Take Each Day by the Balls: The Power of a Positive Morning Routine

We are in a very strange time; a lot of people are working from home, have their hours cut, or are laid off like me. While it’s awesome to sleep in and be lazy sometimes; (and we should allow ourselves this), it can be easy for this to become a habit. I love my morning routine. It makes me excited to start the day. And although I’m not waking up at 4:30am anymore, I still keep the same kind of structure and it makes me feel normal.

We can take advantage of this extra time, and make the most of it by keeping good habits, and creating new ones that will benefit us when this shit is back to normal.

Would you rather take your day by the balls? Or have your day take you by the balls? 

How you get out of bed and start your morning is a predictor of how the rest of your day will go. Do you ever notice if you hit the snooze button too many times and are late for work, that the rest of your day seems more stressful than usual and everything seems to be going to shit? Its your sympathetic nervous system (your fight or flight response) that was stimulated when you woke up in fear, looked at the time and realised you were late. This stress affected your mood and your mindset for the morning and maybe the day. 

Giving yourself time and creating a positive morning routine will not only put you in a better mood, it will increase productivity and get you ready to take the day by the balls, rather than your day taking you by the balls and dragging you behind a car through shit.

The following are keys that have made the biggest difference to my morning routine. I’ve picked them up over time from reading different books, blogs and articles. You have to find a combination of rituals that work well for you, and that you enjoy. With this you will discover how quickly your outlook on your morning, day, and life will improve. 

Bedtime Routine

If you wake up having to make too many decisions, you might be like me, not make any of them, and instead, re-arrange all the furniture in your bedroom.

It has been shown that the most successful people create a to-do list every evening for the following morning. However if the list is too long, again, you might be like me and end up cleaning the bathroom for the 4th time that week instead of doing anything. 

I find, if I don’t write something down, I don’t do it. So what I’ve started doing, is I write out my goals, and jobs for the week, then split them up into daily tasks, with the most important task on top, 2 minor tasks, and the least important underneath. I also have my monthly and yearly goals written on a whiteboard in my room so I can see them every day and remind myself what I am working towards. This process has been instrumental in my discipline and productivity. 

Every evening before I write my list for the following morning, I look back at the day and put a little check beside everything I accomplished, no matter how small.  I write everything down, even little things like wash hair. It may seem silly, but there is a sense of gratification when you get to check off all the things you set out to do and actually finished. 

I don’t do this right before bed, because I don’t want my to-do list running through my brain as I try to fall asleep; I’ll do it an hour or 2 before I go to bed, or when I know I won’t be getting anything else done that day. 

This is the perfect time to set new goals for yourself that you may not have had time for before. 

Smile, hydrate, and say thank you

I keep a fresh water bottle with lemon beside my bed, and the very first thing I do, before my feet hit the ground, is chug a bunch of water, and smile. 🙂 

I love the morning. It is my favourite part of the day. I actually look forward to it. But it wasn’t always like this. I have changed my habits and mindset over time. When I first started waking up at 4:30am in the middle of winter in the freezing cold in the pitch black, I woke up thinking, ‘fuck this fucking shit’.’ And then… I started waking up, still pissed off,  but I would force a smile on my face at the first sign of a negative thought. 

I would go into the bathroom, wash my face, look in the mirror, smile, and say to myself, ‘thank you for the running water’. As I slowly got ready I would repeat in my head everything I was thankful for, from my eyesight as I put in my contacts to my warm apartment as I got dressed. By the time I got to the kitchen to make my coffee I would be grinning ear to ear, excited for the day! 

By forcing a smile receptors in your brain will trick you into thinking you are happy, and cause you to start feeling good. I still do this whenever I feel blue and it literally turns my mood around.

Stay off your Phone

The world can wait. Let the morning be you time. You want to be in control of your morning and your day. Be pro-active instead of re-active first thing in the morning and this is how the rest of your day will follow. 

One of the worst things you could do for your mental health is wake up and check instagram. Whether we realise it or not, when we are scrolling we are constantly judging, or comparing ourselves to those we follow. I know the more I mindlessly scroll, the more anxious and on edge I feel.

The news is just as bad if not worse. Especially now. To fill your consciousness with fear and anxiety as soon as you wake up will only fuel your thoughts for the rest of the day. 

The email can wait. Your boss can wait – you will be more productive for them if you start your day with a fresh head. 

Your group chat with 102 new messages, talking about dicks and vaginas, I assure you, can wait. 

Give yourself an allocated time to look at your phone for after you’ve had your coffee, read a few pages of your book, revisited your goals, written your gratitudes, or whatever your morning routine might include. 

Better yet, allocate a certain amount of time per day to be on your phone. I am usually pretty good for not being on it all the time, but with the current situation, I started checking instagram and the news more frequently for updates. The the other day I found myself picking up my phone, and just staring at the screen, not even knowing what I was looking for anymore. I then ended up wasting 20 mins looking at baby pig videos when I could have been doing something productive. The past 2 days I have put my phone in my room and let myself look at it twice. I have felt so much more refreshed, relaxed and productive than if I had been checking it every 5 mins.

Sweat it Out

Now that we all have more time, try training first thing in the morning. Whether it be an hour long weight session, 20 min HIIT, a run or yoga practice, as long as you are getting your heart pumping, and doing something that makes you feel good it will set you up for an amazing day. It might be hard to get started, but the energy and the hit of endorphins first thing, will keep you motivated to wake up that extra bit earlier to get that session in. 

