deciding how many steps you would like in your morning routine. Then calculate how long each step takes you.
I find it helpful to start with the time you need to be at work and count backwards from there. That way you know how long your morning routine should be and what time you want to wake up. Nothing like saving time by doing two things at once.
My morning routine before I teach English online is 25 minutes. My routine before I have to be at the school I work at is 1 hour. An ideal routine for me is about 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours. I get ready quickly, but I like to have time for breakfast and some other things.
Choose a time that works for you. Your routine can be as short a 15 minutes or as long as 3 hours. Look at your priorities and decide what works for you.
How can I get up in the morning easily?
This. This is the question of the century. One thing that is vital, that you must do if you want to start to get up early, go to bed earlier. Most people cannot sustain on five hours of sleep for long periods of time. You will end up sick or with some sort of long term fatigue. You might also begin to notice signs of anxiety or depression.
In other words, you need to sleep. My other trick is to give yourself a highly motivating goal. I don’t like to do things early in the morning. But, if I can motivate myself with something I really care about, like teaching Englihs online to help pay off my student loans, I am more likely to stick with it. Find what motivates you, so you are driven to get up day after day.
That is the third point. Stick with it. Getting up in the morning is not going to be easy right away. It took me three months before I started to notice my body had reset. I was getting tired earlier in the evening and waking up earlier in the morning. By getting up at the same time every day for months on end, you train your body what you want it to do, and you adjust.
The process will take time. But, start a morning routine. Choose things that are easy for you to do when you are very tired. Keep you goal in mind and keep going. It will get easier over time.
How can I stay motivated to establish a morning routine?
Starting your morning off well is a great goal to have. It will help you be more productive during the day. It will also help you feel better and take care of your physical and mental health in the morning. If you are trying to wake up earlier, these four tips can make that a reality.
- Go to bed earlier.
- Give yourself a highly motivating goal.
- Stick with it.
- Set a morning routine.
You do not need to wake up earlier to establish a morning routine. A morning routine can be done at any time you wake up. Set yourself up to win by starting your day the right way.
What is the first thing you do every day? How does it help you start your morning and feel ready to take on the day?
Related: Create a schedule anyone can stick to.
Lumn, K. (2017, March 15). Why you should drink a glass of water first thing every morning. USA Today. Retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/03/14/why-you-should-drink-water-first-thing-every-day/99123938/