You just got done singing front row at a Luke Bryan concert. All night you were trying to catch his attention by screaming his name, wailing your arms around, and holding up a classic sign that read “I <3 You Luke!” You did something right because the guards came up to you after the concert saying you were requested to go backstage to meet Luke. Just as you step through the thick black curtains that divided this star from the rest of the world – your alarm goes off!
What do you do after you stop the dreadful noise from coming out of your phone? Do you sit up and start your day or do you, instead, hit the snooze button for an extra nine minutes. It is 100% okay to hit your snooze button once or twice if that’s what helps you wake up in the morning. However, are you doing it every morning? Getting into a routine every morning doesn’t only help you wake up in the morning but it also brings some structure to your crazy busy schedule. I LOVE having schedules and to-do lists. There is so much that goes on in my day it is nice to feel structured and put together.
Where to Start
It takes at least 18 days to start a new habit. I will give you a few things I do in my morning routine that you can try developing into your routine. Some will be more complex than others, but I challenge you to try doing one for 18 days and see if you can stick with it.
1. Making your bed – As soon as you get up, the first thing you should get out of your way is making your bed. I love making my bed because when I come home at night, a nicely made bed looks 10x more comfortable. When my comforter is half on the bed and half off, with all my pillows and additional blankets on the ground, my room looks messy. No one likes cleaning a messy room after coming home from a long day of work. Instead, get the mess done right away in the morning.
2. Wait for the social media – When we reach for our phones to turn off the alarm, oftentimes we check our notifications right away, too. After checking notifications we take a “quick” scroll through social media to see what celebrity scandal occurred overnight. More times than not we lose track of time when our phones are in our hands. Our alarm could have gone off an hour ago and yet, we are still laying in bed! My tip is to wait to scroll through social media. When you go to turn off your alarm, don’t pick it up. Only reach to turn it off and leave it sitting on your stand. I check social media when I’m sitting down eating breakfast. This way I am already wide awake instead of getting more tired in bed.
3. Journaling – In a previous blog, I wrote about the benefits of journaling. There I mention that I do my journaling at night as a way to reflect on my day and allow me to sleep better. Giving yourself some time in the morning to journal would be a great addition to your morning routine. You can write about the things you want to accomplish that day, write about your dreams, and write about something that is making you nervous. Becoming aware of your nervousness and planning how you will overcome it is good practice. For example, in the morning you write about how you have an exam to take today and it’s making you nervous. You go on to say before the exam you will take deep breaths, look through your notes one more time, and have a snack so you don’t get hungry during the exam. Now, when it is time to test, you have already rehearsed this in your mind, and you will feel more prepared.
4. Change out of your Pajamas – This one may sound silly, but as soon as I wake up and put in my contacts, I change into the clothes I laid out the night before. My pajamas are really comfy and staying in them for a long time makes me more tired and lazy. Once I put on my jeans and a t-shirt, I no longer want to climb back into bed.
You can add anything to your morning routine. The routine part of it is just making sure you do it every single morning. You can take things out of your current routine or add some things in! It is entirely up to you, but it is a good way to consistently start your day. As I mentioned before, routines make me feel more put together than just doing things on the fly. What are some things you already do every morning?
