7 Morning Routine Tips for a Morning Routine that Sticks

Introduction

A well-executed morning routine can be a powerful way to set your day up for success. If you’ve ever tried starting a morning routine in the past, or even if you’re just looking for ways to get more out of the morning routine you already have, read on for seven tips for establishing and maintaining a morning routine you’ll actually love to stick to.

And if you’d like help putting these tips into practice, fill out the form below to grab a copy of the free 22-page workbook I’ve put together. : )

Without further ado, let’s get into the tips.

1. Do what feels expansive

Your morning routine should not feel like a giant to-do list that makes you want to curl into a tight ball and hide under your covers until lunch time. It should feel like a special, sacred part of your day that makes you want to jump out of bed in the morning because it’s comprised of activities that bring you joy and add value to your life.

When it comes to morning routines, a rule of thumb I personally like to follow is this:

“If it doesn’t feel expansive, don’t do it (or else change it).”

Meaning, if something about my morning routine is making me feel negative, I need to figure out why and do something about it.

I like to group my emotions into two categories:

1. Expansive emotions
2. Contractive emotions

Expansive emotions are positive emotions that feel aligned with your soul. Examples would be happiness, fulfillment, joy, love, peace, excitement, and gratitude.

Contractive emotions are negative emotions that make your stomach start doing unpleasant twists and turns. Examples include guilt, dread, shame, frustration, and doubt.

Contractive emotions are an indicator that something about your morning routine needs to change.

When you start to feel some kind of negative way about your morning routine, take a pause and follow these four steps to get back to feeling the warm fuzzies:

1. Identify which part of your routine is making you feel contracted. Hone in on exactly which piece of your routine is causing a contractive emotion. Exercise? Meditation? Making breakfast?
2. Identify the contractive emotion. Put a name on the contractive feeling. Is it guilt? Shame? Dread?
3. Identify why that part of your routine is making you feel a contractive emotion. Dig deep and get to the bottom of why that aspect of your routine is making you feel this way. Are you feeling dread when you think about exercising because you have some self-worth things to work out?
4. Either change something about the part of your routine so that it feels expansive again OR cut that part out of your routine altogether. Figure out whether there is some way you can tweak the contractive part of your morning routine and turn it into something expansive. This could be a mindset shift, a physical change, etc. If you have decided there is nothing to be done, then that aspect of your morning routine is no longer serving you. You can blissfully cut it out of your morning routine along with all the negative emotions that go with it.

2. Set your intentions

An intention is the driving force behind a goal you want to achieve. It represents your immediate state whereas a goal represents a future state. If you want to eat some delicious curry for dinner tonight, your intention to eat said curry will compel you to take the actions you need to make that happen (go to the grocery store, prepare the rice, cook the curry, order take-out, etc.).

By setting specific, vivid intentions for your morning routine, you increase the likelihood of achieving your goal of actually completing your morning routine because you are setting the stage for the actions you need to take to get your routine done.

When setting an intention, it is important to be specific and vivid by using words that evoke strong images and emotions in your mind and body so you can really get your own personal buy-in on your morning routine.

For example, which of the following intentions is more likely to get you fired up?

• I intend to make breakfast OR
• I intend to prepare a delicious, nourishing breakfast when I wake up tomorrow because I want to treat my body with love and appreciation and provide it with the fuel it needs to perform at its optimal level.

When it comes to setting your intentions for your morning routine, try the following tips:

1. Set an intention for your overall morning routine. Set an intention that drives your entire morning routine. For example: I intend to complete my entire morning routine this morning because it always makes me feel fresh and invigorated, and it continually proves to set my day up for success.
2. Set an intention for each activity that comprises your morning routine. Set an intention for each individual activity in your morning routine so that you don’t lose sight of why you chose to commit to those activities in the first place.
3. Use strong verbs and adjectives. Use strong action words and vivid descriptors that really evoke images and feelings of the benefits you are going to reap from your morning routine.
4. Include a “why” statement. Add a purpose to your intention to remind yourself of the value you will obtain from living out the intention.
5. Repeat your intentions at night and in the morning. Repeat your intentions at least once before bed and again in the morning when you wake up to ensure you are constantly drawing in the vibes that will compel you to take action.

3. Practice mindfulness

Mindfulness is the act of bringing your full awareness to the present moment. It helps to infuse your morning routine with peace and happiness because it amplifies the positive feelings you are aiming to cultivate around your morning routine.

Whether you are brushing your teeth, holding a yoga pose, or eating your breakfast, practicing mindfulness will instantly boost your positive feelings because it prompts you to fully experience the benefits of what you are doing.

To practice mindfulness during your morning routine, perform the following steps as often as you can remember:

1. Bring awareness to your five senses. What do you see right now? What do you hear right now? What do you smell right now? What do you physically feel right now? What do you taste right now? Lean into the sensations.
2. Bring awareness to your breath. Feel the breath in your body as your lungs expand and contract, as your stomach rises and falls, as the air comes in through your nose and out through your mouth. Lean into the comfort of knowing you exist in this moment.
3. Bring awareness to your emotions. What thoughts, feelings, and emotions are you experiencing right now? Lean into them and really bring them into your existence.
4. Bring awareness to your intentions. Remind yourself what your intentions are. And again, lean into them so they feel strong.

