What is the first thing you do when you wake up? Perhaps you snooze your alarm clock so many times you're rushing out the door every single day, maybe you go on Youtube and watch videos, perhaps you check your email or go to the kitchen and make yourself a cup of coffee. You probably already have a morning routine, a set of tasks you do every morning, but is it a good one? Is it one that motivates you and helps you start your day or does it make you grumpy?
A good morning routine is one that will prepare you for the day, one that will give you enough time to do all the important tasks that need to be done, before you go to work or school. It will allow you time to do what needs to be done, such as checking your emails and replying to them, as well as things that you want to do, for example reading a book. So, rather than waking up grumpy and being in a bad mood, because you're in a hurry and have no time to peacefully do the things you need and want to do, you will have time for everything that's important to you.
Of course this comes with careful planning, so if you're poorly organized and don't plan your days ahead, it will be much harder to create a good morning routine, because you simply don't know how much time you need to do certain things. And we often underestimate the time we need to complete a certain task. Take walking a small dog for example, you might think it only takes 10 or 15 minutes, but in reality, it could take much longer than that. So it's important, that you manage time in your day well and give yourself extra time, in case something takes longer than expected. I will also be making more posts about planning and tracking your habits in the future, so check back for more info about that.
The most important question you're asking yourself, why would one want a good morning routine, especially if they're satisfied with the one they have now? Every thing that is satisfactory and sufficient can become even better if you improve it. It's the same with morning routines, they can be improved to allow you more time to do tasks before heading to work, and giving yourself a bit of time to do things you enjoy doing, which is especially important if you have a job you're not overly enthusiastic about.
For example, rather than taking shower, getting dressed and having breakfast, what if you would also have time to exercise in the morning and get that out of the way for the day, or if you had a lot of tasks to do, what if you would complete the most difficult one in the morning and feel accomplished before others even wake up?
If I sparked some interest in you and you would like to improve or try to improve your morning routine, here are some tips to consider, when you're planning your morning routine:
• Think about what is important to you, that you could do in the morning (something you would do for yourself, for example meditating, writing in journal, exercising, reading,...).
• Think about all the tasks that need to be done in the morning (perhaps you have a dog that you need to take out for a walk, or maybe make yourself a cup of coffee, if you can't function without one).
• Think about all the tasks you prefer to do in the morning to get them out of the way (perhaps you like checking your email in the morning, because it's a tedius task, or exercise, if you're not a fan of it).
• Plan a morning routine and implement it bit by bit (if you've been waking up at 7 a.m., you can't expect to start waking up at 6 a.m. and doing all the things you want to do; start by waking up 5 or 10 minutes earlier and do one additional thing from your list).
Hopefully, I have helped answer some of your questions and helped you on a path to a better tomorrow. Remember that things like these take time and effort and can't be implemented overnight. Also, don't feel discouraged to go back to your previous morning routine you've been satisfied with if new plans just don't work out for you.
