Ideal morning routines
To build health-supporting systems, let's start from the very beginning
Good morning! When I asked you in a survey what you’d like to read more about, building health-supporting systems was the winner. I love this topic, too.
So today, let’s look at our morning routines. I think this is an ideal system to begin with because it’s the precious first part of our day. It helps us feel good right from the start. It’s the first domino of our next 24 hours. It sets everything else into motion. And even if the rest of the day implodes, you had a lovely first hour or two.
(Wait, you might ask — is my morning routine really a system? Sure! Here are definitions from Webster’s Dictionary: 3a : an organized or established procedure. I find definition 4 inspiring, too: a harmonious arrangement or pattern. I also think of a “system” as a framework that makes it easier to do it in a certain order, and harder to do it outside of that framework.)
Here are my first three questions to you:
Do you have a morning routine?
(Probably yes, even if it’s never really been planned out. You wake up. You get up. You go to the bathroom. You might take medications. You might check your phone. You might check your email. You might check the weather. You might make coffee or tea. You might go wake up someone else. You might let the dog out. You might take a shower. You might put on pants. There are probably things you do almost every mornings, in likely the same kind of order. Can you conjure up your default morning routine?)
What do you want to be doing in the first tiny part of your day?
What daily habits would help make you healthier?
Ideas for our morning routines
Let’s start from scratch.
I made up a list of questions to help spark ideas for our morning routines. (I assume somewhere in there you will also put on clothes, brush teeth, take a shower if you do that in the a.m., etc. — but I’m leaving those off here. I’m imaging that part of your routine is already on autopilot and non-negotiable.)
What time do you want to wake up?
Do you want to wake up to an alarm?
Do you need to take care of someone else (person or pet) first thing?
How much time do you have to yourself before your first responsibility or obligation of the morning? If others need you immediately, is there a way to stagger the care of others with time to care for yourself? (Like getting up, letting the dog out, making the kids breakfast, then going for a walk? Or having time to yourself after they leave for work/school?)
Do you need to take a medication in the morning? On an empty stomach or a full stomach?
If it’s an empty stomach, can you put a glass of water and the pill bottle on your nightstand the evening before?
Is there a habit that would be very helpful for your particular body and health? A certain stretch, strength-building movement, breathing practice?
When do you first want to look at your phone/tablet/computer? What do you want to look at? (Personal email, work email, ads, social media, weather, schedule, etc.)
What helps you feel good in the morning?
What’s one soul-filling or health-nourishing thing you want to make sure you get to every day?
Do you want to connect with someone?
Do you want to go outside?
Do you want to meditate?
Do you want to pray?
Do you want to write?
Do you want to read?
Do you want to take a walk?
Do you want to stretch?
Do you want to run?
Do you want to do yoga?
Do you want to bike?
Do you want to do some other kind of movement?
What is your favorite, doable daily breakfast?
What is your favorite morning drink?
What helps you feel really ready for the rest of the day?
What is not on here that you would want to be part of your morning routine?
Jot down any and all ideas that point you in the right direction.
It could be fun to date this list and look back at it.
All of the ideas might not be doable at this time. But some of them are, and later, others could be, too.
Our seasons of life change wildly. If you have triplet newborns, such a list could seem like an outlandish dream. If you are recovering from hip surgery, some of your items might not be doable for a while. And there might be some things on there that can’t be done now or ever, and those are important to recognize and grieve, too.
The level of space and control we have over our hours and choices varies a lot. So give yourself grace and love for whatever amount you have right now. It will change in time, too.
Making a first draft
Now think about how much time you have in your morning, and list out what you’d like it to look like. This might stir up lots of emotions — This isn’t really possible. I can try this, but it always unravels. I’m excited but nervous this won’t happen. Feel the emotions and let them move through you. They will flow through and exit if you notice them.
Here’s an example of what I created when I tried this exercise. It’s all contingent on me going to bed at a reasonable hour and waking up early before my son does, so it can go sideways.
