Did you know that you can create a morning routine that can actually reduce stress? Do you feel like once you get up in the morning, you are constantly running around to catch up to the day?
That could be a result of not having the right morning routine in place. A morning routine is a great way to take charge of your whole day.
It allows you enough time to focus on the most important things. And it sets you up for success for the rest of the day. That means little to no stress.
And if you can start your day without feeling stressed, you’ll have enough resilience to face whatever the day throws at you.
Why are morning routines important?
You get time to yourself
The best way to start your day is by checking in with yourself. Before anyone else wakes up, including any pets you have.
Taking a few minutes to slowly wake up and focus on yourself will leave you feeling calm and collected to face the day.
You get a head start on the day
The mornings are a great time to work on some of the most important (and toughest) tasks for the day. This way you’ll feel super productive before lunchtime hits.
Productivity will give you that momentum you need to keep things going until your day ends.
You’ll focus more
A proper morning routine can give you enough time to start the day and will make you less likely to feel stressed and distracted.
When you have control over the day, you won’t feel like you have to remember a zillion things. This will help improve your focus on each task, and get more stuff done.
How To Create A Morning Routine That Reduces Stress
1. Wake Up Earlier
I know, waking up early is not easy for me either. That’s why setting a consistent sleep schedule is absolutely essential.
This starts with the night before, and making sure you go to bed at the same time. Even on weekends.
When you do this for long enough, you form a habit. So that, eventually, you won’t have to focus so much on getting to bed on time and waking up on time. Your internal clock will just know.
As you’re starting out, try to go to bed 30 minutes earlier and wake up 30 minutes earlier for one week. Then keep increasing by 30-minute increments until you are at your goal wake-up time.
Try to challenge yourself to do this for one month and see how you feel.
2. Don’t Check Your Phone
Looking at emails and notifications before you properly sit up in bed will cause you to feel stressed right away.
I’ve done this before where I get an urgent email right when I get up, and it throws off my whole morning. You don’t have to immediately get up and go.
Try to avoid looking at your phone for the first 30 minutes when you wake up. This way you can focus on enjoying the moment and feel more relaxed.
3. Do Something You Enjoy
Instead of doing what you think you have to do, do what you actually enjoy doing. To some, that’s exercising, but if you struggle to work out early in the morning, don’t put that into your morning routine.
Exercising will make you feel better, but if you are forcing yourself to do it every morning, it will make it difficult to want to wake up early every morning.
Start by doing stuff you love to do, like watching old cartoons or reading a book. Or sitting outside on the patio watching the sun come up.
You’ll want to be in the moment, not thinking about everything else you have to do that day. Practice doing one thing at a time, and ignoring everything else.
Allow yourself to be fully present in the moment, and try not to think about work or anything else.
4. Eat a Healthy Breakfast
Eating a healthy meal right when you wake up will help you feel energized. It will also instantly keep you on the right track to eat healthy throughout the rest of the day.
Most people wait to eat breakfast until they’re starving and end up overeating bad foods. You can avoid this by making it a point to eat a well-balanced meal every single morning.
Again, once you create this habit, you won’t have to force yourself to do it. You’ll just become so used to doing it, you won’t even have to think about it.
5. Split Your Tasks From the Evening Into the Morning
Imagine if you could knock out half your to-do list before leaving the house for work. If you can manage it, try to split up your things to do between morning and evening.
If there are dishes to do, knock them out before getting ready. Balance out your day by creating a productive morning for yourself.
This will help give you energy once you are off work. Instead of driving home feeling tired, and thinking about everything else you have to get done for the day.
If you drive home and already have most of the chores out of the way, you’ll have more energy to do things you actually want to do.
These are just a few ways you can create an awesome morning routine to help reduce stress. Do you have other ideas that you enjoy adding to your morning routine? Leave them in the comments below!
