The BEST Productive Morning Routine Guide

Having a morning routine is probably the single most important thing that helps me have a productive and successful day.

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Photo by YURI MANEI from Pexels

I know that you’ve probably heard a bunch of people say that the key to the being successful and productive is having a routine in the morning.

I am going to be one more person you can add to the list 🙂

But, I am going to teach you exactly how you can implement a morning routine that works for you so that you can live your day up to its full potential.

Why Even Have a Morning Routine?

I feel like having a morning routine is so underrated. People don’t talk enough about how it honestly sets the tone for the rest of the day.

Sense of Control: Knowing that 1 thing in my life is consistent just makes me feel so much better and like I have some control when everything around me is constantly changing.

Me Time & Feeling Put Together: When I have a slow and meaningful morning, I just feel so much more put together throughout the rest of the day. I don’t feel rushed and flustered because I’ve had some time to myself in the morning. By recharging myself when the house is quiet and I don’t have to talk to anyone, I’m able to give so much more to other people because I’ve already had that time for me.

Less Decision Fatigue: Did you know that President Obama wears only blue or gray colored suits because he wants to cut down on the decisions he has to make throughout the day. As humans, we can only make so many decisions in a day before we reach our mental capacity. Once we reach our “decision limit” we either impulsively act or try not to make any decisions. And, studies show that we make better decisions earlier on in the day.

So, by having a morning routine, you’re cutting down on the amount of decisions you have to make so that you can make important decisions later on in the day. And, by getting up earlier, you’ll be making better decisions when you need to be making them.

Increased Productivity: Going along with the next one, having a morning routine and waking up early help me feel so much more productive throughout the day. I feel like I’ve already done so much by 10 am and I still have the extra capacity in my brain to make decisions. Because I feel productive, I’m so motivated to just continue that streak and accomplish more things that I need to do!

Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay

**How You Can Set Up Your Morning for Success**

So, now that I’ve convinced you that you need a morning routine, you might be feeling lost on where to even start.

Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. Here’s how you can build your own productive morning routine!

I tried to write these in the order that I do them, but feel free to switch things around to your liking!

1. Prepare the night before:

This is so so so key!!

Make a to-do list

Make a simple list of things you need to do the next day is a great way for you to be productive the next day and not feel flustered in the morning when you wake up and realize you don’t know what to do.

Pro-Tip: I like to write out some of the steps in my morning routine and even simple things like “eat breakfast”, “make bed”, or “prepare overnight oats” because I just feel so much more accomplished and I don’t let little things slip through the cracks.

Go to sleep early

I know that this is easier said than done, but once you do it for a week or so, your body will get used to it and you’ll start to want to go to bed early! Here are some tips that help me get ready to go to bed:

Avoid blue light
- I’m sure we’ve all heard people say not to use your phone 2-3 hours before bed because blue light can mess with you sleep schedule. But 2 hours just isn’t really realistic for me. I’m doing homework on my laptop at night, and I like to use my phone to catch up on some social media before that. So, I try not to use for 30 – 45 minutes before bed and even that has helped me a lot with falling asleep!
Have a cool room
- I cannot sleep when it’s hot, so I like to make sure the room is cooler than I’d usually keep it so that when I’m actually in bed under my blanket, the temperature is what I like.
Have a relaxing night time routine
- This is so important in helping me wind down and getting ready for bed. My night-time routine is pretty simple, it’s basically just skincare and reading, but it helps me wind-down so much! Find what works for you! Try not to do anything too stimulating liking reading a scary book or watching an intense movie because that’s not helping our minds chill out.

2. Wake up Early

Alright, I know that you may not want to do this, but trust me, once you do it for a week or so, you’ll love it!

Wake up an hour or 2 earlier than you need to

Wake up depending on what you want to do in your morning routine. I know that I have class at 8 am, and I like to have 2 hours to myself in the morning, so I get up at around 6.

I like to give myself enough time to do everything I want to do so that I don’t feel rushed and flustered going through my routine.

6 am might sound suuuper early, but now that I do it every day, I honestly love waking up at 6 and feel like half the day has gone by if I sleep in until 8 am haha.

I’m not saying you have to wake up at 6, but just wake up earlier than you need to!

Make gradual changes

Don’t be hard and unrealistic on yourself. You’re not going to go from waking up at 9 or 10 am to waking up at 6 am overnight. It takes time.

Try getting up a half hour earlier every 3-4 days. So, lets say you usually get up at 9:30 am and go to bed and 12:30 am. On the first day (let’s say Sunday) Start by going to bed at 12:00 am and waking up at 9 am on Monday morning. Then on Wednesday night, go to bed at 11:30 pm and get up at 8:30 am on Thursday. Just continue this until you’re waking up at whatever time you choose!

