Here you are, so motivated, so willing to "update" your life and bring new healthy habits. You are so enthusiastic when searching for "What should your morning routine be like'' and find lots of YouTube videos and articles, and every expert has so much advice for you.
You decide to immediately try and practice one-hour yoga after waking up, listen to podcasts while cooking, and read several useful articles during your coffee... And in the end, after a month, you may start getting tired of it. You may start surfing through Instagram, see those bloggers with their successful morning when at 5 am they have already managed to write the training course and write a post, and you ... Oh no, silly you — you can't even finish reading a single book.
Didn't expect to see such a sad first paragraph in the article about the morning routine, right?
But this is life. In a world where success is exaggerated, and failures are silent, in a world where everyone seems to be in a race, morning does not have to be about minute-by-minute planning and attempts to keep up with someone unknown. To build a healthy morning routine you should listen to yourself and only yourself.
We're not here to tell you which habits to instill and how many books to read each morning. The Human Cosmos app and our blog are more like your personal effectiveness guides in accomplishing your personal goals.
In this article, we will show you the importance of morning routine and how you can find the most suitable one.
7 benefits of a morning routine on your well-being
In one of our articles on meditation, we mentioned that to achieve your goals, it is very important to control your emotions and concentrate on the main thing that will help you move forward and prosper.In general, the morning routine is just about this — planning the day and setting the right mood.
Less stressing
Obvious profit. It has a simple logical chain: no oversleeping — no being late — no troubles with performing well-ordered plans. When you get up early enough to get ready for the job without haste you’ll definitely decrease the level of stress in your life.The main goal of your morning routine is to cheer you up and energize yourself for the day. When your muscles are relaxed, you know your plans for the day ahead, you feel confident and calm, it is easier for you to cope with intense loads and avoid stress. Take care of yourself before you start worrying about others.
Increasing productivity
To get the best results, you should spend 20% of your energy on work and the remaining 80% on recovery and self-improvement. When you get high-quality recovery, you grow. As you continually hone your mental model, the quality and impact of your work will continually increase. This is what psychologists call "conscious practice." With morning routine you’ll get to control the stress by meditation and yoga, and to control your mind with various motivational and visualization techniques, keeping a daily diary, etc.This is the process of restoring and improving the current version of oneself.
Reaching your goals
With a positive morning routine, you just can’t stay on the same level. Start with one new habit and gradually incorporate others. Regularity is better than perfectionism. Don't try to gain five good habits at once, like not only going for a run, but also giving up coffee, starting your morning digital detox, and making vegetable smoothies in the morning. The more you force yourself, the sooner you will give up. The path to goals can be long, but this period can definitely be made exciting and unforgettable.Improving relationship
By reducing stress and the number of unfulfilled ideas and the level of apathy, you increase your chances to take a fresh look at the world and those around you.There will be time for another morning routine with your beloved ones, to call your parents, meet your friends for breakfast.
Therefore, while you are hesitating about the morning routine importance, think about how it would affect your relations and make the right choice.
Better physical condition
A well-balanced morning routine includes exercise, mindfulness practice, and set-up for the day. Try different types of exercises to see which ones inspire you and do not take too much energy from you in the morning. Why not change your rituals from time to time to suit your mood? For example, twice a week you start your day with yoga, and the rest of the days, choose a morning run or cardio.Better sleep
For this point, it is important to first track your biorhythms. If you are an owl by nature and plan to wake up at 5 am tomorrow ... Well, there can be problems. Everything needs to be done in harmony with your rhythm of life, work, and body.If you are going to be a morning person, be sure to go to bed on time. Take care of yourself, as the quality of your sleep depends on many things (your mood, health). While you sleep, your body and brain also rest.
As soon as you start waking up a little earlier than usual, you will be sleepy earlier than usual. So, your previously inconsistent 8-hour sleep will return to normal.
More free time
Enjoy the silence of the early morning when the whole world is still asleep. This is the best time to work when you need to focus. Spend that time reading, meditating, making breakfast for your family, doing sports - whatever your heart desires.To avoid all fuss and maintain your physical and mental health, it is important to start your morning right. What exactly to do during the routine is up to you. We’ll just list a few options.
