Having a morning routine is important so you can have a less stressful and more productive day. Creating consistency in your mornings is important as it leads to having to make less small decisions that use up your energy as soon as you wake up. You are avoiding mental fatigueness when you create and consistently follow your morning routine!
If you started to follow your favorite Instagrammer morning routine and it is not working for you THAT IS OK!!! There is no IDEAL or MAGICAL morning routine. Create a morning routine that fits your lifestyle and interests. Habit stacking is a great place to start. You are essentially building a new habit from a habit you already have. For example you already brush your teeth in the morning, your building habit would be drinking a glass of water. Although there is not an ideal routine to follow there are certain things to avoid when starting a new day.
AVOID COMO SE ES LA CHANCLA
What is the first thing you do when you wake up?Do you reach for your phone that is at the bedside table and scroll through Instagram notifications on the lockscreen, with sleep still in your eyes? Then proceed to open your phone to actually check your Instagram and Twitter feed before actually getting up. If that is your routine, then you should seriously stop!
When scrolling on social media like Instagram and Twitter, your brain releases a large amount of dopamine. Dopamine is a neurochemical that makes you feel pleasure. Once the brain gets dopamine it will stimulate the repetition of behaviors that lead to the first dopamine release. Consequently, if your first action of the day is scrolling through social media then you will likely continue doing it throughout the day!
Your day will get interrupted by scrolling through social media accounts as it will make you feel good compared to having to work on your homework or side project.
IDEAS TO CREATE YOUR MORNING ROUTINE
The following are ideas you can include in creating your morning routine! There is no ideal time you have to spend on your morning routine, it can range from 30 to 90 minutes. Following your morning routine is to start your day with calmness and consistency so the rest of your day runs smoothly. When creating a rountinue take into consideration the time it takes to get to work or school so you are not rushing to get to your destination.
Stretch/Workout
Stretching does not have to be a 30 yoga workout. You can do it right beside your bed! It can take 5-10 minutes to shake the grogginess off. You can also workout. Do some squats, planks, or weights. Do your cardio on the treadmill or around your neighborhood! Walk up and down your apartment stairs, along with some sitting planks a couple of times. Your stretch or workout exercise is up to you, but have a consistent amount of time set apart for this specifically every morning.
Shower
After a stretch or workout have a glass of water and get ready to shower. Although not my preferred water temperature, having a cold shower will make you feel more refreshed and alive
Skin or Makeup Routine
Moisturize and SPF!! Even if you do not do makeup everyday (ME) still take some time to moisturize and put on SPF on to protect yourself against the sun ray’s and pollution. Some of my favorite moisturizers are Drunk Elephant Lala Retro Whipped Cream and No7 Day Cream (not sponsored).
Podcast
While getting your food ready for breakfast put on a Podcast. The genre does not matter, but having something to listen to as you get breakfast ready is nice! You can catch up on the latest episode of your favorite lifestyle or cultural channel.
Read or Write
If you are not into Podcasts try to allocate some time to reading or writing. Do a free write for 20 minutes. Your freewrite can be a reflection of the day before, what you want to accomplish for the day or week, or even last night’s dream! You can free hand some drawings in the margins of whatever pops into your head. Do not feel pressure for your freewrite to not make perfect sense, it is just for you!
You can also read! Like Podcasts, the genre does not matter. It is a great way to get into that “just because” book read.
Breakfast
Do not go into your day without breakfast. You just woke up from ideally getting 7-8 hours of sleep, it is important to get some energy before starting into your day. I had days where I would go to class without breakfast and be distracted with stomach pains or growling. I was more concerned if my stomach would make a sound than taking notes.
- Drinks: coffee, tea, juice, milk (favs include rice and oat milk)
- Meal: cereal, eggs, toast, breakfast sandwich, fruit
Plan Your Day
Before you headout take some time to list your tasks or projects for the day. At the top of your list should include your biggest objectives to get down for the day. Small tasks such as emails, calls, or scrolling social media can be left for later. Have at least one of your biggest tasks accomplished first to then work on smaller tasks to balance things out. By accomplishing a big task first, you use your energy efficiently as it declines throughout the day.
As you work to build a morning routine to fit your life and interests, do not disregard the habits you already have. Build up from those habits! Habit stacking is a great beginning point to build up to a full morning routine. Just cut off unrewarding habits like scrolling social media and emails
