Would you like to feel more in control of your day?
How would you like to feel when you start the day?
How do you find time to create a little piece of calmness in your world?
Developing a morning routine that will boost your productivity can help you stay on top of your commitments for the day. For me, I purposefully wake up an hour before I need to. This allows me more time and I am not rushed. I spend 15-20 minute shower. I get to eat breakfast, which we all know is the most important meal of the day.
Most importantly, though I able to spend 30 minutes in just being quiet.
I am able to write in my journal. I am able to set my intention for the day. I can think about all the things and people that I am grateful for in my life. I use visioning, where I sit and think about what my life is going to be like when all my goals have been reached, you know when I am a 101 sitting in my rocking chair…
Not a morning person?
There are many people that feel they "are not morning people." They believe that they have no control over the flow throughout the day. They believe that they are doomed to blindly moving through mornings in a fog.
Where did these beliefs come from?
Everyone is different, but I believe we are bombarded with other people's beliefs. Maybe they it was our parents, did one of them have a hard time getting up in the morning? Was it your friends at school or college? Did you get into bad habits when you were in college staying up all night studying or partying?
Have you done one of those web tests or maybe it was an "official" test. Did that say you are not a morning person?
Just do it
I believe you everyone has the option to make these change, a change to create a better experience for your morning. Deciding that you WANT to create a wonderful morning experience is entirely up to you.
Step 1 – Create an environment that will recharge you! – Everyone has their different happy place. Some are lucky enough to live where it is sunny all year and they can pick a hammock in the back yard.
Some have busy houses where finding just one chair in a quiet corner is enough. My personal favourite is a reading chair in the corner of my office, I like the feeling of being in a big library surrounded by books, and everyone knows that you need to be quiet in the library!
Step 2 -Get comfy! – Make sure your chair is comfortable, dim the lights, and turn up the lights, put on music, light some candles. Choose the things that add to your feeling of calm.
Step 3 – Relax! – Sit in your chair, take a deep breathe. Allow all of your muscles to relax think about each muscle and just focus on relaxing it, starting with your neck and shoulders, working your way down to your arms and legs. Start with 5 second breathing, count to 5 as you inhale, count to 5 as you exhale. Focus completely on your breathing. Allow thoughts to pass through your mind briefly, focus back to your breathing. After a couple minutes allow yourself to vision your most favourite spot, is it a warm white sandy beach, is the top of your favourite mountain retreat. And just relax…
Practice, Plan, Succeed
- Small Steps. Begin this process slowly. Start by waking up just 15 minutes earlier than you normally would. Or Prepare your breakfast or lay out your clothes the night before. Change one small thing at a time.
- Early to Bed. Staying up too late when you’re trying to create feeling of peacefulness will have negative consequences. You will feel tired and defeated even before you start the day.
- More than arm's length. If you keep your alarm clock close to your bed, you’ll hit the snooze button and destroy your chances of improving your morning routine. Keep your alarm clock at a distance so you must get out of bed to deal with it and resolve not to climb back under the covers.
- Get up. Avoid rationalizing going back to bed. Make yourself leave the room. Create a habit, such as to brush your teeth as soon as you get up, so you don’t convince yourself to go back to sleep.
- Most Important task first. Plan something important to do first thing in the morning. If you have a specific task at hand early in the morning, then this will motivate you to wake up and get out of bed. This is a great time to exercise.
- Create a ritual. If you practice the same basic steps every day, you’ll be able to automate many of your early morning tasks to make them easier.
- Take advantage of your extra energy. Get a jump on your day, doing tasks that are best done in the early morning, such as reading, writing, and planning for the day.
Ultimately, you get to decide the best course of action when developing an early morning routine. These ideas can serve as a foundation for your own nourishing practice. When you customize and ritualize your morning habits, they’ll drive your productivity and calmness throughout the day.
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Inspired Actions
I would love to hear what you favourite morning rituals are? Are you happy with your mornings or are you trying to improve them? I would love to hear your comments below!
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Lori Lynn Smith is a passionate and an authentic teacher who shares her real life experiences about creating a more nurturing and fulfilling lifestyle. As women, mothers, lovers, sisters, friends we often forget that we need to re-charge our batteries. We need to take care of ourselves; we need to love ourselves FIRST!
It is easy to start right now, Experience our 6-Day Email Course- Body + Mind + Spirit in Balance Virtual Retreat, you will have taken the first small step…. just that easy! Click Here to receive the first email
Photo credit: ‘Sunrise‘ by Big Stock
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