I am not one of those people who have a lot of opinions on how a morning routine is supposed to look. A morning routine is for you; therefore, it should be whatever you need it to be. This post is on how to create a perfect morning routine. By perfect, I mean perfect for you.
Your morning routine should not look like anyone else’s. That’s right, you cannot just copy Joe Rogan’s morning routine because it will not work for you; it was specifically designed for him. Today, you will design your own. One that is aligned with you and your life.
Get Enough Sleep
There is a phrase that says, “Your morning routine begins the night before.” And I completely agree. You have to prep the night before in order to carry out your perfect routine. Particularly, you need to get enough sleep so that you have energy when you wake up the next morning. If you scroll on your phone till ungodly hours, then expect yourself to wake up in the morning well rested, you are setting yourself up for failure.
So, create a night routine to support your morning routine. It does not have to be anything complicated. It can just be brushing your teeth, charging your phone in a different room, and going to bed. It just has to be something that will get you in bed on time.
You Don’t Have to Wake Up at 5 am
You do not need to wake up at 5 am to be productive and successful. You actually need to wake up at 4 am; 5 am is for lazy people. I am kidding.
I know you have been spoon-fed this information by every self-help guru that you need to wake up early so that you can get ahead, while everybody else is still sleeping. That seems like sound advice, but it is not for everyone. Some people are night owls, which means they feel energized at night.
Forcing yourself to sleep when your body naturally wants to work in the name of waking up at 5 am seems stupid to me. It is okay for you to wake up at 11 am or later. Just pick a reasonable time to wake up, such that you would have gotten enough sleep, and stick to it.
If you are a morning person, then you need to capitalize on waking up early. You have more energy in the morning, and you need to honour that.
If you have work in the morning, your routine won’t always line up with when you naturally feel most energised. That doesn’t mean you skip it; it just means you adjust it. This post will show you how to build a 5 am routine that works even on low-energy days.
Your Why
You have to figure out why you want to create a morning so that you will fill your morning routine with the right habits. For example, if you want to create a morning routine so that you can work on your blog before your kids wake up, then you cannot add cold plunges to your morning routine. If you want to do it to add happiness to your day, then you cannot add answering emails to your morning routine.
Your intention dictates what you will prioritise in the morning. For the mommy wanting to build a blog, her morning routine can be: wake up, brush teeth, wash face, drink a glass of water, make a cup of coffee, take laptop, coffee, and blanket to the living room, work on the blog for 90 minutes.
For the lady wanting to add more happiness to their day, her morning routine can be: wake up, turn on a happy playlist, brush teeth, wash face, put on gym clothes, go to dance classes, and get a smoothie after.
Non-Negotiables
Your morning routine should have 1 or 2 non-negotiable things. Things that you have to complete every morning, no matter what. These things are the turkey, then everything else is the mashed potatoes, gravy, and pumpkin. It is wonderful if they are there because they complete the meal. But in all honesty, everyone is there for the turkey. Okay, I am making myself hungry.
After determining your why, you need to figure out 1 or 2 habits that, if done consistently enough, will get you the result you want. By result, I do not mean building a business, losing weight, or writing a book. I mean, whatever you want more of in your life, that could be happiness, peace, connection, or love.
Be Realistic
Your morning routine doesn’t have to be 5 hours beginning with a cold plunge and ending with breakfast at the Eiffel Tower (chuckles in the ridiculousness of influencers’ morning routines).
Do not create a morning routine for your ideal self and ideal situation. Fill your morning routine with things you are actually capable of doing now. Things you don’t have to drag yourself to do every time. Make your morning routine something that you can actually reasonably do every morning.
Bare Minimum Routine
This is the morning routine you will reach for when you wake up completely exhausted, or you wake up 30 minutes late. Having this bare minimum routine in your back pocket will reduce your black and white thinking. This can help you stay consistent with your morning routine because you will no longer be prioritizing perfection.
So, on the days that things do not go as planned, you will still be able to be on track with your habits.
For example, for the mommy who wants to build a blog. Her bare minimum morning can be: wake up, get your laptop, and work on the blog from bed.
For the lady wanting to cultivate more joy: wake up, wear gym clothes, and do a dance workout on YouTube.
Remember, the bare minimum routine isn’t about slacking. It’s about staying consistent even when life throws you off. On tough mornings, showing up in any small way keeps your momentum going and proves that progress doesn’t need to be perfect.
Don’t Quit
For this routine to actually have an impact on your life, you need to do it consistently.
Aren’t you curious what would happen if you didn’t give up? Would your blog take off, and would you make a lot of money from it? Would you finally feel happier and more peaceful in your life? Would you finally be able to lose the weight and get your dream body?
The real reason why you have not been successful in creating your perfect morning routine is that you are addicted to instant gratification. You quit after 1 week because you are not seeing results fast enough. What if you did not do that this time? What if you showed up for yourself daily? What would happen then?
Your morning routine doesn’t need to look impressive or productive to be valuable. It just needs to meet you where you are and support the kind of day you want to have. What works for you is enough, even if it looks completely different from anyone else’s.