3 Tips to Stick to your Morning Routine LONG-TERM
Allow me to preface this article by saying that, lately, I have been struggling to stick to my *ideal* morning routine... which makes it the PERFECT time for this blog post, since the tips below are the ones that I've been turning to myself!
If you have read my previous blog post on 7 Steps to Design your Perfect Morning Routine, then hopefully you now have your ideal morning routine and you've been excited to stick to it. That being said, perhaps you've felt a dip in that initial excitement and you're starting to wonder... how will I stick to this morning routine LONG-TERM?! I've been there, friend - and here are my very best tips:
1. REMIND YOURSELF OF YOUR INTENTION
The *worst* thing you can do if you want to stick to your Morning Routine long-term, is to do it just for the sake of doing it, forgetting the real WHY behind your desire to practice your morning rituals. Avoid treating your Morning Routine as items to cross off of your to-do list. Instead, when you don't feel like doing your Morning Routine, ask yourself: WHY is it important for you to do these practices? For me, I remember that these practices are good for my health and help to heal my chronic pain a little bit more each day. I remind myself that not doing these practices will result in my pains being more intense that day. Doing my Morning Routine is a gift to my mental & physical health - and reminding myself of that is what keeps me going most days.
Implementation exercise: Ask yourself now - what is the WHY behind your Morning Routine?
2. HAVE AN IDEAL MORNING ROUTINE THAT YOU DO WHEN YOU CAN, BUT ALLOW YOURSELF TO SWITCH THINGS UP.
I love having a very complete, elaborate, 1-hour structured Morning Routine for the days that I feel like going ALL out. For me, it looks something like this:
- Wake up at 7
- Walk the dog for 20mn
- Make some herbal tea
- Do yoga
- Meditate for 15mn
I love taking myself through this whole routine when I feel like I want to take extra time to myself in the morning. That being said, this definitely isn't possible every single day. So, on the days where it's not possible for whatever reason, I give myself lots of flexibility. For example, this morning, I woke up feeling quite tired and just felt like staying in bed. So, I asked my amazing boyfriend to take the dog out by himself, made some herbal tea, crawled back into bed and read my book for a half hour. After a half hour of hanging out in bed, I noticed that I wanted to do some breath work. So, I went to sit in front of the fireplace and I did a little bit of Pranayama to some lovely music - and that was it!
Having your ideal structure is great, but allowing for flexibility on the days that you need it is a great way to make sure that you still show up for yourself, even if it's in simpler, or different, ways.
>> Implementation exercise: Get the list of activities that you listed in STEP #5 of my last article and keep it handy for the days that you feel like switching things up!
3. HAVE A SHORT NON-NEGOTIABLE PRACTICE
Look, I'm going to be honest. Even with the best Morning Routine and the best of intentions, sometimes all you'll want to do is to make some coffee, get back into bed, watch Friends as you scroll Instagram Reels at the same time (can you tell I've been there?). And while it is totally okay to do that once in a while, it usually won't leave you feeling your best.
In those moments - ask yourself: what is ONE thing that you can do for yourself? Actually, strike that. Don't wait until you are in that situation to ask yourself that question. Instead, ask yourself this question right now: what can be one, non-negotiable, super quick practice that you can fall back on, on the days that your Morning Routine is just not happening?
For me, I call my non-negotiable practice "3 breaths and a stretch": if nothing else happens, I at least take 3 deep breaths and give my body just one quick stretch. And I leave it at that.
The purpose here isn't really the practice itself. The point of this, rather, is to keep showing up for yourself, in some small way, on a consistent basis. This is why the Morning Ritual in my 12-week program, The Balanced Achiever Method, is so effective to create change for my clients: for 90 days, I challenge them to do a specific, short, Morning Ritual every single day. And while the practice in itself is powerful, the BAM Morning Ritual is more about planting the seed in my clients' minds that, as of now, they do something for themselves every single day.
>> Implementation exercise: ask yourself - What can be your super-simple non-negotiable practice on days where nothing else is happening?
TO SUMMARIZE
1) Don't do your Morning Routine just for the sake of doing it. Instead, remind yourself of your intention every single morning. WHY are you doing these things?
2) Have an ideal morning routine that you do on the days that you can, but keep a list handy of other activities that you can do when your ideal morning routine isn't possible.
3) If even those other activities aren't happening, have a non-negotiable, short practice that you'll do for yourself no matter what. Mine is: 3 breaths and a stretch.
YOUR HOMEWORK:
Take yourself through the 3 Implementation Exercises of this article and email me what you come up with at vivitheyogi@gmail.com! I'd love to give you some feedback!
All love,
Vic