Over the past few months, I have been trying to get myself into a morning routine. It's been difficult to say the least; I used to wake up at 11am or even 12pm and go to sleep at 1 in the morning! It was not good and I was determined to change my ways. It's March now, and I'm so glad to be able to say that my routine has finally come together!
With some tweaking and adjusting here and there, I now have some habits that I have built that help me get productive and healthy from the moment I wake up.
I'm definitely one to build routines for different aspects of my life and it's so shocking that it's taken me this long to create a routine for when I wake up! With all that said, let's get on with the post!
WAKE UP EARLY
Waking up early has really changed the whole game for me! As I said above, I loved waking up later in the day, and even snoozing my way through the entire morning. When Rowena Tsai's video on how to wake up at 4am came into my life, that was the moment I decided to change!
Waking up early gives me room to get stuff done! I don't feel rushed for time and I can take my time getting ready if I'm going somewhere. Knowing I have the whole day to do whatever I want (other than going to work later) gives me a calm reassurance that I'm not going to run out of time at all!
Getting up "early" looks different for everyone, but I think the general consensus is that "early" is from 5am to 7am - or just 1 or 2 hours earlier than you need to wake up. You can use that time to get some work done, like exercising, studying, or blog post writing! Getting up before the everyone else does gives you freedom to function and sort yourself out before people start having expectations from you!
MAKE YOUR BED
Making my bed in the morning makes my room look so bright and airy and it helps me not get back into bed after I get up! This is so easy to do and makes your room look clean and put together with minimal effort.
It's something so simple but really effective!
READ
I love reading in the mornings! Having a good book definitely makes it better to deal with but it's good to get into this habit. Since I'm trying to read more this year, I try to read for 30 minutes every morning. Doing this instead of scrolling through social media first thing in the morning sets the tone for the rest of my day.
Reading is also a great way for me to practise mindfulness and just immerse myself in my book and keep my mind away from everything I need to do that day. It helps me relax and finish that chapter I couldn't finish the night before!
SKINCARE
I have a whole post on my current skincare routine, which you can read right >here< if you're interested!
Taking care of my skin is so important to me and I really love taking time out in the mornings (and evenings!) to make sure my skin is getting what it needs. I also use time to brush my teeth, because no one wants morning breath!
DRINK (HOT) WATER
I have a whole post on my current skincare routine, which you can read right >here< if you're interested!
Taking care of my skin is so important to me and I really love taking time out in the mornings (and evenings!) to make sure my skin is getting what it needs. I also use time to brush my teeth, because no one wants morning breath!
DRINK (HOT) WATER
Everyone now knows that drinking water first thing in the morning is great for your digestion. I prefer to do this with hot water because (1) it's winter so I want to warm myself up, and (2) because I think it tastes nicer than cold water!
During sleep, our bodies have been in a fasting state and have been without food or water for a long time! Drinking water gets our metabolism going and brings your body out of fasting too. For my morning drink, I cut up half a lemon and a small piece of ginger and stir this in the water with some honey. I think it tastes really delicious and helps me wake up if I'm still a bit sleepy! Lemons and ginger have vitamin C and anti-inflammatory properties, so it's great for your health too!
CHECK YOUR PLANNER/BULLET JOURNAL
While drinking my water, I like to check through my bullet journal to see what tasks I have that day. I check off my habit trackers for the day before and add in any tasks I forgot to add in last night.
My bullet journal has been great for keeping me organised and on top of my tasks since I started using it in February. Of course, if you have a regular planner then do check your tasks in there!
BREAKFAST
After trying intermittent fasting for 2 weeks, I started missing having breakfast every morning! I did it because I wanted to experience the benefits of it for myself and while I did experience less bloating, I missed my breakfast even more!
9 times out of 10, I'll have porridge for breakfast, and if I don't then I'll have toast. I love to top mine with fresh fruit and flaxseeds which help with omega 3 and fibre.
Breakfast is another way to get your metabolism going after not having eaten for hours and making sure it's nutritious is super important! I try to stay away from frying things early in the morning (e.g eggs on toast) and I prefer to eat that later in the day. Porridge keeps me full until lunch time and it's really good for you too!
Those are the morning habits I've adopted lately! They make my morning very productive and healthy and it's such a change from the way I conducted my mornings (or lack thereof!) before. What are your favourite morning habits? Tell me down below!