Some of us are lucky enough to be ‘morning people’, capable of rising from restful sleep at silly o’clock in the morning and without a shred of difficulty. Those that find it easy to rise are amongst a surprising majority too, with only 4 in 10 of us finding mornings difficult. For that 40%, though, a properly considered approach to mornings could make all the difference for mental and physical health. If you’re struggling with your mornings, how might you make the right routine for you?
State Your Priorities
In approaching your morning routine, it can be extremely easy to fall into a common trap: designing your routine to suit the aims you think you should have, as opposed to the aims you actually have. Reading how-to guides and think-pieces can lead you down a path not of your own making – ultimately leading you to make routine decisions that don’t describe your wants or needs, and won’t stick as a result.
With this in mind, and before you start drafting your morning schedule, you should take some time to think on your personal priorities and write them down. Others might advocate for squeezing exercise into an average morning routine, but you might prefer to take some time to meditate – something which could provide real value to your day, providing you devise your routine purely for yourself.
Keep Organised
It is all well and good drafting your ideal morning routine, but this doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be able to stick to it. Indeed, one of the most important parts of making a morning routine easily repeatable is preparation. Without the right organisation, you might find too many impediments to each aspect of your morning routine – making it less likely that you’ll keep to it after all.
For instance, as someone with astigmatism, you may rely on toric lenses to see well in the morning (especially in winter mornings, when artificial lights are necessary to get around your house). These should be in the same place by your bed, ready to use right away to minimise clumsy searching time. Likewise, your clothes and toiletries should all be such that you can start each task right away; spending even five minutes the night before, to ensure everything is where it needs to be, can be transformative for the ease of your mornings.
Forefront Your Health
Though you will have your own specific priorities with regard to your morning routine, this does not mean that other parts of yourself are less important, or can be safely ignored. Health is a vital consideration within your morning routine, both in the physical and mental sense. Indeed, your mental health should take special precedence, particularly if you feel you are experiencing more stress as a result of having no morning routine to speak of. To this end, making time for meditation and self-care in the morning can be transformative for the shape of your day.
Images from New Spirit by Patrick Lacsina – see full story here.
