My Ideal Morning Routine

So I’ve spoken about the importance of a morning routine before, but what would be my ideal morning routine?

Having a morning routine can set you up for a more successful day. It can help you get more done, it can give you more mental clarity and it can help you manage your emotions throughout the day.

Think about it…

How do you feel when you snooze your alarm 5 times, wake up sluggish and watch TV? Compare that to when you wake up early, you wake up with purpose and you get a lot of what you need to get done in the first few hours.

Having a good morning routine is powerful, and here’s what I’d do.

A Productive Morning Routine

I’d wake up at around 5am.

I’ve tested my sleep cycles over the past few years and found that waking up at around 5am is optimal for me. If I wake up a lot later I feel sluggish, if I wake up a lot earlier I don’t feel as rested.

To wake up at that time I use the 5 second rule. Literally count down from 5 to 0 and make sure that you’re feet touch the floor before you get to 0.

Drink Water

I head downstairs and pour myself a glass of cold water. You’ll always wake up dehydrated and dehydration isn’t good for your energy levels or your mental clarity so even though it’s hard sometimes.

Get at least a pint of water down you first thing.

You’ll feel a huge difference just by drinking water before you do anything in the morning.

Coffee

Then comes the holy grail to my morning routine. Coffee.

I keep it simple, black with no milk or sugars. I’ll sometimes use an Aeropress or stick with a coffee machine.

If caffeine makes you anxious, skip this. But for me, that smell of coffee means my day has started.

Journaling

With a coffee and a water placed on the table, I start journaling.

When I heard about journaling for the first time I was against it because I thought it was almost like having a diary. But journaling is simply the best thing I do every single day.

I simply take a plain notepad, a pen, and I write down my thoughts. I spend about 10-20 minutes doing this, and just getting whats on my mind down onto paper makes dealing with how I feel easier. I can look at my thoughts in a different way.

I also write down 3 things that I’m grateful and why.

This works for me but you can also use the 5 minute journal or the self journal which gives you a guideline to follow.

Exercise

With journaling done I’ll then do some light exercise.

It could be a workout at home, a workout outside or a trip to the gym, but getting a workout in early sets me up for the day.

When I used to try and exercise in the evening I’d often myself indulging in cookies and talking myself out of it. So it helps getting some form of exercise in in the morning.

It doesn’t have to be anything to brutal, it could as simple as a bodyweight workout or even some stretching and Yoga. I use this time of the day to simply just get my body moving again and to get my heart rate up.

Learn

With the workout done, it’s time to learn. It’s time to invest in myself. I’ll spend 15-30 minutes either reading, watching an educational video or listening to a Podcast or audiobook. It’s amazing how much you can learn just by reading for 15 minutes every morning.

I love the Einstein quote: “Once you stop learning, you start dying”.

Spend 15 minutes in the morning learning something you’re interested in and you’ll see a huge difference in how you feel.

Meditation

Then it’s time to work on mindfulness. Meditation.

Again, when I first found out about meditation I quickly thought that it wasn’t for me. But now, 10 minutes of just relaxing, focusing on breathing and listening to a guided meditation helps a lot.

Meditation sets me up for a day with clearer thoughts, it helps me manage my emotions and make better decisions.

Here’s how I meditate…

Getting Ready

Then finally it’s all about getting ready to get out of the house.

A shower, a simple grooming routine which consists of cleaning my teeth, washing my face, applying a moisturiser, and styling my hair, I then get dressed wearing something that looks good, but more importantly is comfortable to wear.

Then, it’s out of the door and onto work.