How to start a morning routine
You should keep in mind one thing: productivity does not mean rush and tons of work, it means doing the work which can make a bigger impact on achieving your life goals.In the book "The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It" there are various interesting recommendations of how to improve your self-control, instill new good habits and thus become the person we draw in our plans. One of these methods is about finding your “why”, your true intentions, true reasons why you shouldn’t give up and just spend your whole life watching Netflix. Why should you start getting up earlier? Why should you start controlling your unconscious actions which keep you from the implementation of the plan?
Collywobbles v. Energy
Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper. The folk sayings might sound a bit weird but they share the old wisdom. If you recently feel like losing energy, you might need to reconsider your nutrition, especially breakfast. Having sugar rush in the morning? Just keep in mind all those chocolate bars can give you some energy but for a very short time. Then the level of energy gets even lower than before and you’ll quickly feel hunger and desire to eat other sweets. And here you have overweight, unwillingness to do your work and health problems.So next time eat your breakfast like a real king.
Laziness v. Sport
“Ugh, why should I leave my warm bed for stretching on a yoga carpet?” Well, you still have to get up and get ready for the day, so why not take care of your health during good early morning routines? Do simple exercises for 5-10 minutes to make it a habit. No one is asking you to run a marathon in your pajamas.TV-shows v. Reading
Before you click to play another TV show, ask yourself a question, “Will it help me in my relations/work/to charge the battery for the day?” Maybe it’s better to read an article about trends on your market or at least watch an interesting documentary. Voila, — you have another morning routine.Negativity v. Gratitude
When you are upset that another working day is about to start, maybe it’s better to change your mind into something positive? With meditation, as your routine, you’ll be able to transform the negativity in your thoughts into an appreciation for one more 24-hour-chance to change your life.Fuss v. Planning
Before storming into everyday chores like reading emails or answering every message via messengers or making phone calls, maybe it’s better first to plan the work thoughtfully: by priority, deadlines, perhaps delegate something to other specialists. Learn more about time management and try to stick to the plan — at first, you’ll have a lot of temptation to do little things that won’t bring results. Don’t make such a mistake.Plus if in the mornings you have trouble picking the best outfit or what book to read during coffee, do this kind of preparation the night before. It will save you much time the next day for thorough planning as we’ve discussed earlier.
Flow v. New
It’s not that bad to go with a flow sometimes. But when it comes to moving to a new level you need to get creative and step outside the box. If during the morning ritual for success you feel inspired, well, first, it means that you’ve picked the right routine. Second, don’t hesitate to write all ideas that come to your mind. Even if they look ridiculous or funny, remember, nobody can think of a new great start-up idea in a blink. You need to open your mind to new plans, new solutions and leave your comfort zone for some time.Now choose which side wins in your everyday battle for self-improvement and achievements?
The perfect morning routine
Every person has his/her own vision of something to be perfect. That’s why if this example of the routine doesn’t sound interesting to you, don’t follow it. Find what you need.06:00 Wake up, take shower and do facial routine
And yes, facials aren't just for girls. During the nighttime, our face is exposed to some stress due to a poor pillow, the skin does not breathe normally, sebum clogs the pores. Therefore, I try to wash my face every morning with suitable foams, use a tonic and apply a cream with SPF before going outside. And you try to do that.
06:20 Make breakfast with an emphasis on carbohydrates/protein, eat it
Protein-rich foods make you feel full for much longer than any other food because it lingers in your stomach for a while. In addition, proteins keep blood sugar levels stable, which prevents hunger spikes. Complex carbohydrates (eg, legumes, vegetables, nuts) in breakfast are very important on training days because without them endurance drops very quickly.
06:50 Read 15 minutes
Mostly these are books about the development of willpower, creativity, and psychology. You can also read fiction to quickly accustom yourself to reading in the morning.
07:05 Brew tea, light a candle, and meditate
By the way, it is better to use soy or beeswax candles. The ordinary paraffin candles, when burned, emit benzene and toluene, which are carcinogenic. If you like to light more candles in an unventilated area, you can harm yourself pretty badly. Also, beware of bright designs on candles such as gilding and harsh scents, as it is very difficult to guess the composition of such paints and additives.
07:15 Pack things for the gym
07:30 Walk to the gym for half an hour
Walking with my favorite music or podcast always sets my rhythm for the day. Yes, you could save time and take public transport or a car to the gym, but why? It's my choice of the morning routine, and if there is an opportunity not to rush, I prefer to take full advantage of it.
