This article aims to offer practical suggestions for enhancing your morning routine in preparation for your commute. Recognising the need for intentionality is the initial stride towards positive change in one’s life, and your decision to engage with this article reflects that awareness.
By conscientiously identifying the habits that presently guide your morning routine, you gain the power to transform and establish new ones. (Read our review of James Clear’s Atomic Habits) Through deliberate reprogramming of your habits, you have the potential to entirely reshape your morning routine and enhance the way you approach your workday. Continue reading to discover how you can achieve this transformation.
A triumphant morning routine revolves around seizing the low-hanging fruit as you embark on your day, letting these small wins accumulate into a formidable force of positivity. These easy-to-grab victories, such as moments of mindfulness, a wholesome breakfast, or a brief exercise, act as the foundational building blocks for a successful start.
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Wake Up!
Duh, step one, but wait, it isn’t as obvious as it sounds. Read our article ‘Get An Alarm Clock: Don’t Snooze’ to learn why overlooking this crucial moment in your day could be selling yourself short. In the article, we discuss why using the app on your phone as your alarm has got to go in place of a purpose-made alarm clock. Alongside other benefits of using a separate alarm clock, it allows you to wake up with your phone off and in another room. Scrolling through social media first thing in the morning has been shown to have extremely adverse effects on your mental health, and the unnatural dopamine hits so early on can impact your emotional well-being for the rest of the day.
Another essential consideration when waking up is resisting the urge to hit the snooze on your alarm. Snoozing an alarm and drifting off back into a new sleep cycle, which you interrupt 5-10 minutes later, confuses your body and puts you in a state of sleep inertia. This results in measurable reduced productivity and feelings of grogginess for the rest of the day! So, set that alarm and wake up when you promised yourself you would. No snoozing equals your first win of the day!
Make the Bed
Next win—this is easy, right? But, seriously, just by getting out of bed when you said you would and making it presentable for your tired future self, you’ve engaged in an exercise of self-love that will get the feel-good juices flowing. By making small promises to yourself and delivering on them, you can easily craft a positive personal monologue that will lead to success and belief throughout the rest of your day, long after the commute is complete.
High-5 Yourself
Keep the self-love train moving and high-5 yourself. This concept, inspired by Mel Robbins, may sound fun, silly, or even stupid, but it’s a profoundly simple exercise with science-backed benefits. Stand in front of the mirror first thing in the morning—Mel insists on brushing your teeth first —then, reach out a hand to the mirror and high-5 yourself. By interrupting autopilot and intentionally acknowledging yourself, you promote feelings of empathy, belief, kindness, and love for that person in the mirror who is often easily neglected. The reported results from people who’ve tried this are astounding, as Mel describes in her brilliant book.
Planning and goal setting
Incorporating planning and goal setting into your morning routine serves as a powerful compass, guiding the trajectory of your day with purpose and intention. By dedicating a few moments each morning to outline your priorities and set achievable goals, you lay a foundation for success. This practice not only enhances clarity on what needs to be accomplished but also provides a roadmap to navigate potential challenges. Planning allows you to allocate time efficiently, ensuring that your energy is directed towards tasks that align with your overarching objectives. Moreover, the act of goal setting instils a sense of motivation, transforming abstract aspirations into tangible targets. Embracing this intentional start to your day not only fosters productivity but also cultivates a proactive mindset, empowering you to tackle challenges with focus and determination.
Gratitude practice/ journaling
By adding gratitude practice and journaling into your morning routine you can infuse your day with positivity and mindfulness, a truly transformative habit. Taking a few moments each morning to reflect on what you’re grateful for cultivates a mindset of appreciation, fostering a deeper sense of contentment and resilience. Journaling amplifies this effect, providing a dedicated space to articulate your thoughts, aspirations, and reflections. By expressing gratitude and recording your thoughts, you not only start your day on a positive note but also create a personal archive of your journey. This introspective practice not only enhances self-awareness but also serves as a therapeutic outlet, helping you navigate the complexities of daily life with a grounded and grateful perspective.
Commuter Mob
This is where the mob comes in… You’ve eaten your healthy breakfast, maybe you’ve squeezed in a Gym session now you’re sat on the bus on your way to work. Don’t let it slip. Your mornings, especially the commutes, are a brilliant opportunity for a period of personal development. Don’t just scroll social media, why not try engaging with our community in our Facebook group and see how they’ve spent their mornings. Alternatively you could check out some more of our blog articles for inspiration for how you could better spend your commute time.
Conclusion
In the vast landscape of self-help advice, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by lofty and sometimes pretentious suggestions, like the ideal morning routine featuring 5 AM wake-ups, yoga, intricate breathwork, and a breakfast menu that reads like a health aficionado’s dream. The reality is, true change doesn’t happen overnight, and attempting a radical transformation all at once can be daunting. Instead, consider a more gradual approach. Focus on making one or two manageable changes at a time, integrating them into your morning routine. Experiment, observe, and let the benefits snowball into your life. By embracing change at a realistic pace, you’ll find the space for genuine improvement and sustainable well-being, creating a morning routine that genuinely works for you. To ensure you set yourself up for a successful morning, read our article about how you can improve your bedtime routine.