After week’s of traveling and being outside of my comfort zone, it feels great to get back in the groove. I am a creature of habit. I need my morning rituals in order to get anything done throughout the day. I’ve incorporated these morning rituals for success and more productivity.
The morning is one of the most sacred parts of your day. If you wake up with a bad attitude you can start the day on a negative path, whereas if you wake up with ease your day can flow with grace.
Below is a list of things I try to do every morning in order to get as much done as possible with a happy, grateful smile on my face.
These are my morning rituals for success.
Meditation
I have been practicing mindful meditation for the past 10+ years and I am devoutly dedicated to my practice. I’ve witnessed the power of it and I know it works for me. So, the first thing I like to do in the morning is find a quiet place to sit and dive inward. Introspection takes a lot of practice but is so worth doing. Reflect on the day ahead, sort out whatever blocks might be in your way and clear space for the miracles that are on the horizon. Here is a playlist I like to listen to when I’m meditating.
Gratitude List
This one only takes a few seconds and that is what always brings me back to it. It’s easy to forget how much there is to be grateful for. But, when you sit yourself down and come up with just 3 things, you’d be pleasantly surprised how quickly you’re able to come up with that list. It’s like your heart has been waiting for you to listen to her. Like, finally yes see I told you there are things to be happy about! But you’re brain tends to take over and run the show, only focusing on the negative. Writing down a few things every morning for which you’re grateful for allows you to invite your heart back into the driver’s seat.
Yoga
I get that we can’t all make it to a yoga class every day, and that is not what I am suggesting. I certainly don’t make it to a class every day. I’m lucky if I make one every week. But I’ve been practicing yoga long enough to know how to incorporate it into my morning routine. Either before I get into my exercise routine or just when I jump out of bed, I roll out my mat and begin to move. I flow through a few sun salutations and feel my energy begin to heat up and get ready for the day.
Intentions
Setting intentions is a sure-fire way to manifest your goals. I like to close my eyes and visualize what I’d like to accomplish. Whether its a simple task I need to tackle that day or a long-term goal, I see it and I feel it. I put myself in the space of already having accomplished whatever it is. Then, I set my intention using a few words. I look at it like I’m setting the tone for the day. For example, today I set my intention to feel strong, powerful and in control. And so it is…
Exercise
I go back and forth with exercise routines. I’ve be a gym rat, a spin nut, a yogi, a hip-hop dancer, a Zumba shaker. I like to try different things to keep myself moving and I need my exercise to make me happy! I hate when I have to force myself to work-out. This leaves me going through phases and some of those phases involve me doing nothing, waiting for the next idea to pop up. Recently, I’ve become my own health & fitness coach…my own accountability partner. (I’ll be sharing more on that as I go along). Every night I write a workout plan and the next morning I wake up, go outside, and do that routine. I listen to my favorite music and take in my beautiful view. It enhances my mood, boosts my energy and tones me up. Whatever your flavor of exercise, don’t fall into a rut of not moving. It’s vital to keep your brain up to speed when you’re running your own business. Remember, you are the only one motivating yourself to get all this work done.
Clean Foods
Eat clean! I can’t talk about this enough. I won’t overwhelm you in this post, but I’ll share my basic diet and nutritional plan. I am sugar, gluten and dairy free. I’m also a pescetarian, meaning I only fish and seafood. I also eat eggs. I eat organic produce and grow as much of my own as I can. I make a shake for myself every morning to start my day with a punch of nutrition and energy. I promise you, clean food is the best medicine. I haven’t taken so much as an Advil for a headache in the past year and a half. Starting my day with clean food has been one of the best morning rituals for success I’ve incorporated into my routine.
Tea/Coffee
As much as I’ve made an effort to clean up my diet, there are a few things I’m still weaning off of. For example, I’d love to eventually cut out fish from my diet (only because I don’t trust the sources I’m buying from). I would also like to eliminate caffeine. I’m not a big coffee person, but I do need it sometimes when my energy is just too low to function. I swear by my Trader Joe’s Cold Brew. And I have a wide selection of teas to choose from. The process of preparing my tea and coffee is very meditative and I like to drink it outside on my patio. I listen to the breeze and start letting myself think of all the things I need to get done that day. But, since I’ve already done the work of clearing space with my other morning rituals for success, my mental to-do list doesn’t cause a sudden and frantic sense of overwhelm.
To do list
Mental to-do lists are fine, but I NEED to write things down if I’m going to get them done. I write down everything I can think of. Big ideas to menials tasks. It all ends up on my master to-do list for the day. And as I go through it I cross off item after item (which is the best feeling in the world). If I have the time, I like to color-code based on what the task involves. Like everything for my business will be in blue, errands in pink, personal in green, etc.
Do I always do all of these things? No. Sometimes my morning looks like a zoo where all the animals got lose. What does your morning typically look like? Do you think you’ll be adding any of these morning rituals for productivity to your routine? Let me know if you enjoyed the post and if you have any rituals you’d like to share. The comment section is below! And if you haven’t already, make sure to join my Facebook page, My Brand Of Happy.
I absolutely LOVED this post! I am going to save it and come back to it. I am listening to the Spotify playlist you linked right now. I also clicked on the Sun Salutation link you gave and I’m going to check it out. I would love to read more posts about this kind of stuff. I have been trying to come up with my own morning routine for awhile and nothing has ever really stuck. Question for you: how long do you give yourself for your morning routine? I’ve always struggled with this because I have 2 kids that I have to get up and get them ready and off to school. But then comes summer thrown into the mix where we are more laid back in the mornings. I need to commit and be kept accountable maybe. Thanks again for the great post. 🙂 xoxo -Tammy
HI TAMMY! Yay, I’m so happy to know this post resonated with you. I’ll be sure to share more about my morning routine. I would say this all takes maybe 30 minutes, max. I have two kids, also! Two BOYS! So the mornings are frantic. My fiance is kind enough to take them to school, so I do a lot of this during that time. He takes them on his bicycle (that’s part of his morning routine). But if I have to take them, I usually wake up a little earlier and do all this before they’re up. To simplify the process, I can sit up in bed and meditate there. Jot down my gratitude list and intentions for the day in my journal that I keep by the bed. I roll out my mat right there in my bedroom and do a few sun salutations, just to get moving. I make my smoothie while I prepare their food. My workout can be as simple as doing a few sets of crunches, pushups and planks while they’re finishing up their meal. I drink my smoothie on the way to drop them at school. And when I come back, I brew a cup of tea (or coffee, depending on my energy level lol) and jot down everything I can think of for my to-do list. That way, when I finally sit down to start working for the day…everything is all ready to go! It doesn’t matter how much you do or how long it takes, as long as you’re dedicated to the practice. Its truly an act of self-love to do things like this every morning. And I promise you’ll notice the difference throughout the day. Maybe not immediately, but its so worth it! PLEASE feel free to reach out if you ever want to chat or have any more questions. Massive love babe xoxo