6 Simple Ways to Start Your Morning More Intentionally
Unconventional ways to develop a routine you’ll love
You’ve heard it before: how the most successful high-achievers and the most Zen gurus all start their day with yoga, meditation, exercise, mind-improving books, and deep breathing.
Don’t get me wrong — all of those things are absolutely valid and wonderful practices with some proven wellness and productivity benefits.
But it’s important to remember that you aren’t failing if you just can’t get into those practices or if your mornings look a little different.
Below I’ll share some more unconventional ways to develop an intentional morning routine if sitting in stillness observing your breath makes you want to climb the walls.
Benefits of a morning routine:
Before we dive in, just a little refresher on why establishing a morning routine — any morning routine — instead of immediately grabbing your phone and scrolling social media is beneficial.
An intentional, mindful morning routine can:
- Lower our stress
- Boost our productivity,
- Improve our mental and physical flexibility (if your routine includes some stretching!)
- Increase a feeling of control over our schedules
- Improve our moods
- Strengthen our relationships
- Contribute to better sleep
So what do you have to lose?
Creative ideas for an intentional morning routine:
1 — Start the night before.
Every night before I get into bed, one of the last things I think is, “Did I prep the poop bags?”
Not as glamorous or Instagrammable as, say, practicing yoga or meditating by candlelight, but getting my supplies ready for the 5am dog walk has become one of the most important steps in getting my mornings started off right.
This habit keeps me from having to fumble through the closets for poop bags and treats first thing in the morning, while fending off a terrier who is leaping around like (and I say this with all the love in the world) Tigger on cocaine.
Spend a few minutes before bed getting your space ready for your immediate morning tasks — whether that be wrangling the poop bags, prepping the coffee maker, laying out your workout clothes, or running the dishwasher — and wake up with one less thing to worry about, right off the bat.
2 — Wash your face with cold water.
I have a whole skincare regimen I indulge in after I’ve had my morning coffee, but to get my brain working for said 5am dog walk, I always splash some really cold water on my face.
In addition to waking me up, washing our face with cold water tightens our pores and reduces puffiness, especially around the eyes.
In other words, we’ll both feel AND look more awake.
This trick is especially helpful on days when I wake up feeling a little anxious. The sensation of cold water on our face or hands provides sensory stimulation that can help stop anxiety in its tracks.
3 — Greet yourself like a friend.
Raise your hand if you’ve ever shuffled into the bathroom first thing in the morning, caught a glimpse in the mirror, and instinctively muttered, “Yikes!”
*Guilty*
Needless to say, insulting yourself is not the best way to start off your day. To fight this instinct, I’ve started greeting myself like I would a friend.
I walk into the bathroom, look straight into the mirror, and say:
“Good morning, gorgeous!”
Referring to your bedhead and sleep crusties as “gorgeous” feel like too much of a stretch? Tone it down a little — something as simple as a “Hey, buddy!” will put a smile on your face and make you feel much more capable of tackling the day.
4 — Review yesterday’s highlight reel.
A great way to pump yourself up for the day is to remember the wins you experienced the day(s) before.
If you keep a gratitude journal or list, spend some time re-reading it; if not, spend a couple minutes reminiscing about good things that happened yesterday or throughout your week.
The key is to not just list moments to yourself but actually relive them in as much detail as possible.
By immersing ourselves in feel-good memories leads to feeling good in the present moment as well; some studies even suggest that savoring positive memories can make us more resilient to stress, manage difficult emotions more successfully, and even strengthen the memory centers in our brain.
5 — Play the “glass or rubber?” game.
Author Nora Roberts famously said in an interview:
“The key to juggling is to know that some of the balls you have in the air are made of plastic and some are made of glass. And if you drop a plastic ball, it bounces, no harm done. If you drop a glass ball, it shatters, so you have to know which balls are glass and which are plastic and prioritize catching the glass ones.” — Nora Roberts
Spend some time every morning looking at your to-do list for the day, and determine which balls are definitely glass (your non-negotiables for the day) and which are plastic (your “nice-to-have’s”).
Focus on the former and give yourself grace if you don’t get to the latter.
6 — Practice scripting.
Scripting is sort of like journaling but more focused on envisioning the type of day you want to have. In fact, you’re literally writing out the “script” you want your day to follow.
The secret?
Write in present tense, as if you’re living this ideal day right now, or in past tense, as if you just wrapped up the day and are looking back on it.
When you’re finished, spend a minute or two with your eyes closed, imagining what this ideal would feel like.
What would your emotions and energy level be like? How would you interact with the world and others around you? What would you not be able to wait to start?
This can be a powerful practice to help you get into the right mindset for the day and show up like the person you want to be!
Remember — make your morning routine your own!
A final note: there is no “perfect” morning routine.
One practice is not better than another, and you don’t get a gold medal in the intentional Olympics if you do 17 practices as opposed to just one.
Experiment and find what works for you to start your day intentionally — that’s what will make a morning routine effective and make you more likely to stick with it in the long run.
