HOW TO MAKE AN EFFECTIVE MORNING ROUTINE
Starting your day on a positive note, brings you one step closer to having a great day. Having an effective morning routine helps a lot in achieving that.
Whether you’re single or married, a morning person or a night owl, creating a morning habit geared towards preparing you to tackle the day is crucial.
IMPORTANCE OF A MORNING ROUTINE
Sets the tone for the day
The term “waking up at the wrong side of the bed” is an apt description for a lot of people who rushed and stressed through their morning.
If you start out surly, it’s bound to ruin the rest of your day. Having an effective routine that puts you on a positive note, will go a long way.
Boosts productivity
What’s great about a morning routine, especially if it becomes a habit, is that it sets up little tasks for you to accomplish, making you productive as soon as you open your eyes.
Fix bed, fix coffee, dress up, etc. No need to think about what to do, they become muscle memory. Couple that with morning activities that will prepare you both physically and mentally to tackle the day and you’re golden.
Lowers stress level
Being mentally and physically prepared is half the battle. When you are in control of how your day will turn out, you stress out less. It lowers the “too much to do with so little time” scenarios.
TIPS ON CREATING AN EFFECTIVE MORNING ROUTINE
Don’t set yourself up for failure
Each family, each person, will have differing needs and schedules. If you’re not a morning person, don’t force yourself to wake up at 5am. It won’t work. Wake up at the right time for you.
Me and my husband are both night owls. I usually sleep around 4am-5am. So I wake up around 9:30-10am.
I tried doing the 5am thing. Didn’t work. I ended up disappointed and needing to start over.
Aim for consistency
Consistency is the only way to make your routine into habit.
If the routine you make requires you to put on your make up, and you’re not feeling it? Dab on a light blush, gloss your lips and call it a day. You don’t need to be perfect, but you do need to be consistent.
Set-up activities to help your day
Don’t schedule planning your day in the morning. That’s a stressful way to start. You should already know what your day looks like before you went to bed the night before.
Instead, plan activities that will help motivate and inspire you like meditation, praying, reading inspirational/ motivatonal posts, journaling, etc.
If you’re an active person, schedule for physical activities (jog, run, work-out, yoga, etc).
Make technology work for you
My phone is my one stop shop. In the morning, it’s what I use to find morning prayers, motivational/ inspirational quotes that will help set the tone for my day.
I also use different apps to keep track of everything. Daily schedule, lists, notes. I have it all in my phone.
However, if you’re more comfortable using pen and paper and actual books, then by all means, ignore this and continue doing what you do.
Your morning routine, your tools.
HOW LONG SHOULD YOUR MORNING ROUTINE BE
There is no “one size fit’s all” for morning routines. You have to tailor fit it to accomodate you and your needs. Some only need 15 minutes to start their day, others need 90.
Me? I need at least an hour. My advise is you should do you. It’s your morning routine. The only opinion that matters is yours.
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