There is loads of research to suggest that having healthy morning habits leads to more productive days and overall well-being. Isn’t it amazing that we have the power to create our days the way we want them to be? It is how we design our morning – the positive energy and the discipline – that sets the tone for a productive and positive day.
Understand that, in order to create a perfect routine for yourself you have to create the right mindset. Think of it as a succession of positive habits that will inspire and motivate you, help you grow, and ultimately, make your life easier.
There is no right or wrong way to do it as long as you set it up in a way that works for you and makes you feel good about yourself. Try not to set too high expectations, take baby steps, and don’t get discouraged if some days you fail to follow your routine.
[Tweet “Think of your morning routine as a succession of positive habits that will inspire you.#habits”]
Here are some healthy habits to adopt for a positive day:
Prepare the night before. This is a very important step that will impact your morning and the way you feel about it. Write a to-do list with 3 important things you want to accomplish the next day and prioritize your other tasks. Spend a few minutes tidying up your workspace so you can wake up to a clean and nicely organized place. Choose your clothes for the next day and you are going to sleep soundly knowing you are prepared for the day ahead.
Positive affirmations. As soon as you wake up, smile at yourself in the mirror and repeat positive affirmations. They create new, positive beliefs about yourselves, your actions, your goals, habits, feelings, and values. Find positive mantras that align to your goals and repeat them several times. Even if you’re still sleepy, never say or think “I’m sleepy”, “I’m tired” or “I’m sick”. Write these positive mantras on a paper and keep them on your bathroom mirror.
- I choose to be happy today.
- I have everything I need to succeed.
- Today is another beautiful day.
- I am healthy, happy and capable.
- I am grateful for being alive and for everything I have.
So visualize and focus on your success and your well-being. Don’t forget, your thoughts become your habits and actions.
The thoughts you think and the actions you take in the first 10 minutes after you wake up have a very marked effect on the rest of your day.”
Robin Sharma — The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
Drink a glass of lemon water. It rehydrates the body, helps jumpstart the metabolism and boosts your immune system. It’s a cheap and easy way to flush the harmful toxins out of your system and maintain your health.
Eat a healthy breakfast that combines good carbs, fibers and proteins. It can be oatmeal, greek yogurt with fruits (bananas or berries), eggs, almond butter, or just a green smoothie. It will jump start your day, boost your energy levels and improve your performance.
Meditate. It is a gift you give to yourself because meditation has the power to balance your energy and your emotions, and it sets you up for the daily tasks. It teaches self-control, improves focus and promotes creativity. 5 to 10 minutes of meditation gives me the opportunity to deeply reconnect to myself, my feelings and my thoughts. I use Calm.com.
Breathe some fresh air. Go outside, take a deep breath, and let the worries melt away.
Exercise. Go to the gym, go for a run, try some yoga poses or some stretching moves – it will wake up your muscles and get your blood running. You will feel energized and refreshed, and it will help you go about your day with more ease and clarity.
Gratitude. Use a gratitude journal and spend 3 minutes writing down 3 things you are grateful for, or spend 20 minutes to reflect on your positive experiences. It is totally up to you. Experiment with this idea and see what fits you best. It is well-known that “neurons that fire together, wire together”. The neurons associated with this activity build a certain neural pathway. In time, through repetition and practice, this pathway becomes stronger and stronger. It is the best way to train your brain by rewiring it to look for and focus on the positive. This will increase your happiness levels, your mental strength and self-esteem.
Creating a morning routine is not easy. It takes time and determination. But once established a routine, it doesn’t require your thinking or any amount of effort to be done.
Adopting positive morning habits will help you get ready for a new day without feeling rushed and without stress, it will set you up for a positive and productive day, and give you a priceless feeling of accomplishment.
Do you have a morning routine? What does it look like? Share some of your favorite morning habits!
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A great compilation Ana! I love clearing my mind when I walk in the morning. I need to drink the lemon in my water though.
Thank you, Julie! Let me know how it goes if you try the lemon water. 🙂
I think about this ALL. THE. TIME. and yet I can never seem to do anything with my mornings. I’m so attached to just taking them as they come, and whenever I try to re-invent them with new habits I fail. I envy my husband’s ability to rock his mornings. He practices the Miracle Morning (Hal Elrod’s idea) and his mood when he’s doing it consistently is amazing. Someday I will figure this out, lol
I think you should take it easy and start with just one change. I will definitely have to read the Miracle Morning. I’ve heard so many people talking about it! Thanks for stopping by, Jenn! 🙂
All excellent suggestions! I need to try to lemon water. 🙂
Thank you, Elizabeth! It might seem difficult at the beginning to have that lemon water, but you’ll get used to it. Good luck!
That’s a lovely photo! This sounds like a solid plan, Ana. Thanks.
Yes…I love having the early morning time before my daughter wake up! I especially agree that planning the night before is key. Even more so once a school schedule starts up!
