I am a morning person, I’ll be honest with you from the get go. I have always woken up early and I hate wasting my day lying in bed. I haven’t had a proper morning routine though and that has been something that I have made an effort to work on and change. Why? Well how you start your day sets the tone for your day ahead. That sounds a bit cliché, doesn’t it? I thought the same when I used to hear people say things along those lines but it’s true.

Picture this, for example…It’s a chilly (perhaps rainy) day outside, your bed is snug and toasty…You are having the biggest party at Club Duvet, which suddenly gets disturbed with the sound of your alarm. Not ready to leave the party, you hit snooze. This happens another 3 times…Perhaps the club announces ‘final drinks’ or that it’s shutting its doors. You roll over, have a quick glance at the time and ‘OH EMM GEE’, PANIC STATION!!!! You jump out of bed, grab the first thing you see in your cupboard, rush into the shower at lightening speed, get dressed in a hurry, throw your hair into a bun, down a coffee that you have had to top up with cold water in order to cool, grab a few things from the fridge and you are out the door. Now because you slept in, you haven’t eaten, you have forgotten to take your vitamins, you haven’t had time to go to the loo, you haven’t packed a proper lunch, your gym kit for your gym sesh after work is neatly folded in your cupboard AND you are about to hit peak hour traffic.

Something like that sound familiar? Starting your day with this kind of anxiety is going to have you feeling on edge the entire day…Sure, you can talk to yourself- Give yourself a little pep talk and turn your day around…BUT why not prepare yourself to start your day the best possible way…to ensure that you are ready to have a GOOD day, a HAPPY day, a day FREE FROM ANXIETY. Even if your day ends up being a crappy one, which can obviously happen, starting your day on a good front can become the best part of your day…

 

So…How do I start my day? What does my morning routine look like? I know that there is a lot of material out there discussing this exact thing. I have watched a ton of youtube videos and read at least 15 articles on how to start your day…BUT I find that some of the things recommended just aren’t realistic for me. Sure, I can do them for a few days but I cant sustain the ‘habit’ I am trying to develop. The things I am going to list below, though, are things I have been able to do and sustain…SO I hope that you will be able to do that too.

Well- I wake up at 4 am (I know!!!) and I am not saying that this is the time to get up but its 30 minutes before Sheldon gets up and it has now become time that I love- It’s quiet and I can think clearly.

I get out of bed and I typically never hit snooze (again, I am a morning person). I always start my day with a huge glass of water to rehydrate from sleeping throughout the night. I then have my little morning elixir- It’s not an easy thing to get down but I can’t tell you the difference these things have made to my digestion and to my gut. I also figure that forcing myself to do something I really don’t want to, like having to down something that gives me goosebumps, is one way of gaining control over my day. I literally think to myself, ‘If I can do that, I can do ANYTHING!’ (Hahaha, lame…I know…BUT it works). Basically this is just a combination of apple cider vinegar (with the mother), aloe vera juice and a probiotic. I literally have 2 TBS of each and then I just chase it don with some water. I then have my vitamins, and I know you should normally have them with breakfast but I find that I forget if I do that…Don’t judge me!!!

I then reward myself with a cup of coffee (decaf at the moment as I have given up caffeine)…MY FAV!!! And while I am enjoying my coffee I like to listen to a podcast or a devotion. I then sit on the couch, sipping my coffee, listening to my podcast, and I take out my notebook and write down 3 things that happened the day before that I was grateful for. I prefer doing this in reverse because I can then reflect on things that have happened.

While brekkie is cooking, I go and get dressed for gym. I always take my gym clothes out the night before so it’s literally just a matter of getting dressed and the excuses that run through my mind are non-existent.

Sheldon is now up and the bed is free so I rush into the room, get my watch off charge and put it on and then make the bed. Huge studies have been done suggesting that people who make the bed are generally a lot more productive. Whether or not this true, I don’t know. What I do know is that I hate sleeping in a bed that isn’t made so making the bed is a MUST!

As I have mentioned a few times before, I meal prep twice a week and so every evening I get out what I am going to be packing for lunch and for my snacks, and then my breakfast is done in the morning so I can gobble it down after gym (It also acts as motivation to get through cardio hahaha)

I pack my lunch bag, my school bag and gym bag before I head out the door so that when I get home I don’t enter panic mode hahaha…

After gym I get home and get ready for work. I have started taking cold showers…I will be honest though, sometimes I have to start with lukewarm water and then turn the temperature down. Why do I take a cold shower? Well, again, studies have been done that show huge benefits BUT I started doing it as a way of owning my day, similarly to the whole morning elixir thing.

I then eat my breakfast, catch up on social media, get dressed and then I get going…Soooo there you have it.

Again, this is just what I have been doing lately and it has been working really well for me but this isn’t gospel soooo use it…don’t use it hahaha!!!

Tell me about your morning routine- I would love to hear it!!!

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