Morning Routines

Setting your day up for success.

Have you ever set your alarm and snoozed it again and again and then your day has gone to pot? Yup, me too.

The theme of your day is determined by how stressed you are from that moment on.

Late up, no hot water, stuck at every traffic light, no car parking space, kids dilly dallying, into work and you don't catch a break, home time again and back right into duties, dinner, tidy, repeat. In amongst this someone says one thing and you lose it. Blame creeps in and all you want to do is curl up with a hot cuppa, glass of wine or the biggest bar of chocolate known to mankind.

Is this sounding familiar?

If so, retrace your steps and consider the day as a whole. What if you had gotten up earlier? How would your day of been different? Who are you blaming for your problems? What can you do differently?

Having a morning routine is a game changer and allows you time to work on improving your mental health. It is scientifically proven that having a morning routine increases your energy, improves your mood and for me the biggest wins are:

Minimises Stress, when you have a planned approach, you feel more in control and organised you think less and spend more time being productive, this includes having 5minutes to enjoy a hot cuppa.

Increases your Focus, you set intentions for how your day will be. You get crystal clear on how you want to feel and then you act accordingly. Not all days need to be filled with a check list as long as your arm, you can intend for your day to be a day of rest. This is as important as the crazy days but when you decide first thing how your day will run you feel more in control and less likely to feel overwhelmed.

Understand your feelings, by checking in with yourself first thing in the morning means you get clear on what is going on in your head. We rarely ask ourselves the questions we ask others, 'how are you?'. By noticing how we are feeling it allows us to be honest about our needs for the day ahead.

My 5 Top Tips for a successful day are

1. Set a time to get up and do NOT snooze

2. Drink water, if you are not in the habit of this start small, just make sure you are drinking more than you did the day before

3. Journal, ask yourself on a scale of 0 -10, 0 being not great, 10 feeling incredible how you feel. Brain dump for at least 2minutes, set a timer and just let your pen flow. Allow yourself these moments to get everything out of your head onto paper, it may be a 'to do' list or what you dreamt about the night before. There is no right or wrong way to do a brain dump this exercise just allows you to clear your mind before taking on the day. Set an intention, how do you want your day to flow? How do you want to feel? Get committed to this feeling and do not allow others to distract you from it.

4. Meditate, I know this is difficult for many but again start small. Mediation is not about sitting under a rock with your legs crossed (I mean you can if you wish) it is simply the act of noticing where your thoughts are coming and going from. It is becoming aware of what you are thinking about on a continuous cycle and recognising what is going on in your mind. There are so many sources to find meditations, but my favourite is https://insighttimer.com/https://insighttimer.com/

5. Move your body. This can be anything from a gently stretch, shake or sway to a HIIT workout or walk. Just allow your body to shake off stagnant energy from the night before and release before entering a new day.

Try a new morning routine, even 1 day out of 7 to begin with and notice how it feels.

Lisa