A Morning Routine Does Not Have to Be Time Consuming
but it does need to pack a punch
Morning routines are vital for self-development, and to get us mentally ready and focused for the day. However, for many people they seem to be the dream and not able to become reality. This is because of an already overpacked schedule.
Maybe you work at a job that starts early or have kids to get ready for school in the morning, maybe it’s just hard to come up with time in the morning between sleep land and waking up.
The secret is, morning routines don’t have to be this big grand scheme where we spend hours working on ourselves. A routine like the Miracle Morning is fantastic (and what I use each morning), but an hour is not feasible for everyone.
What matters is making that conscious effort. There are plenty of options that don’t involve long, drawn out routines but still pack a punch:
- reading an inspirational blog post
- listening to a TED talk
- allowing yourself 5 minutes to sit and meditate
- taking a very short walk around the neighborhood
- writing a few sentences in your journal
- making time to sketch a drawing
- affirmations
- listing gratitude
All of these activities, except for walking, can take 5–10 minutes. Choosing one or two would take 10–20 minutes to complete. The process of fueling up can last for as little as 20 minutes.
Choose based on what speaks to your heart. My routine was especially simple during the years when I worked as a morning manager in fast food and had 20 minutes to practice. I read a post from my favorite blog and then bullet journaled.
It seemed like a quick bite, but it was enough to get me through the day. Once I was done with the day, I knew that I always had an option to go back and do more self-development tasks.
An ideal morning routine feeds the heart, soul and body. Eating breakfast while watching inspirational material and then writing gratitude for example, is a morning routine that takes about 10 minutes. The benefits of those 10 minutes can change both your mindset and your day.
Currently, I start later (8:30), so I have time to actually put an hour into a morning routine.
However, I’m grateful for those days when I had less time. It meant that I had to choose what really made the cut and get right into the zone. It taught me to be selective of activity in the morning and still left me inspired.
The key is, you have time for what you make time for. Knowing that the morning routine does not have to be drawn out, you can still design your ideal mornings in a way that suits you. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose.