Motivate yourself to wake up earlier by starting the day with something you love doing!

You’re not going to want to wake up to do something you hate, so start by doing something you love! (More ideas below)

Change your mindset

Start looking forward to your mornings!

This sort of goes along with the last one – you’re not going to want to wake up if your mindset if “ugh it’s so early I don’t want to be doing this I don’t see the point, etc”

Think about the time you’re getting to yourself and how productive you’ll feel throughout the day! I honestly go to bed excited that I get to have a quiet morning in a loud house.

Make gradual changes 🙂 Image by Beyond Timelines from Pixabay

3. Hydrate

Okay, people do not talk about this enough (idk maybe they do and I just haven’t heard it) by hydrating in the morning is sooo important!

Our bodies have been asleep for 7 – 9 hours (hopefully) and it hasn’t had any water. So, I hydraatttee first thing in the morning!

I honestly feel energized after drinking water in the morning haha.

I’m not a coffee drinker, but if you are, try and have a couple glasses of water first, and then have coffee because coffee can dehydrate you more!

4. Take some time for yourself

In your morning routine, set aside some time to just let your mind be calm and do something you love.

It doesn’t have to be long, just 5 – 7 minutes, but trust me it makes the world of a difference.

Honestly, I just like to have my water, sit, and either read or think about everything I’m grateful for. It really just helps me be more grounded the rest of the day.

Some other ideas are:

Affirmations, prayer, mediation, writing, or drawing!

5. Make your bed

This is so simple, but I feel so accomplished after I do this.

I also just feel like it helps my mind be less cluttered when my space is less cluttered.

I know it sounds simple, but just try doing it in the morning if you don’t already!

Image by BUMIPUTRA from Pixabay

6. Social Media Break

I know, I know, we’ve all heard not to go on social media in the morning.

But, it can be kind of hard idk why.

So, I like to tell myself to just go on social media while I’m brushing my teeth, and after that, I’m done until I’m done with my morning routine.

It helps me to not go in a social media wormhole by just checking social media while I’m doing another short tasks, like brushing my teeth, because I still get to check it, but I don’t really have time to do it for a long time.

7. Exercise

I know that everyone likes to work out at different times of the day, which is totally fine, but personally, I love working out in morning before I really have time to make excuses or put it off.

I find that if I want until even like 11 am, I just won’t do it because my energy peaks in the morning.

Plus, I know that I’ve set aside this time for working out, so I don’t really have anything else to do during this time lol.

And, I love getting the endorphins in the morning because I just feel like they carry throughout the rest of the day!

If you don’t want to do a full-on workout in the morning, just do something light to get some endorphins flowing.

You could do a small walk, yoga, stretching, Pilates, or anything you want! Just move!

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

8. Have a Nourishing Breakfast

I know every body is different but I thrive by having an early breakfast and an early dinner.

I find that if I don’t have a super hearty breakfast, my energy levels throughout the day are just bleh and I get more snacky at night and just eat a ton of dessert idk why.

So, if you have this happen to you too, try having a filling and balanced breakfast! Here are some ideas:

9. Do your hardest task first

Like I said before, we make the best decisions earlier on in the day, so try to get the thing you’re dreading the most over with first. I know it’ll suck, but just think about how good you’ll feel once you’re done!

10. My Productive Morning Routine

Okay, I know I just threw a lot at you and that was probably a lot to digest all at once, so here’s an example of my morning routine to help you solidify everything.

BUT, yours doesn’t have to have this many steps! It can literally just be 20 minutes of doing something you love, but do something to give yourself time in the morning!

Prepare the night before – 7:45 pm – 9:45 pm

I like to make my to – do list for the next day at around 7:45 pm, then go on my phone for a little bit, do my skincare while watching some YouTube, and then read a book before going to bed.

Wake up Early – 6 am

Like I said before, I like to get up early before class 🙂

Hydrate – 6:20 am

Drink water!

Take some time for myself – 6:30 – 6:45

Pray, relax, and just be 🙂

Make my bed – 6:45 am

Okay I know I said to do this, but sometimes I forget so do as I say not as I do haha

Exercise – 6:50 am – 7:40 am

I weight lift 4-5 times a week, and just do some chill walking or stretching the other 2 – 3 days!

Shower – 7:45 am – 7:55 am

Class – 8 am

Breakfast 8:30 am: Check out my Instagram for my daily breakfast eats!

I hoped that this helped you understand why you need a morning routine, and how you can implement one!

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