27: What is a Morning Routine and How Do You Build One

Welcome to the Women's Success Coach Podcast, a podcast created to inspire growth and to help you learn, achieve, and evolve in your life ongoing, regardless of your age. I'm your host, Certified Coach and Licensed Therapist, Karen Vincent, and I'm here to guide you, challenge you, and cheer you on so that you can create the life of your dreams and beyond. In this episode of the women's success coach podcast, I'm talking about morning routines. For many years, I kept hearing buzz about morning routines and how helpful they were to people, but I was like, I don't really even know what having a morning routine means. This is going back probably five or six years now, but I started doing some research and paying closer attention to people who were talking about morning routines and also why they felt they were helpful.. What I learned was that morning routines are individualized, they can change over time based on what season of life you're in, and that the main goal of a morning routine is dedicating some amount of time each morning for yourself to do something that helps set your day up for success. As I mentioned, morning routines are individualized, so in this episode, I'm not going to prescribe a morning routine for you. Instead, I'm going to review a menu of 15 items that could be part of a morning routine and also help you figure out what makes the most sense for you based on your current life circumstances. So let's dive on in. Well, hello, my friend. As I mentioned in the introduction, I developed a morning routine five or six years ago and feel it's been an anchor in my life since that time. I've also noticed that when I start to let my morning routine slip, even just a little, other things in my life also start to slip. It's less about committing a lot of time to a morning routine, and more about consistently taking time for myself each morning before the hustle and the bustle of the day kicks in. Like me, five or six years ago, I've had many clients who talk about hearing about morning routines, but who don't really understand why they can be so important, or what their morning routines should even include. The good news is that there's no right way, or wrong way, to do a morning routine. And morning routines don't need to take a long time or be complicated. I think one of the biggest benefits of a morning routine is that it's an opportunity to intentionally start your day off in a way that feels good for you. It allows you time to focus on yourself and it allows you time to set the tone for your day. Like so many people, I've fallen victim to waking up in the morning and immediately picking up my phone and consuming text messages, emails, and social media. For me, and for many of my clients, the problem in doing this is that I was losing control of my day, before it even really started. I was almost immediately thinking about what other people were doing or what other people needed from me for the day, and in doing this, I was putting myself on the back burner day after day after day. The other thing I've seen many clients struggle with is getting up late or getting up just in time to rush, to get ready for the day, Falling victim to that snooze button and hitting it until you barely have time to get out the door or logged in on time, can result in starting your day feeling behind, anxious and stressed out. When you create a morning routine, you're telling yourself that you're worthy of self care and that it's important for you to have time for yourself before you allow others into your day. You're also intentionally taking time to nourish your mind, body, and/or spirit. You're also intentionally setting the tone for your day. Whether you're journaling or meditating to help you manage your mindset or to reinforce your goals, exercising to stay physically healthy and release some endorphins or feel good chemicals in the brain, praying to nurture your spirit and soul, or you're reading to nurture your mind, when you take that time for yourself to take care of your physical health, your mental health, your spiritual health, your mindset, and to dial up your focus and motivation for your day, you send a message to yourself that you are important. And You also accomplish something positive in your day, before the needs of others start to creep in. I've made adjustments to my morning routine based on what I'm prioritizing in my life at any given time. And as I mentioned, there's not a best way to do a morning routine. What I do think matters the most is that it's consistent. When you're consistent with a morning routine, it becomes a habit that you'll be more likely to prioritize each and every day In addition, if there are others who live with you, they'll be more likely to recognize and respect this precious time that you've carved out for yourself. Now, before we dive into what you may want to include in your morning routine, let's look at some people who you may be familiar with and what their morning routines look like. Let's start with the Queen Oprah. Oprah Winfrey starts her day with a morning meditation and mindfulness with a focus on gratitude and reflection. Tim Ferris is an author and entrepreneur who starts his morning with meditation and journaling. Michelle Obama works out at the beginning of her day to help her maintain a healthy lifestyle. The Rock is also known for his early morning workouts. If you've never seen them, you should check them out on social media. And finally, Arianna Huffington highlights that getting a good night's sleep is part of her morning routine, which makes such good sense. How can you get up and take care of yourself if you've not gotten a good night's sleep? Now, my current morning routine consists of journaling, visualizing my goals and my future, and meditating. It doesn't take me more than about 20 minutes each morning, sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less, and I truly feel different on the days I don't do it. I used to have exercise incorporated into it as well, however, that kind of fell off when I didn't have as much time first thing in the morning. And if I'm being honest, it's felt harder to keep exercise consistent since removing it as a consistent part of my