08:00 Work out
I train with a trainer. Her main task is to make sure that I do not harm me during class. Plus, if there is an opportunity to delegate some work to another specialist, for example, drawing up a training program, just do it. Time is saved since you do not need to go deep into the field of sports and there is no chance of reading incorrect information on the Internet (and there is a lot of it, remember this).
09:00 Walk from the gym to the house, take a shower, body care
Since I live near the gym and I do not need to go from the gym straight to the office, I take a shower at home. If you need to go somewhere after a workout, do not miss a shower in the gym. Again, your skin will thank you in old age for the care you are doing today.
10:00 Make a plan for the day and start my work
A schedule like mine may not suit everyone, because everyone has their own life circumstances.
We must all be guided by the framework of our unique environment. However, if you are best at working in the morning, you need to find a way to do it. To have a productive morning, you may need to wake up a few hours earlier than you are used to and take a nap after lunch (if you have such an opportunity). Or on weekdays, shorten the routine: 5 minutes for reading, 5 minutes for meditation, 5 minutes for stretching -- this will take 15 minutes. It seems a little, why then should you do such a routine, right? But this is only when taking into account quantitative indicators. The quality is much more important: you will do more exercises every morning than before, read more, and meditate more.
The impact of your evening on your morning routine
What else can you do to be productive in the morning? The answer lies in the evening routine before the morning one. If you go to bed at 3 a.m. you definitely won’t be ready for meditation or exercises at 6 a.m. Well, maybe at first you will be feeling ambitious and energetic, but by the end of the day, you’ll start hating the thought about tomorrow's morning. See where I’m going?Okay, to have a restful sleep - check. What else?
Prepare things you’ll need in the morning
You will save yourself from a painful, half-asleep choice, insure yourself against unpleasant surprises like a spot on your shirt noticed before leaving, and give yourself at least 15 more minutes for your morning coffee and a light warm-up.Also, prepare lunch in the evening if you are having lunch in the office, and think about what you will have for breakfast. An empty refrigerator in the morning is unlikely to charge you with a positive and good mood for the day.
Write down the thoughts
If you can't fall asleep because your brain continues to work, stop trying to. Do something else, like reading a book. When you start to feel sleepy, return to bed. This will allow your brain to associate bed with sleep only. If you are thinking about something that needs to be done tomorrow, it is better to write it down and forget it.Analyze your day, remember all the good things that happened to you, think about what you would like to change, make a few entries in your diary if you keep it. Research proves that analyzing your day (even if it was not the best) is very useful.
Meditate before sleep
Many people think that meditation should only be done in the morning. But evening meditation and yoga are a great way to put your thoughts and emotions in order, relieve tension and meet the next day open to new experience and knowledge. Recently, the practice of mindfulness meditation has become very popular. Set aside at least 10 minutes before bed for a couple of easy exercises.Take a short walk before bed. It will help you to "step over" the worries of the passing day. You will be able to enjoy the peace and analyze the issues that concern you. In addition, evening walks are beneficial for health and help in the fight against insomnia. It is during the walk that new ideas and non-standard solutions to problems can come to you. Use the walking meditation technique we wrote about in our previous article.
If the weather does not allow you to go for a walk, meditate in bed. You can turn on audio meditation or just concentrate in silence on your breathing. Many people fail to meditate, as it is very difficult to turn off the flow of thoughts in their heads and not react to extraneous sounds. In this case, it is important to turn your attention to your inner feelings. Lie down, close your eyes, and mentally examine each part of your body, focusing your attention on it, and then relax it. After that, it will be much easier for you to fall asleep.
Keep gadgets far away from you
Turn off your phone, computer, TV at least an hour before bedtime. Bright colors on the screen will stimulate the brain, so it will be much harder to fall asleep.Routine is important, but be flexible
Our life completely depends on our decisions and our thoughts. Even the coincidence cannot be just an accident. That’s why it’s difficult to underestimate the morning routine importance. We need to start our day believing in our power, with the right thoughts, thorough plans, and in good health. Choose your morning routine answering one question: “Will it increase my power?” If you want to be productive, you need to take a holistic approach to life. You are the system. By changing any part of the system, you change the entire system as a whole.Therefore, one week you can focus on sports in the morning, the next one on developing working skills, and so on, -- start building successful morning routines along with your balance wheel. So the morning will be more interesting every time, and you’ll stop pushing the Snooze button.