6 a.m. — wake up, stretch, open the blinds, drink a full glass of water with my thyroid pill, turn on the Happy Light for 20 minutes while I write Morning Pages (3 handwritten pages, a sort of brain dump, a classic creative life concept from Julia Cameron)
6:25-6:30 — 5 minutes of meditation (This is a new idea. I keep reading and hearing how helpful this is for your daily mental health so I’d like to seriously try adding it. I was tempted to put 10 or 30 minutes, but I wanted to start with something doable. I feel a bit nervous adding this, but that’s ok!)
6:30-7:00—Look at my list of writing projects for what I am working on today. Write. (Also new: Maintain a list of writing projects.)
7:00—Go to the kitchen and make my morning shake
This next hour or two is getting ready (that non-negotiable shower, getting dressed, brushing teeth, etc.) and parenting — making my son’s breakfast, packing his lunch, listening to last night’s dreams or watching him race the latest Sonic loop, making sure whatever needs to be packed or signed or prepared for school/camp is done, driving or walking to the bus stop, etc.
9:00—Work begins
What I love about this little routine is that I knock out something I want to do first thing — write for fun. 30 minutes is not a lot, but it’s something. Even if the rest of the day is upside-down, I have carved out a tiny space for something that matters to me.
Your thing might not be writing. Maybe it’s starting the day with a favorite song, or reading a Bible passage, or lifting weights, or deep breathing.
What is your mental equivalent of getting up on the right side of the bed?
Making sure it really happens:
Triggers & habit stackings
You have a beautiful plan on paper now. Hurray!
What you have is a dream list of habits.
But habits need a trigger to get into motion.
The nice thing about your list is that you have a built-in first trigger: waking up.
But what about the others? Look over your list. Which one jumps out as a habit that will likely fall off quickly? What will trigger you to do it? What happens right before?
For example, if you want to take a walk, but you often don’t do it, you could put your clothes for the next day by your sneakers downstairs. You will be inclined to put on your socks and sneakers when you get dressed, and then you’ll be primed to go outside.
When I look at my list, I see the 5-minute meditation as the one that will likely get skipped. I need a trigger, plus a way to track those 5 minutes.
Here are a few ideas:
Setting an alarm on my phone for 6:25 a.m. and using the phone as a 5-minute timer, too. (Not ideal, because once that phone gets picked up….)
Making a check mark for each day I meditate for 5 minutes. Looking at the calendar would help remind me, but what will prompt me to look at the calendar?
Buying a cute timer I can keep on my nightstand. That would be a nice visual reminder and help me put off picking up my phone for a bit longer.
Deciding to meditate immediately after the Happy Light goes off — helping link that blare of light going off to picking up the timer. I already have the first habit, so adding the second will be easier.
What happens if it doesn’t work?
If your morning routine falls apart, that does not mean: Morning routines are hopeless. This is impossible. This won’t work.
It ONLY means you have new data about what doesn’t work and a clue about how to adjust so it will work.
Maybe you thought getting dressed and taking a shower takes 5 minutes and, in fact, it takes 35 minutes. Well, whoop! New data!
Maybe you thought you’d go for a walk and it rained for 5 days straight. Well, shoot! New data! You need a rain plan for your morning movement. Maybe that’s finding a YouTube video of yoga instead.
It’s ok! Just adjust, adjust, adjust.
Think of it like a recipe you are fine-tuning. Too salty? Ok, cut salt in half tomorrow. Burnt? OK, less time in the oven tomorrow!
ALSO: LIFE IS ERRATIC! Sometimes, things just happen!
The first morning you try this you might have a baby who wakes up 2 hours earlier than normal. That is not a sign that your morning routine is impossible.
It just means, try again the next day.
I have been there. It is so frustrating to have a plan that falls apart because of things out of your control. Just take a deep breath, do something small that makes you happy (play a song, have some chocolate chips, text a friend), and tell yourself that you get to try again tomorrow.
What we do each day makes a big difference for our health — physically, mentally, emotionally. It’s worth it to figure out a routine that works for you.
This is System #1! What do you think? Do you feel inspired? Excited? Motivated?
Let us know how it goes! I hope this is a help, and I hope you have some wonderful mornings ahead.
To our journeys,
Brianne
p.s. What system should we look at next?