morning routine. So, starting this week, I'm getting up a little bit earlier than I have been so that I have time to exercise before starting work each day. And since this requires me to get up earlier, I've also made the commitment to go to bed a little bit earlier. I'm also intentionally reminding myself how good it feels to get a good workout in before the day takes over. This way, I don't have to spend time during the day wondering when I'll have time, if I'll feel motivated and talking myself in and out of exercising throughout the day, which can feel exhausting and annoying if I'm being completely honest. When it just gets done in the morning, it takes away the mental fatigue, or mental gymnastics as I like to call them, of the back and forth of if when I'll fit in a workout. There are lots and lots of options of things to include in a morning routine, depending on what feels most important to you at this time. I'm going to share fifteen suggestions that you can incorporate to customize your morning routine. But keep in mind, this is no way an exhaustive list. As is the case with any habit, it can be helpful to start with one or two things maximum and stick with those for just a few weeks. Then you can assess how you're feeling and eliminate something if it doesn't feel like it's the best fit for you, or add in something else onto what you've already established. So let's dive into things you may want to consider adding into your morning routine.#1: Waking up earlier. You'll need time to fit in your morning routine activities, and this may require you to consider waking up earlier. If you can create a morning routine that doesn't feel rushed, you'll be in a much better mental space starting your day. So I encourage you to either figure out how you can wake up even just 5 to 10 minutes earlier as a start, or if there are things that you're currently doing in the morning that you can cut out to free up 5 to 10 minutes for yourself and your morning routine.#2: Drink water. Many people wake up dehydrated after sleeping for 7 to 8 hours. So having a cup of water in the bathroom that you can drink as soon as you wake up can help you feel better as you start your day. Think about it, drinking one cup of water as part of your morning routine can make a difference for your whole day.#3: Practice mindfulness or meditation. Now this doesn't require a lot of time. Spending even five to ten minutes in the morning focusing on the present moment, breathing deeply, or intentionally thinking about how you want to feel throughout the day can help you get in a good mental place as you're starting your day. This can also help you with focus and managing your thoughts and mindset. And the more consistent you are with your mindfulness or meditation practice, the more effective you'll be in managing your brain.#4: Practice gratitude. Take a few minutes each morning and write down one to three things that you're grateful for from the previous day. When you practice gratitude, you're reminding yourself that even when things feel hard or when challenging things are happening, that there are also good things happening. Over time, this will positively impact how you feel and also will positively impact your overall outlook on life. If you want to hear more about the power of a gratitude practice, check out episode 20 of the Women's Success Coach Podcast where I dive into gratitude a bit deeper.#5: Exercise and/or stretch. Engaging in some form of physical activity in the morning will help boost your energy and confidence for the day. As I mentioned, when you exercise, you trigger the release of endorphins in your brain, which creates positive feelings. I can honestly say that every single client I have ever worked with reports that they feel better, not only physically, but also mentally when they exercise with any level of consistency.#6: Journal. There are so many variations of journaling. And as I already mentioned with practicing gratitude, many people find that starting the day identifying something that they're grateful for has a positive impact on how they feel, and on their life overall. Other people like to free flow journal and allow whatever they're thinking about to be written on paper so that they can get it out of their head and explore it on a deeper level to better understand themselves. Others use journaling as a way of reinforcing their future and their goals. Writing about your goals each day and reminding yourself why they're important and identifying what you need to do to stay on track with them, can dial up both your commitment and your motivation to take the actions necessary to achieve your goals. There are so many forms of journaling, and there's no right or wrong way to journal. So I encourage you to experiment and see what feels best for you. If you want more suggestions for starting a journaling practice, check out episode 25 of this podcast.#7: Plan and prioritize. It can be helpful to take a few minutes in the morning to review what you have to do as well as what you want to do during the day. Doing this will allow you to prioritize and schedule the most important things so that you have a plan and some structure going into your day. And, as I mentioned, this can also help you stay on track if there are things you're working towards that require your focus and attention ongoing. When things are not scheduled, it's much less likely that they'll actually happen, especially if they're a little bit challenging.#8: Connect with others. Too many of us can fall victim to starting our days by scrolling and looking at what strangers on the Internet are doing instead of connecting with the people who are actually part of our lives. This doesn't need to take a lot of time. However, having undistracted time to check in with family or friends at the beginning of your day can feel much, much better than checking in with people you don't actually know. Taking time to connect can also mean sending an email, a text, or a voice text to someone, letting them know you're thinking of them and wishing them well, or even share something with them that will make them smile or laugh at the beginning of their day. As humans, we all desire and thrive from positive human connection.