4. Give yourself plenty of time

Your morning routine does not need to be an “off to the races” type of situation. It’s hard to stay present and mindful when there’s a clock incessantly ticking in the back of your mind, demanding you to bring your attention to the future. By allocating plenty of time to complete your morning routine, you can ensure it will feel peaceful and easily achievable.

You can ensure you have plenty of time to enjoy your morning routine by really being realistic about how long it will take you to complete each activity. Then, you’ll want to add in some buffer time just for some extra cushion.

Note: There’s a difference between allocating “enough” time and “plenty” of time for your morning routine. Notice that the phrase “plenty of time” feels more expansive than the phrase “enough time”. Your goal is to come up with a time estimate that makes you feel like you have plenty of time to complete your morning routine.

To determine how much time you’ll need to comfortably complete your morning routine, perform the following steps for each activity in your morning routine:

1. Establish a realistic time estimate. Estimate how long it will take you to perform the activity, and try to be as realistic as possible.
2. Add some buffer time. Add some buffer time on top of your initial estimate just to make sure you’re giving yourself plenty of time.
3. Check in with your feels. Does the total estimate feel like “enough” time or does it feel like “plenty” of time? If it doesn’t feel like plenty of time, go back and rework your numbers until they make you feel nice and cozy.

And finally, add your time estimates for each activity, and you’ve got your overall time estimate for your entire morning routine. Reflect on that number, and make sure it feels good. Going back to doing what feels expansive, you’ll know you have allocated plenty of time when your time estimates make you feel calm and peaceful.

5. Start small

Your end goal might be to practice a morning routine that involves six different activities, but that doesn’t mean you need to start all six of them tomorrow.

Instead, choose one item you would like to incorporate into your morning routine, and build from there by following these steps:

1. Choose a single activity. It can sometimes be helpful to choose a smaller activity, but do what feels aligned with you.
2. Estimate how long the activity will take. Come up with a realistic estimate of how long you think it will take you to complete the activity by using the guidance from Tip #4: Give yourself plenty of time.
3. Set your alarm. Set your alarm X minutes early where X equals your time estimate. Again, choosing a smaller activity may be helpful here.
4. Practice this routine for awhile. Practice your mini morning routine for a couple of days or weeks until you feel like you are reading to add on to it.
5. Repeat. Go back to step 1, choose an activity to add to your routine and repeat.

For example, maybe you want to start a gratitude practice. You estimate it will take you about ten minutes to fill in your gratitude journal. Set your alarm fifteen minutes earlier than usual (build in a little bit of buffer so you feel like you’ll have plenty of time), and continue with your single-activity morning routine for a couple of days or until you feel like you are ready to add a second one.

Rinse and repeat until you’ve built up to your ideal morning routine.

6. Reflect often

Reflecting on your morning routine gives you the opportunity to really examine whether you are reaping benefits from it. It prevents you from running on autopilot and losing the inspiration and motivation that prompted you to start your morning routine in the first place.

Make it a point to reflect on your morning routine at the regular intervals such as the following:

1. Reflect on the day. At least once per week, reflect on your morning routine within a couple hours of completing it. This provides a fresh perspective on how your morning routine makes you feel in the short term.
2. Reflect on the week. At the end of the week, sit down and think about how your morning routine made you feel across the entire week. Refer back to your daily reflections. It’s easier to see overarching benefits and potential pitfalls when you have a bit more data to work with.
3. Reflect on the month. At the end of the month, sit down and and think about how your morning routine made you feel across the entire month. Refer back to your daily and weekly reflections. This view of your morning routine enables you to make more powerful decisions on the aspects of your morning routine that may or may not be working for you.

During your periods of reflection, ask yourself questions that will provide powerful insight into how your morning routine is working for you, such as the following:

• What benefits did I gain from completing my morning routine?
• Why did I choose to start my morning routine in the first place?
• Is there anything about my morning routine that needs to be tweaked?
• What could I change about my morning routine that will make me love it even more?
• Does my morning routine feel expansive or contractive? Why?
• How does my morning routine make me feel before I’ve completed it? Why?
• How does my morning routine make me feel after I’ve completed it? Why?
• What’s my favorite part of my morning routine? Why?
• What’s my least favorite part of my morning routine? Why?

7. Be open to change

Just because it’s called a routine doesn’t mean it needs to be strict or rigid. Your morning routine should be flexible and adapt to your ever-changing needs so you can continue to maximize its benefits.

Use the following tips to stay open to change when it comes to your morning routine:

1. Recognize that your morning routine won’t always go according to plan. Sometimes life just gets in the way. When this happens, go with the flow and adjust your morning routine as best you can. For example, if you’re running behind schedule, consider meditating for fifteen minutes that morning instead of thirty.
2. Understand that the needs of your body and mind change every day. As your needs will adapt over time or even on a day-to-day basis, so should your morning routine. Adapt your morning routine accordingly. For example, this might mean swapping your HIIT workout routine for a gentle yoga session.
3. Consider trying new things in your morning routine. Experiment with your morning routine by adding activities, removing them, and swapping them around. This will keep your morning routine feeling fresh.

FREE Workbook: Morning Routine Tips for a Morning Routine that Sticks

All of the tips mentioned in this blog post are effective because they focus on shifting your mindset out of the negative and into the positive.

I’ve put together a free 22-page workbook to guide you through the seven tips I’ve mentioned above. Pop your email into the form below, and you will receive a link to the download in your inbox.