7 Steps to Design the Perfect Morning Routine
It is no secret that I'm a huge fan of Morning Routines.
Routines are incredibly soothing for our nervous systems: they give us a sense of consistency, safety and something that we can rely on. In today's chaotic world, it truly is a gift to start our day with self-care rituals that allow us to feel grounded and peaceful.
So, how to design the perfect morning routine? Take yourself through the 7 following steps and I bet you'll be excited to wake up tomorrow to try your new amazing Morning Routine!
7 Steps to Design the Perfect Morning Routine
STEP #1: DETERMINE AT WHAT TIME YOU ARE REASONABLY ABLE TO GO TO SLEEP THE NIGHT BEFORE
That's right - any Morning Routine starts the night before!
Ask yourself: at what time are you reasonably able to go to sleep at night? You might even backtrack even further and ask: at what time do you usually get home from work and how many hours do you need to cook, eat, spend time with loved ones and do anything else that you want to make time for? For example, if you get home from work at 7pm and you want 3 hours to yourself before bed, 10pm could be a reasonable bed time!
Pro tip: Ayurveda (the oldest form of medicine and the Sister Science of Yoga) recommends to go to sleep before 10pm. Ayurveda tells us that between 10pm and 2am, we get a "second wind" of energy. If we are asleep at this time, this energy will be used to repair and rejuvenate the body. However, if we are awake past 10pm, this second wind of energy might result in having trouble to go to sleep! Have you ever noticed that you sometimes feel tired around 8pm, but then you go to bed at 11pm and you feel too energised to sleep? That's what it is!
STEP #2: BASED ON YOUR REQUIRED NUMBER OF HOURS OF SLEEP, DETERMINE YOUR WAKING TIME.
As much as I am a big fan of Morning Routines, I'm also a firm proponent of getting enough sleep. In fact, I personally choose to prioritise sleep over my morning routine. Why? Because lack of sleep has a direct and immediate impact on our biology. Watch this fascinating Ted Talk on sleep if you don't believe me: HERE
So, in all honesty, are you a 7 hours type of person? Or perhaps you need 9 to feel good? Only you have the answer to this question!
STEP #3: DETERMINE AT WHAT TIME YOU HAVE TO LEAVE THE HOUSE OR GET TO WORK
Giving yourself enough time not to be rushed, at what time do you realistically need to leave the house or get to work? Determine that now.
STEP #4: DETERMINE HOW MUCH TIME YOU NEED TO GET READY AND HOW MUCH TIME THAT LEAVES FOR YOUR MORNING SELF-CARE
Realistically (notice how this is a reoccurring word?), how much time do you need to do all the "getting ready" stuff, like going to the bathroom, showering, getting dressed, making breakfast, taking care of the kids if you have any... and how much extra time does that leave you for any other self-care activities?
Now, no matter what the answer is, see if you can be okay with it. Whether that's a full hour or only 5 minutes, work with what you have. Morning Routines do NOT have to be long and elaborate to be effective. In just a few minutes, with the right intention, you can drastically change the way that you feel!
That being said, if really you want more time to yourself in the morning, reverse-engineer this whole process: determine how much time you would like for yourself, then add to that the time you need to get ready, determine at what time that means you would have to wake up at, and at what time it means you need to go to sleep the night before to get enough hours of snoozing. It might be a tough pill to swallow, but there is no secret to this: if you want more time in the morning and you can't change your working time, then that has to mean waking up earlier and as a result going to bed earlier the night before too!
STEP #5: BRAINSTORM A LIST OF ALL THE ACTIVITIES THAT YOU WOULD LOVE TO DO IN THE MORNING - WITHOUT WORRYING ABOUT TIME
In an ideal world, with all the time you needed, what activities would you truly enjoy doing in the morning? The key word here is "ENJOY". Don't put meditation on that list just because someone (like me?) told you that meditating is good. Only write down things that you would actually enjoy doing.
Need some inspiration? Here are a few of my favorites: slowly and mindfully drinking a cup of tea, Yoga, working out, preparing a delicious breakfast, reading a few pages of a good book in bed with my dog, journaling, meditation, visualisation, affirmations, breath work, going for a walk, going for a run, taking a cold shower, tidying up the house, taking a bath (how luxurious is that in the morning?!), lighting some candles, having coffee in the kitchen with my partner, playing with the dog, ... the list is endless.
STEP #6: BASED ON THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT YOU HAVE, PICK-AND-CHOOSE A FEW OF THE ABOVE ACTIVITIES THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO INCLUDE AS YOUR DAILY MORNING ROUTINE
Time to make a selection! Based on the amount of time that you have for self-care (as determined in STEP #4), pick-and-choose a few of the activities that you listed above. Again, your routine can be long and elaborate or short and sweet! It's perfectly okay for your morning routine to consist in taking 2mn to light some candles around the house as soon as you woke up. It's the intentionality of it that matters.
STEP #7: DECIDE ON THE ORDER OF THOSE ACTIVITIES IN A WAY THAT MAKES SENSE
Your final step is to assemble your self-care activities in a certain order that makes sense for you.
For example, if your chosen rituals are: exercising, meditating and taking a cold shower, a good order could be to exercise before the cold shower - and then you'd have to decide if you want to meditate right as you wake up or after your shower.
And this is it! This is your Morning Routine!
Having a set Morning Routine is such a good way of ensuring that you'll start your day off right as it leaves little room for hesitation. Right as you wake up, you know exactly the steps that you want to take yourself through and this makes it much more likely that you'll actually do it!
I hope that this was helpful my friends! Next week we'll talk about how to stick to your Morning Routine long-term - stay tuned!
All love,
Vic
Ps. Want more tips like this? Make sure to follow me on Instagram @vivitheyogi where I share tons of wellness-related tips and information. See you there!