Picture it: It’s Monday morning. Your to-do list is 5 miles long. You’ve already overslept. Your house is a mess. Your day is ruined before it even began. As I get older, I realize that my day is either made, or wrecked in those first few moments after I open my eyes in the morning. Establishing a routine has been instrumental in ensuring that my day is as productive as possible- especially because I work from home. I find that I still need to structure my day as though I have ‘somewhere to be‘ otherwise I get absolutely nothing done, and feel completely unfulfilled. The most important part of that structure is what I do with my mornings. I am by no means a morning person. If left undisturbed, I could sleep in ’til 2 pm. With that said, I love being up early, I just hate getting up early. If you can relate, keep reading for a few habits I practice daily to kickstart my day.

1. Don’t Hit Snooze // Whoever invented the snooze button, doomed us all. In fact, the phrase ‘you snooze, you lose’ couldn’t be more accurate! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve set an alarm for 7 am and snoozed myself all the way to 9 all the while thinking I was ‘just closing my eyes for a second.’ Challenge yourself to actually GET OUT OF BED at the time you’ve planned for. Those 5 extra minutes don’t help you at all. In fact, they can actually lead to you feeling more lethargic because your body isn’t capable of entering a full sleep cycle during that time.
2. . Don’t Put Your Phone or Alarm Clock next to your bed // Okay, so maybe you just don’t have the self- control to not hit snooze (let the church say amen.) One of the easiest changes to make is to set your phone to charge overnight, in a place that you have to literally walk to. For most of us, our phones double as our alarm clocks. When your alarm goes off, you will physically have to get up and walk to it to turn it off. This greatly increases the likelihood that you can get your day started at the time you intend to.
3. Water Before Coffee // Trust and believe that I need a cup of coffee before I attempt to be a decent human being on any given day. However, you will feel instantly more awake if you pound a glass of cold water first thing in the morning. Not to mention, it offsets the dehydration that can occur with too much caffeine intake and promotes a healthy metabolism.
4. Pray /Mediate/ Align Your Focus // This will mean different things to different people. I pray and read my devotional in the morning because I feel that setting that time aside before I get into my day, helps me navigate all of the different things that come my way. It helps me to start my day with intention, spiritual purpose and allows me to step into a positive mental space.
5. Get Your Body Moving // I know that it’s difficult to always get a workout in first thing in the a.m. However, I will say that my best days happen when I’ve been active in the morning. You don’t have to take a full-fledged workout class. Go on a walk or do a quick at-home routine- just get your body moving. Completing a workout early on will give you a sense of accomplishment that can motivate you to tackle the rest of your day.

Thank you for reading! What are some of your favorite ways to start the morning?