At the beginning of January I shared that my big goal for this year was to get my daily and weekly routines under control. Now that we're a few weeks into the year, I thought it was about time to share an update on what I feel is the key routine of them all: My morning routine.
Why do I think it's the most important? Because the way I start my morning sets the tone for the whole day. The smoother things go in the first couple of hours after I get out of bed, the more likely it is that the rest of the day will be enjoyable and productive. I'm really satisfied overall with my progress in establishing a solid morning routine, especially since I am NOT a morning person by any stretch of the imagination :)
Here's how my morning looks these days:
7 a.m. get up and put on coffee
7:15 - 7: 35 meditate
7:35 - 8:10 shower and dress (oil pulling and energy medicine techniques that I talked about here are also incorporated into shower time!)
8:10 - 8:30 talk to my son while he eats breakfast and finishes getting ready for school
8:30 - 8:45 do "brain training" on Lumosity (this is another new thing for me this year - the whole family is doing it and we really like it!)
8:45 - 9:00 nail down my to-do list for the day and double check sports/extracurricular schedules/appointments
9:00 - 9:30 email/social media (most days, unless I have an early appointment)
I usually eat breakfast somewhere in that 8:45 - 9:30 p.m. time period as well. I don't like to eat right after I get up and I like to graze in the morning so I eat really slowly while I'm getting some of my early morning tasks done :) From thereon in I can go on to a variety of different tasks depending on what commitments I have for the day and what else I need to accomplish.
I've managed to be surprisingly consistent with this routine so far. As I mentioned in my earlier post I've had a tendency to resist formal routines in the past. I was motivated to commit to this new routine as I really wanted to feel like my mornings were under better control.
Getting in the habit of meditating first thing in the day has been a really huge breakthrough for me - it definitely helps me stay more calm and centred throughout the rest of the day. It's well worth the 20 minute time investment!
This routine is starting to feel pretty natural, which is nice - initially I had to stay pretty focused to keep myself on task but it's definitely feeling a lot easier now than it did in the beginning. Once cycling season rolls around, I'll probably need to make further adjustments to incorporate my morning ride into the mix, but I'm hoping that won't be too hard now that I've build a solid foundation.
Hurray for progress!
Some of my other routines are coming along nicely, too, while a few others are still a little (or a lot) rough around the edges. I'll be sharing my progress on more of my routines as we make our way through the year, so stay tuned for further updates.
Do you have a specific morning routine that help your day run more smoothly?
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