How to Build a Mindful Morning Routine
Top 10 Steps for a More Fulfilling Day
There are many benefits to creating a morning routine. Finding opportunities to fulfil your mind, body, heart and soul, are important principles of wellness. When we lack substance in these areas, it can lead to low energy levels, depressive or anxious thoughts and feelings and a general lack of wellness.
Whilst adding 10 steps to your morning may seem daunting, you don’t need to tick all of these off in order to have a more fulfilling day. As Tracy Kennedy (Personal Development expert) states, “any habit you are trying to change or create needs to take into account your unique personality, lifestyle, and challenges.”
Adopting the steps that resonate with you most and align with your schedule and values, will allow you to feel productive and intentional.
1. Goal Setting and Journaling
Ask yourself, what priorities or “big rocks” do you need to focus on? Limiting these to 3 will allow you flexibility in amongst reaching your daily goals. Grab a pen and paper and jot them down in your diary, or if you are more digitalised, add them to your calendar. There is nothing more satisfying than crossing a “big rock” off your list and feeling a sense of accomplishment.
Whilst you’re writing things down, if you’re feeling overwhelmed or have had the same thought recur, add this to your journal/diary. Popping things down can remove this from your mental checklist, and create space for creativity and other ideas to come to mind.
2. Practice Keeping a List or a Diary of Priorities
If you’re a sucker for a to do list, I suggest keeping this seperate from your daily/weekly priorities. Either have a to do list in your diary/journal or on your phone in the Notes section. These are not high priorities, but just an exercise to practice moving your mental load to a hard/soft copy checklist. Remove or tick them off once complete. As you move through your daily goals, this list of priorities may eventuate in to your “big rocks” for the day.
3. Read Something that Expands Your Knowledge
Ten pages a day, that’s all you need to commit to. Start small and notice how bite sized chunks of knowledge can have a positive effect on your mindset. When our days seem too full to even fathom picking up a book or reading the newspaper, digesting ten pages is more achievable and realistic, plus you’re feeding your brain with new information.
4. Practice Gratitude
Finding a moment to express gratitude for what you have, helps to put things into perspective. It reminds you of what’s important in the grand scheme of things, rather than focusing on what you don’t have or what you want.
5. Connection
We all want to experience connection and a sense of belonging, it’s a basic human need. Finding ways to connect with your loved ones, without having to add it to your schedule, again makes this step more achievable and realistic.
Some examples are, calling a friend or loved one on your commute to work. Involving your partner or children in your journalling and gratitude practice.
6. Mvmnt
Can you tell mvmnt is one of my favourite words? I’m not talking about exercise, I’m talking about active mvmnt. This could be a walk to your corner shop, cafe or food shop to pick up a fresh loaf of bread or coffee. Dancing to your favourite song, chasing your little one around the house or incorporating them into your workout routine. Unintentional exercise is far more enjoyable than putting pressure on yourself to work out for 60 minutes at a certain intensity at a certain time each day. Instead, choose to live an active lifestyle and take the option that allows your body to move more freely.
7. Be you
Are you unapologetically living your authentic life? Do you know what makes you happy? If you answered no, then this might be the one practice you need to adopt to set your day right. If you’re struggling to figure out what makes you happy or are feeling too overwhelmed to find joy, it is worth looking for external support to help with this. Some recommendations include:
visiting your local GP for a Mental Health Care Plan so you can receive subsidised sessions with a therapist/psychologist
Better Help - is an online mental health care platform, that allows you to take affordable sessions online, with the freedom to change therapists as you wish.
In such a digital world, it is easy to compare our lives to someone else’s. What this does, is removes you from your present moment and creates negative self talk and beliefs.
When we choose to live by our own personal values, we learn to lead and live a life true to our authentic selves. Who doesn’t want that?
8. Meditation
A common misconception of meditation is that you need to completely still your mind and reach a state of profound spirituality. This isn’t the case. There are many different forms of meditation. Simply allowing yourself to sit and be present with your thoughts, feelings and being aware of your body, breath and surroundings - (without judgement!), allows you to drop into a meditative state.
A few of my favourite meditative practices include:
Tuning in to each of the five senses - what can you hear, see, feel, taste and smell?
Taking a moment to tune in and notice what thoughts and feelings come to the surface…without judgment! You are simply acknowledging and observing these and letting them go
Going through a body scan, starting from one end of your body to the other i.e head to feet
9. Clear Your Physical Space
Clutter in your physical space can resemble clutter in your mind. Clearing your space by making your bed of the morning and spending a couple of minutes tidying up your room, already gives you a sense of achievement and creates space for other thoughts and ideas to emerge.
Always leaving your desk in a rush? Take 10 minutes at the end of your working today to put everything back in place in a clean and orderly manner, so you can come into a clear space.
Clear Space = Clear Mind
10. Turn "I'll Start Tomorrow" Into a Start Today
There is no better time to make an improvement to your attitude and energy, than now. If you have been repeatedly saying to yourself or others that you need to make changes, now is the time. Start tonight… by getting a decent nights sleep. Waking up on the right side of the bed is a given that you will have a great start to your day. Let go of excuses and allow yourself the space to adopt some new patterns that are about what you want and need!
We all want to be the best versions of ourselves, but we can’t be if we’re pouring from an empty cup. Like I said, these 10 steps don’t have to be additional and ticked off one by one in order to have a good day. Instead, choose one or two that you consistently do for a few weeks and take note of how these habits improve your day. Do they deplete or energise you? Keep the energised pointers and ditch the depletes! We want to feel rejuvenated and refreshed! It can take 28 days to change a habit, so be patient and have some fun with the process!
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