#9: Read. Many highly successful people read for a brief period of time in the morning as part of their morning routine. This can be a good way of digesting information that feels valuable to you at the start of your day to be sure that you fit it into your busy schedule. It's also another way of reminding yourself that you're doing something to support your own growth before tending to the needs of others.#10: Set an intention or have a mantra or affirmation. Taking a few moments to set an intention for how you want to show up for yourself and or others, or for how you want to think and feel each day can help you from having thoughts that don't serve you. If you're in need of some inspiration for this, follow me on Instagram@karenvincentsolutions. I share affirmations daily on my stories that may help you identify some affirmations that will support you in thinking and feeling the way you want to.#11: Take time to fuel your body in a nutritious way. We all know how easy it can be to grab the prepackaged unhealthy item, or run through the drive thru and grab fast food for breakfast. However, when you fuel your body intentionally at the start of your day, you'll have more energy and feel better overall, especially if you do this consistently. Now, this doesn't need to take a long time each morning if you're planful. I'm always a fan of meal prepping, so I'll do things like make an egg bake with lots of veggies, or have my smoothie ingredients all together so that it's really easy for me to throw them in a blender in the morning.#12: Practice visualization. I mentioned already that this is part of my morning routine. I've created a vision board on Canva, and my visualization practice involves putting on music and looking at my vision board, which contains images, words, and phrases related to my future and to my goals. My vision board is a reminder of where I'm headed, which helps keep me inspired and focused on taking the necessary action steps to get there, even on the days I'm not really feeling it. There's no right or wrong way to use visualization. Some people have big vision boards with things cut out from magazines and words and phrases. Some people create mental images in their mind. The thing that I think is most important with visualization, is that you feel something when you do it. You should feel inspired, excited, and maybe even a little scared if you have big dreams and goals. On my podcast. I have a short episode on the power of visualization. So if you're interested, go check out episode number six on this podcast. 13: Listen to music. I just mentioned that I put on music when I'm doing my visualization practice, and I do this because it creates a certain feeling for me. So if you're someone who connects with music, try to incorporate it into your morning routine to help you set the tone for your day. Maybe you want to feel calm and at peace. Maybe you need to get pumped up. Maybe you just want to feel happy or joyful. The options are endless and being intentional about listening to music that helps create the mood or the vibe you want to experience in your day can make a real difference.#14: Take time with your grooming routine. If you know that you feel better when you put a little extra time into doing your hair or makeup, or if you work at home, we may be talking about something even more basic like showering, take the time to do it. When you feel well groomed, do you feel better? Do you feel more confident? Consider how even just five more minutes of your grooming routine can impact how you feel about yourself on a daily basis.#15: Engage in a creative activity. If you're someone who spends all day in your analytical brain, consider doing something in the morning that's more creative, such as drawing, writing, or playing a musical instrument. Not only will this offer you an opportunity to do something that feels enjoyable, it'll also keep your brain active, growing and healthy. So there you have it, 15 possibilities for your morning routine. However, the possibilities for what you can do for your specific routine are endless. And as I mentioned, they can change over time as things and priorities change in your life. I encourage you to give a morning routine a try and see how it benefits you in working with hundreds of people who either have morning routines or who I've helped create morning routines, I have never, ever, ever heard anyone say they regret putting one in place. And as I do in all of my episodes, I'm going to continue to encourage you to take action. I challenge you to implement, or fine tune, your morning routine within the next 24 to 48 hours. The reason I always push for you to take action is because while I'm grateful for you listening to this podcast episode, and I hope it inspires you in some way, your life will get busy and this will likely go off the radar. So I'll quickly go through them all and as I do, decide on which one or two things you'll start with.#1: Wake up a little bit earlier.#2: Drink a big glass of water first thing in the morning.#3: Practice mindfulness or meditation.#4: Practice gratitude.#5: Exercise and or stretch.#6: Journal.#7: Plan and prioritize your day.#8: Connect with others.#9: Read.#10: Set an intention or have a mantra or affirmation that you recite.#11: Take time to fuel your body in a nutritious way.#12: Practice visualization.#13: Listen to music.#14: Take time with your grooming routine. And finally,#15: Engage in a creative activity. I'm wishing you all the best with your morning routine, and I'd love it if you'd reach out to me and let me know how it's going. And of course, if you have any questions, reach out to me and we will talk through them. To do this, just shoot me a DM on Instagram@karenvincentsolutions So send all those morning routine wins and questions my way. That's a wrap. You should be proud of yourself for investing time in you, which is so critical for success and for overall life fulfillment. I look forward to having you join me for my next episode. And in the meantime, go click that subscribe button so you know when it's released. And you can also follow me on Instagram@KarenVincentSolutions, That's@KarenVincentSolutions on Instagram. Also remember that whatever it is that you're working on, you've got this. And I'm here cheering you on.