If you put off training until later in the day, there is a better chance that it won’t get done. As my Dad would always say – ( I think he may have stole it from Arnold but still) “you only ever regret the workout you didn’t do”

Breathing and Meditation

The best time to practice breathing and mediation is first thing in the morning when your stomach is empty, and after an asana practice or workout. 

With this lockdown, like so many others, I have had time to slow down. Over the past month or so my pranayama (breathing) and meditation practice has suffered because I have been so busy (not an excuse I know) and now, I am able to make it a priority. 

Try this: Get into a comfortable seated position, sit up tall with a straight spine, place one hand on your belly and gently close your eyes. Take a deep breath in, filling the diaphragm first, then letting the chest rise, and then eventually the collarbone. Exhale deeply and feel any stress and anxiety leave your body. Repeat as many times as you need.

There are numerous breathing techniques with different effects and benefits – I will go over them in a different post and maybe video if people are interested. 

Meditation can be difficult to get into, and even frustrating at times especially when you begin to notice the unproductive chatter that is constantly going on in your head. Once you can start to get the mind to shut up a little bit, a new sense of peace and space will start to form. Another thing about meditation, is that it is like a muscle. The more you train it, the stronger it gets, and at the same time, if you don’t use it, you will lose it. You need to practice consistently and with intent for you to reap the benefits. 

Even 5 minutes in the morning focusing on your breathing, and sitting in stillness with your eyes closed makes a world of difference. Everyone has 5 minutes. When I was getting started with meditation I used Headspace. I have also heard Calm is good. They are both offering their services for FREE! For the duration of this quarantine!

Affirmations, Gratitudes, Goal Setting

I am healthy, I am disciplined, I am prosperous…

Writing out affirmations as if you already possess the stated concept will trick your mind into believing it is already true. This is because your mind can’t tell the difference between what is real and what isn’t. For example, if you think about a sad memory, you may start to cry; or if like me you have an irrational crippling fear of blood and you see someone get sliced open in a movie, you go pale, and feel nauseous. Affirmations can be positive and negative, and because our thoughts determine our actions, it is so important to focus on the good. 

I am so grateful for my family, I am so grateful for my apartment, I am so grateful for my health…

In addition to saying thank you to yourself for all the tiny things we usually take for granted, writing out your gratitudes will also help you focus on all the positives in your life. Now more than ever in these uncertain and stressful times, it is important to focus on how much we still have to be thankful for. The more you do this, the more you will realise how much abundance and joy is still in your life. 

Goal Setting: Yearly, Monthly, Weekly, Daily

I already talked a little bit about lists and goal setting. Every morning I write out my long term goals and the tiny steps I will take that day to bring me closer to achieving them.

This whole process of writing out my affirmations, gratitudes and goals takes about 5 minutes while I have my morning coffee. If I have longer, I take longer. 

Create a Routine that works for you!

When I am not on quarantine, I have to be in work by 5:45am most days, so you better believe I am not waking up at like 3am to train, do yoga, meditate and write in a journal. I don’t care what The Rock says, in my book, 3am is still the middle of the night. First thing in the morning is when I am most productive, so this is when I like to write and get shit done. I prefer training later on when I need a break from the computer screen. It doesn’t matter what your morning routine looks like, as long as it works for you, and it makes you feel good!

My Pre-Quarantine Routine looks like this: (he-he that’s catchy)

4: 45am – Alarm goes off, chug as much water as I can, out of bed, wash face (smile into mirror and say thank you), get dressed

5:00 am – Put on kettle, make coffee, listen to motivational speech or music as I put on makeup/ tidy kitchen 

5:15am – write out affirmations and gratitudes, re-visit goals for the day

5:30 am – Make bed, brush teeth, put lunch in bag

5:40 am – Out the door for work

Sometimes I don’t have to be in work until 7am, but I still get up at the same time, and instead spend an hour writing, as the morning is when I am most creative. 

Quarantine Routine

Now that I am not in the gym with clients I have a lot more freedom with my morning – I don’t get up at 4:45am, but I still set my alarm for 6 or 6:30 am, however I am usually up before my alarm anyways. 

6/ 6:30am Alarm goes off, chug water, out of bed, wash face, make coffee, bring Aran coffee in bed (I know, I’m great) 

6:40am Write out affirmations, gratitudes, revisit goals for the day

6:50am Write/ Get shit done (from my list from the night before)

10am – breathing exercises, meditation, breakfast 

11am – Train 

1pm Lunch

Depending on how I’m feeling I might switch up my meditation and training but every day is more or less similar to this. 

Forming New Habits Takes Time

Studies have shown that it can take anywhere from 1 to 10 months to form a new habit depending on the difficulty and level of commitment required. Start by just adding one tiny thing at a time to your morning routine like drinking water, smiling and saying thank you. When this becomes a habit, maybe add writing down affirmations while you have a coffee. Over time, these tiny changes will become routine, and it won’t seem like such a daunting task. 

Remember, find a routine that works well for you, and one that you enjoy! You don’t need to start waking up at the crack of dawn; set your alarm just 5 mins early . You will see how good it feels to have the extra time in the morning and that will be motivation enough to stop hitting that snooze button.

Thanks for reading! Please share, and comment with your favourite things to do in the morning!