do i need to have a morning routine?

As I went back to work last week, I've realized how vital my morning routine is. Below are some suggestions for things you can incorporate into your mornings to make the rest of your day a smoother ride.

Routine in general has been so important to my sober journey. Morning routines create stability, preparedness and ease for the rest of the day. Below are the steps I take in my morning routine. I don't do every single thing every single morning (I am human after all), but most mornings I complete everything on this list. And I find that if I don't stick to at least most of the items of this routine, it seriously throws my whole day off!

It also helps to roughly plan out your morning routine the night before, or at least have some semblance of a plan in your head. Because without vaguely knowing which action you plan to do, you can waste a lot of time going back and forth on whether to do a morning task (like working out for example). This happened to me one morning recently, I had slept poorly the night before because I was worried about work the next day, and when I woke up I couldn't decide if I wanted to work out or not. I waited until the last minute (wasting a lot of time in the process), but I did work out knowing I would have felt too guilty about it later had I not. That work out was definitely shorter than usual. But I did it and was able to move on with the rest of my day - in a clearer and more focused way.

Anyway, here is my list from start to finish. Also, please note that length of time can vary from morning to morning.

Waking Up

You know in the morning when you are in that dream state of being half awake and half asleep? I've read that being in this state is very powerful for manifesting because you are already in a semi-conscious state. It's in this state that I recite a few affirmations every morning. Of course my mantra, "I am always worthy," always starts the morning off! Once I've sat up and dangled my legs over the edge of the bed, I get up to brush my teeth!

Dog Duties

Since I have a dog and no yard, it's my responsibility to take my dog out right away when we wake up. I usually do this right after brushing my teeth, because at that point, she's been holding it since about 10pm the night before 🤦🏻‍♀️

Then she gets her usual cup of food and eats while I change into my work out clothes.

Room Temperature Lemon Water

Every evening I pour a glass of water, so that it is room temperature by the morning. After I wake up and brush my teeth, the first thing I do is cut a lemon and squeeze half of it in the room temperature water. I love lemons, they help energize and literally add a little zest to my morning! And since I pretty much cut out coffee, they are a natural stimulant.

A Bite to Eat

Within thirty minutes after waking you should get something into your stomach. And always make sure to eat something before having any caffeine! As I'm not the most hungry in the mornings, I usually just eat a banana or an orange. I also don't like to have something too heavy at this point because I don't like to work out on a full stomach. I also have something a little later on after I get ready, or once I'm in the office - like hardboiled eggs, a piece of toast, granola bar or apple.

Moving My Body

I always try to incorporate some sort of movement into my morning routine. Sometimes it's a 2 mile run, sometimes an online yoga class, sometimes an at-home HIIT class and sometimes an extra long 3-4 mile walk with my dog. On rare occasions or weekends, it can be a hike at Runyon Canyon or in Malibu or Santa Barbara. It's just become so important for me to get some physical exercise in the morning, my day doesn't feel complete without it.

Some Amount of Reading

This one really depends on how much time I have in my morning and how quickly I've gotten through the previous habits. It's one that unfortunately I do the least, but can be the most important. Sometimes I literally read for 3 minutes, sometimes none and sometimes 20.

Cleansing Shower & Ready for the Day

You know the drill. Shower, do hair and makeup, rinse and repeat. The most boring and rote part of my morning routine by far, but a necessary one if I want to look like a put together person. As soon as I get out of the shower, I love using this cucumber spray from Heartspring. It's so refreshing and hydrating!

Me, after getting ready for the day

Answer & Tips

So, do you need to have a morning routine? Yes! I highly suggest having some sort of a morning routine. This whole routine takes me about 2.5-3 hours, which admittedly is a lot of time. I'm grateful that I'm relatively close to work and have a later start at 9:30am, this gives me plenty of time for doing an hour work out, but on days that I have a shorter amount of time, sometimes I only do 10 minutes of ab work or stretching. The thing with a morning routine is to not be too hard on yourself if you don't get to everything. Know that the routine can be flexible and malleable. For example, I'd love to incorporate meditation into my morning routine, but I just don't have the time at the moment. Make your morning routine your own! Or switch it up on different days - maybe Monday, Wednesday, Friday spend 10 min reading and Tuesday, Thursday spend that 10 min meditating. It's all up to you! You get to create the morning that you want!

If you don't know where to start or need some inspo, I also suggest checking out the book The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod. Hal has built a morning ritual that will begin to change your life. The biggest help about a morning routine is the effect it has on a person's mental state. My favorite thing about Hal's book was learning that the average person thinks somewhere between 50,000 - 60,000 thoughts on any given day. 95% of our thoughts are the same ones we thought the day before and the day before that. We carry stress, fear and worry from yesterday with us into today. We can begin to change these thoughts by incorporating a morning routine into our lives.

If it all still seems too much for you, I suggest trying to build your routine using habit stacking. Habit stacking is taking one good habit, and doing the next habit right after. In essence, making the habits easier to complete because you are doing one right after the other. The hope is that within 21 days (how long it takes to build a habit), it will become so routine that completing Habit 1 will automatically prompt you to start on Habit 2. So in the example of my morning - I would start with the affirmations (Habit 1), and then brush my teeth right after (Habit 2), and then take the dog out right after that (Habit 3), then eat (Habit 4), etc.

Well, those are my tips for the vital morning routine. I noticed that once I put something in place, I felt less like I was floating around and more like I had a purpose, not only in the mornings but throughout the day and in my life in general. I honestly don't know how I made it through 33 years of my life without a routine in place. I feel more relaxed and accomplished when I do my morning routine, and I know you will too! Let me know how it's going or where you are at with your morning routine!