A morning routine is one of the most important things you can implement into your day every day. It sets a tone for how your whole day will go, and it’s something that many successful people swear by! We’ll be discussing all of the different steps to make up a morning ritual with tips on what you should include in yours so that you have a morning full of success.

A disclaimer before the post, I am a big, big fan of mornings. I used to be a bartender and wouldn’t get home until around 4am and it was absolutely the opposite of what my body needed. Watching the sunrise over the ocean with a cup of coffee and a book is just one of those things that will never ever get old. That being said, I may be biased but I still think a strong morning routine sets you up to have a strong day.

Wake up earlier than usual

The first step to creating an effective morning routine starts with waking up earlier than usual. Whether this means getting out of bed 10 minutes earlier or 30, the point is that it needs to happen consistently so you can keep on top of everything throughout the rest of your morning. I really enjoy getting up early because it has a different feeling to it. I know it sounds silly, but it is so quiet and fresh in the morning and people are generally in a good mood because they’re day has barely started! If you start waking up earlier and going to bed earlier (to accommodate your waking up earlier) you will have more of a chance to get through the entire sleep cycle, in turn, making you feel even more well rested.

• I took this watching the sunrise over the ocean, in my opinion the best way to start your day 🙂

Start by taking time to reflect on the day, what you’re grateful for and what’s important to you

Goals, aspirations, etc. Allow this reflection period (maybe 20 minutes) before getting out of bed so it can really sink in. This is something that I do that I often tell people to try, when you first touch your feet to the ground in the morning be profoundly grateful for another day. So grateful that you almost sound corny. Life is short and you never know when your time will be, every single day is a gift, treat it as such!

Make your bed when you get up

It is such an itsy bitsy teeny weeny thing to complete in the morning but it is still a task and you still completed it, yayyy! Making your bed first thing in the morning gives you a small sense of pride, it feels like you’re doing something, you can even check it off of your to-do list if you are one of those (although to-do lists can be the opposite of helpful). It also makes you less likely to try to crawl back into those nice warm sheets after you’ve put so much effort into making it look nice.

Take a cold shower or splash cold water on your face

Doesn’t sound very pleasant but it is an excellent way to get your body awake in the morning. I recommend keeping the cold water on the surface like a shower or splashing water on your face, drinking cold water actually isn’t great for your body. Everything functions smoothly in your body when it is at it’s normal temperature. Pouring ice water down your throat first thing in the morning or at all throughout the day slows down your metabolism and slows down all of your bodies vital functions. Stick to drinking warm water or room temperature water for a happy body!

Meditate, do yoga, go for a run

Get up and get moving! It will release endorphins, give you more energy, and probably put you in a good mood. It is also yet another task you can check off your little list early in the morning. Exercising in the morning makes sure you burn calories throughout the whole day and gives you a much better rest at night. You’ll also look hot and feel good about yourself, hello, do you need more motivation than that?

Eat some breakfast!!

Soooooo tired of hearing, “breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” but, I’d say that it’s true for more than one reason – not only does eating in morning help keep you healthy by boosting metabolism (you’ll burn calories faster), but also because if you skip breakfast then chances are you will be hungry throughout the morning which means bad decisions could be made like grabbing fast food when on morning break at work or school. We’d like to avoid quick, easy, nutritionally void foods at all cost, thank you very much.