Overhauling my morning routine

Is it just me or does it feel like we’re constantly being told what we should be doing in the morning?

Drinking water, yoga, working out, writing in our blogging journals, eating a proper breakfast… all before heading to work at 8:00 am (or even earlier for some!). The internet wants me to believe successful women basically conquer more in their 3 hour pre-work morning than I do in my entire day. I think I need a more realistic plan to overhaul my morning routine!

I always have grand plans for the morning, but more often than not I find myself running around with just enough time to brush my teeth and run out the door. Did I set the alarm? I hope so! Here’s how I’m thinking of overhauling my morning routine…

Sit down and look at my current routine

What is working and what isn’t? This may mean getting up a little earlier or cutting some unnecessary tasks… but don’t worry, I don’t think you have to wake up at 4 am to be successful.

If I switch to working out in the morning means I get my least favourite activity of the day over with first. If I push it off to the evening, that gives me time to come up with tonnes of really good excuses as to why I shouldn’t do it. By getting my workout in before the day officially starts, I make (hopefully) better choices and can spend my after work hours with my one true love…Friends on Netflix.

Cut everything out of my routine that doesn’t work

Aside from the first ten minutes of the morning where I walk around like a total zombie, I wake up pretty much ready to go. This means that any “slow” activities like aimlessly scrolling through social media (which despite it feeling like 5 minutes is usually about 37), may have to stop, or at least be postponed till I’m all ready to go! Also due to time constraints, things like making my lunch on a morning is going to have to change too. Cut out the unnecessary and restructure your morning 🙂

Here are some things I’m going to try

• Sort my outfit for the day, the night before. Get it laid out just in case it needs ironing.
• Pack my gym bag the night before and stick it by the front door!
• Make and pack my lunch the night before.
• Set my alarm 15 minutes earlier.
• Go to bed earlier.
• Just build in 20 minutes extra into my morning to allow for the unknown!
• Do my best not to scroll through social media when I first wake up!

Whatever you decide to do, make sure you listen to yourself and what works for your body.

One thing I need to do this year is to make self-care a priority. For this to work, I need to set up a timeline and stick to it. At least give it a few good days and not give up too quick! For the first few days, I think flexibility is key 🙂 Once you find a routine that works, stick to it.

Do you have a morning routine? Tell me what does (or doesn’t) work for you!