5 Benefits to a Healthy Morning Routine…Plus, Tips to Improve Yours
I was pumped to crush the day but the day almost had other plans. I was up before 5, drank a glass of water, and had quiet time. I included what I was grateful for as I journaled. After reviewing my day’s agenda and goals I successfully completed my workout, showered, and set out to conquer the day. Nothing was going to stop me from success!
After hopping in the car and backing out of the driveway I realized I had a very flat tire. 8 AM and the day starts throwing obstacles. I canceled my first two meetings and went to see my mechanic. However, my positive attitude remained intact.
The tire was taken care of and I got back on track for the rest of my day. My attitude remained calm and peaceful, even jovial, throughout this adventure and the other disruptions that popped up throughout the day. I was able to go with the flow with circumstances I could not control.
Why?
Because I started the day with my healthy morning routine. If I didn’t start my day well, my attitude would have been, shall we say, not pretty.
Tips and tricks to improve your healthy morning routine
We have routines whether we think we do or not. That’s the point of routines, so we don’t have to think about every little action.
Mornings are the one time of day where we have the most control.
Our brain likes to work by habits and routines. Routines help our brain conserve energy. Routines are automatic actions we don’t have to think about.
A healthy morning routine helps us start our day off right. We can’t control most of what happens through the day but we can control and know what to expect in our morning routine. Following are the benefits of a healthy morning routine.
Having a regular morning routine helps us feel in control. It lessens our need for early morning decision making, lessens worrying and feeling overwhelmed. When the day starts all sorts of disruptions occur. Like flat tires.
Having a good routine will help prepare us for the day and increase our productivity. How we start the day influences us the rest of the day. We start the day more focused and more likely to follow our plan.
When we know what our plan is for the day, our stress level is reduced. Reviewing our day in the morning helps us to achieve our goals. If circumstances cause us to change our plan, we can be flexible and adapt. We don’t want to be rigid in our planning. Schedule buffer time to accommodate the disruptions that are bound to happen.
Establish healthy habits in the morning and the healthy habits will continue through the day. We feel good and energized when we start the day with a healthy routine. Healthy habits tend to continue throughout the day because we feel good, are energized and we see the benefits.
Relationships improve as we have healthy habits in the morning. We can focus more on the people around us since we aren’t trying to remember what to do next, or feeling stressed and rushed. We can schedule 5-10 minutes of fun with each child and 15 minutes of quality time with our spouse.
What to do to set up a healthy morning routine:
It may take some time to establish a healthy routine. Be patient. Start with one habit at a time and stay consistent. Over time you will have a strong, healthy morning routine. You will see the effects of it throughout your day and achieve your goals when you thought you never would. Here are the steps to take:
Think about what your responsibilities are in the morning and write them down.
Write down how much time you have in the morning to get a good start to your day. Can you stretch it by getting up earlier? When you have the time and your responsibilities you are off to a good start.
Write down your routine you do now. This is the baseline of what you are doing. Look it over and see what are necessary and what are not.
What are a few activities which will help you have a successful day? Remember, success is how you define it. What actions will help you be energized and positive?
What are your priorities? It might be a glass of water or coffee, prayer or meditation, exercise or a few moments with each child. This is personal to you and your family.
Take one priority and start to do it every morning. Eliminate something from your list that is not a priority or doesn’t help you get a good start.
Next week, add another action and eliminate an unnecessary action. Sustainability is key to establishing a habit.
Pick one healthy action you want to make into a routine in the morning. Work on one action at a time. It might be a glass of water when you get up. It may be softly waking up your children rather than yelling at them after 4 attempts at getting them up. It might be sitting down to have a healthy breakfast together.
Pick one and work on it for a week and then pick another healthy habit. If you live alone or don’t have young children then you might want to read something inspirational, motivational or spiritual for 15-30 minutes each morning. Pick something and do it consistently and notice what happens.
You will be invigorated, energized and get more done than you ever thought you would.
Written by: Cindy Picht, LPC, CEO
About Cindy:
Cindy is director and co-founder of Light the Way Counseling. She is a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional and a Certified Clinical Anxiety Treatment Professional. She combines her skills with compassion and encouragement to help people find hope and healing.