People talk about morning routines and habits all the time. There is so much content and advice out there. There is a reason for this, and that is, mornings are important. How you start your day matters. It matters because it sets the tone, mood, energy, and often pace for the rest of your day.
The key to a good morning lies in how you spend your night. If you are going to bed at a decent time you are more likely to wake up at a decent time and feel well-rested. If you go to bed with your mind on full drive worrying about anything and everything, you probably are going to have a restless night which can lead to a disturbing morning. The key to any morning habit or routine lies in the previous night. The thing to remember is it doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. All you need to do is be conscious the night before of what you need the next day, what is important to you, and what will make you happy.
Do you want to spend less time getting ready in the morning? Spend a few minutes laying out your clothes the night before. Do you want to make sure you eat a healthy meal? Decide what you are going to eat the night before. Do you want to have time to exercise before work? Go to bed an hour earlier so you can get up an hour earlier.
Our main struggle with our mornings is that we seem to think there isn’t enough time. Enough time to do everything we need to do. Enough time to relax, exercise, or eat breakfast. We are often in a rush.
The issue with this is that it sets the tone for the rest of the day. This is where and how anxiety and frustration can build when it comes to being organised.
When things feel out of control, you begin to feel overwhelmed so much easier and that is no way to live.
Time is a tricky thing. We often think we don’t have enough for ourselves when the truth is that all your time is your own. Change your perspective. Stop telling yourself things are not possible because you don’t have enough time. Start spending your energy deciding how to make the best of the time you do have. 24 hours is ample time to do what you need to do and what you want if you stop wasting time talking about how you don’t have enough time.
The key to a good morning is getting organised the night before. The time you spend the night before getting ready for the next day is also your time to wind down from everything that happened today. We often take problems and worries from one day straight into the next, never putting them down even for a second. Sure, you might need to take issues that come up one day and figure them out the next day but you do not need to carry those issues with you all night and into the next morning. Put them down. Let them be. Pick them up again the next day when you can actually sort through them, not when they are just running around your mind making you anxious all morning.
Let your morning be a time of sacred peace. Do things that set your day up for success by taking care of your mind, body and heart. To give yourself the space and time to have a good morning, plan your night before with intent and purpose.
[The writer is a Transformational Mindset and Empowerment Mentor, Business Coach for Women, and Host of the podcast Live Inspired; Please contact the author for details about ‘HEALTHY HABITS | THE MINDSET RESET’, an 8-day transformation focused on building a mindset from which you approach each day with ease, clarity, patience, and joy. vanessaseymour.com, [email protected]; Instagram: @vanessa.seymour]
