How to Create a Positive Morning Routine

Winter in Australia has come to an end and we are now enjoying those first heady days of spring. The truth is that it’s often hard to stay motivated in winter. It is too easy in winter to eat the wrong food – lots of sweet and fatty comfort food, like puddings. And it’s too easy to give up exercising or at least reduce how much exercise you do. After all, it’s cold and who wants to put on their shorts and go to the gym in the cold? The biggest temptation on those cold wintery mornings is to pull the doona over your head and stay in bed another half hour or even whole hour. But mornings are precious. If we get our mornings right we set ourselves up for the day. That’s what I want to blog about today – how to create a positive morning routine so the benefits flow on to your day.

No doubt, getting your mornings right is not easy. In fact I’d say that to create a positive morning routine you have to rewire your mind, because it is a fundamental shift of attitude. It’s about beginning the day ‘motivated’.

Benjamin Small and Michael Xander spent years interviewing over-achievers before writing their best seller, My Morning Routine: How successful people start everyday inspired. The people they interviewed included the founder of the amazing Huffington website, Arianna Huffington, and even a US Navy seal. Small and Xander came up with seven essential habits, and they are good habits which I’d like to review with you now.

1. Wake up earlier (just five minutes at a time). Take this early-morning ‘win’ with you into the rest of your day.

Getting up early and embracing a morning of disciplined activity can be a huge shock to the system. Remember it takes about three months to cement a new habit and most of us fall by the wayside before cementing the habit into our daily routines. Spring only began a couple of weeks ago in Australia and from here on in, it will get lighter every day and in many states, daylight savings will be introduced at the end of the month. Start getting up five minutes earlier every day starting tomorrow. This will mean you are used to getting up nice and early come summer. Remember it is not a good idea to sleep in on weekends. This interrupts your morning routine.

1. Get some fresh air, drink a glass of water, or get in a light workout to wake up your body.

Having breakfast on a balcony or in the garden gives your body a chance to get in sync with nature. You listen to the birds and absorb some morning sunlight. Drinking a BIG glass of warm water with lemon juice is fantastic for your kidneys. Kidney Health Australia says around one in ten people have kidney disease. The truth is that we treat our kidneys very badly. Most of us don’t drink nearly enough water and a large proportion of us have protein in our urine meaning our kidneys are not functioning properly. Please ensure you drink lots of water or in a few years you might find yourself dependent on kidney dialysis and waiting for a kidney transplant. Also do not drink warm water out of the tap, as it may have high levels of bacteria. Fill a glass three quarters full, add a squeeze of lemon and top with boiling water from a kettle. A warm lemony glass of water is what your kidneys and liver need in the morning to flush out impurities.

If you exercise in the morning you increase your energy levels for the day. You don’t have to hit the gym at 6am, instead you can go for a short walk but get moving as it helps to wake you, and stretch out those muscles that have been asleep for hours. You might have a home gym you can take advantage of. Just do something and later in the day you can do your main work out. After you have established a good morning routine for at least three months you might then like to up the stakes and start visiting the gym for those 6am classes.

1. Do use an alarm, but don’t hit the snooze button.

It is going to be difficult to establish a new morning routine. Yes, you will need a decent alarm clock. I suggest you invest in a super quiet alarm clock that does not even tick. I also hate electric clocks with illuminated faces that glow in the dark. Basically to get a good night’s sleep, I like a super quiet, nice dark room. However you will never establish a morning routine if you hit the snooze button and keep sleeping in. It’s cruel but I suggest putting your alarm out of arm’s reach so you have to get up to turn it off.

1. Keep your phone outside your bedroom overnight.

I am going to advise you to keep your phone and your laptop out of your bedroom at night. The screens of phones have a nasty habit of lighting up when you get new messages. Your bedroom needs to be a sanctuary. I strongly advise against working in the room where you sleep. You need to be able to retreat from the world in the evening and leave all devices behind, otherwise you are going to check your emails and messages and not truly relax.

1. Don’t beat yourself up if you fail to follow your routine. Think of your new morning routine as a skill that needs to be honed. Try again tomorrow.

Again I say to you, new habits take at least three months to bed down. If you fall off the horse, if you fail to rise early one morning, just keep persevering. The key to change is sticking with it. Eventually you will grow some will power.

1. Allow for changes in your routine. Adaption is key; your routine will and should evolve over time.

Over time you will discover new morning rituals that make you happy. You may find that you like to pray or meditate in the morning. You might discover that it is worthwhile going over your short and long-term goals every morning. It reminds you who you are and what you want to achieve.

1. Have a relaxing evening and go to bed to allow for 7-9 hours of sleep.

The best way to set up your morning is to get enough sleep the night before. Eight hours is usually ideal for most people, but occasionally it is good to treat yourself to nine hours. Also the key to setting up a great morning is to organise the night before. Consider ironing your clothes or packing your lunch.

I like to reserve mornings for myself. I like to relax and slide into my day. Needless to say having a healthy nutritious breakfast is essential. Good luck with setting up a fantastic morning routine!