How To Morning Routine So Hard
You have by now heard the importance of having a morning routine. Get up at 4am, drink your water, use your gratitude journal, read some personal development, meditate/pray, workout, don’t check social media or emails until after all of this is done, etc. This is all beautiful. This is self-care to me. This is actually what I’d like to do for my morning routine, but in all honestly I only do about half of those things consistently. I am a working mom and I’m tried, ya’ll. I do get up before everyone else does in my home and do my workout and actually drink my coffee hot, but all of the other things? Some days I nail it, and some days I don’t. And you know what…that’s ok. I’m still forming new habits and this takes time. So let’s talk about habits some more and two strategies to help you morning routine so hard.
As a Whole30 Certified Coach & Fitness Instructor, I talk habits a lot with my clients. When someone wants to improve their health sometimes it can be quite overwhelming. Just like a morning routine, trying out a ton of new strategies/new habits all at once will not work—it’s too much for you to process and you may do okay for a few days, but then slowly keep dropping off some of the new strategies you’re trying to eliminate until you’re hitting snooze every morning and not doing any of them now. What I suggest is to first figure out what tendency you lean towards then use the habit stacking strategy to subconsciously start adding new habits.
· The first thing to consider is what tendency you lean towards when thinking of how you respond to expectations (either internal or external). I highly recommend Gretchen Rubin’s book, The Four Tendencies. I talk more about what is means to be an Upholder, Questioner, Obliger, and Rebel on my blog (I am an Obliger). You can take the quiz to find out which tendency you lean towards HERE. This is vital to know how to begin your new habits. Some people are internally motivated, some need external motivation, and some need to know the WHY. For example, you will meet a friend every morning for a workout (Obliger tendency), you learn about the benefits of drinking water first thing in the morning (Questioner tendency), etc.
· The next thing for your to consider when crafting your morning routine after identifying your tendency is to think of habit stacking. James Clear talks about this more in his book, Atomic Habits. For example, I mediate for 3-5 minutes using the Headspace app after I pour my coffee. After I brush my teeth at night, I lay out my workout clothes for in the morning. I am stacking habits on top of each other that I already do. These are cues for my brain to then do the next habit. This take time to perfect, but the more you practice it, the more it just subconsciously becomes part of your morning routine.
I get it. It can be overwhelming taking on new habits, so take your time and utilize these strategies to help you get started with crafting your perfect morning routine. Why is a morning routine so important? It sets the tone for the rest of your day, it gives you momentum & makes you more productive, and it’s just simply amazing for your body and soul. You feel more in control of your life and your day instead of starting the day rushing around based on someone else’s agenda. So…how will you start morning routine’ing so hard?