It’s always easier when you have a routine – it doesn’t require so much attention. 🙂
Lemon water is something I have been wanting to add to my morning routine! This is a great list!
Thank you, Steph! Let me know how it goes if you try the lemon water in the morning Good luck!
I love reading your posts. I need to be better about eating breakfast. It usually ends up being a glass of water and cup of coffee.
Yeah, they say breakfast is very important. I have to have some breakfast before I drink any coffee. You also can find something you like and enjoy.
This is so perfect! The gratitude, exercise, breakfast…I would love to take up meditation! Thank you for helping me start my day off on the right track 🙂 I even tweeted out your blurb! Yay!
Thank you for your kind words, Amy! I don’t always meditate in the morning because I don’t have time, but I do it as often as I can in the afternoon. Even for 5 minutes.
I always feel so much better when I start my mornings with meditations, positive affirmations, a healthy breakfast and taking things slow! Thanks for sharing this!
Thanks for stopping by, Sara. It really makes a difference!
I was drinking lemon water every morning, but I got away from it and have to start doing it again. I write in a gratitude journal everyday
That’s great! I used to journal everyday – thanks for the reminder! 🙂
Thank you for this article! It is so true that having a healthy breakfast is key to jumpstarting a day!
I love my breakfast! 🙂
Thank you for sharing this routine! I am slowing curating my mornings to get myself in the right mindset and these thoughts help.
I’m so glad you find my tips useful! 🙂
Thank you for sharing this! I’m all about creating a healthy morning routine — it really sets you up for a great day!
Emma | http://www.creativexplorations.com
I totally agree with you, Emma.
These are great tips! I will definitely need to try some of this. Thank you!
Great suggestions! I’m ready to start a new morning routine thanks to this post.
That’s great! Let me know how it goes, Sharon.
I love all of these ideas! Some of them I am really good at doing every morning, others I would like to get better at!
Thank you, Abby. I’m glad you like my tips. 🙂
I love early morning, it’s my favorite time of day! I started a morning meditation over a year ago and it has made a tremendous impact in my life. Everything is better- it really makes such a difference just to sit in silence and connect with the stillness within. Wonderful post as usual Ana, thank you!
Thank you so much, Lisa. I’m glad to hear that meditation works for you too. 🙂
I should try the lemon water! I love a good breakfast – My favorite meal!
Breakfast is my favorite meal too – of course, followed by some coffee. 🙂
Praying and scriptures does wonders for me. Thank you so much for linking up at #healthyliving link party. I will be featuring you for Wednesday’s party. It is not just food and exercise that we all need to prioritize 🙂 Hope to see you again!
Thank you so much – you just made my day! I’m so glad you like my post! 🙂
I really like the “prepare the night before tip” – back when I was still teaching, I would lay down and go over my lesson plans in my head before drifting off to sleep, which helped me feel like I was already one step ahead the next morning. I still do this now that I’m at home, although my list looks quite a bit different these days.
I’m a big believer in having a plan in place the night before. Knowing what I’m going to be wearing, making for breakfast, ect, makes it much easier to just get up and get on with it instead of wasting the first hour of the day making decisions
These are all great tips, and I need to incorporate a few of them into my day. I always try to plan my morning the night before and that helps so much. But over the last year my schedule has changed 6 or 7 times. Just when I get into the swing of things I am having to change again. My best mornings I sleep until 9 am, then get up and wake up to coffee and facebook. Check emails and comment on a few blogs, check on my facebook group and then when it’s time for a second cup of coffee I begin the more involved things or finish it and head to my out of the house job.
But now, my schedule is different each day, many of the days I’m up at 530am, and I am not a morning person, I am having trouble getting to sleep early enough. Now there are also some days that I’m not getting home and to bed until 130am. This schedule is crazy and I’m hoping for it to change again soon. Eating healthy has been helping a lot. Can’t wait to get on a regular schedule again!
I think these are great suggestions, Ana! I have just recently, probably the last year or two, started getting up early even though I’m not naturally a morning person. I also created a schedule that I adhere to the best I can. I am loving it. I have found that in order to stick to it, though, I have to be very conscientious about going to bed the night before, or I can’t seem to stick to it. It has been a learning process, but I do feel better about myself.
Lots of great tips! I’ve never been one to prepare the night before even though I get my kids to do it. I don’t know why but it would be helpful if I followed my own words. I love lemon water and drink it throughout the day while at work. As I have insomnia, I’ve started meditating at night and find that is helpful to relax at bedtime.
P.S. Side note, you might want to add your Twitter handle to your “Tweet this” that way, you’ll be notified on Twitter and can retweet when someone tweets out. Just a suggestion. 🙂
Thank you so much, Rosie! I didn’t know that Twitter trick. I will do that from now on. 🙂
I love the early mornings, it’s so peaceful.
Does the lemon water have to be made with fresh lemon or can you use lemon extract?