I live by my morning routine. If you know me, you know it’s a big part of my life. I like to wake up early, make sure I have time for things I love, and really just kick start my day with healthy, good-for-me choices. That’s why I want to share my routine as a sample morning routine with you.
A couple of things first:
- This routine took me months to build. I didn’t wake up one day and just had a flushed-out 3-hour morning routine. Take it one step at a time.
- This is a sample morning routine. It’s what works for me and what I feel needs to be included at the start of each one of my days. You do you and fill your morning with things you love.
Wake Up & Show Gratitude
Of course, the first step of any morning routine is waking up. But before I get out of bed I take a moment to be grateful for things in my life. What I am thankful for changes every day. Yes, there are often repeats, but depending how I’m feeling, what the day before brought, or what I know is ahead, can influence what I am grateful for.
Some days I appreciate the bed I sleep in. On other days I appreciate my husband because he grounds me and brings so much fun and joy into my life. There are days when I’m grateful I don’t have to do laundry because I don’t think I can stand one more trip up and down the stairs with a loaded basket of dirty clothes.
Then there are the big days of gratefulness. Like when I appreciate the air I am breathing or the roof over my head. There have been days when I’m so very thankful for one of my nieces because they sent me a text with a pink heart emoji out of the blue just when I needed it most.
Every morning I appreciate at least one thing. Most mornings it’s several. And often it’s something that makes my heart sing and feels overjoyed with emotion.
Hydrate
Next, I take a moment to have a full glass of water. It’s a good practice to have as soon as you wake up. Rehydrating yourself from a long night’s sleep will help flush out your empty stomach, releasing toxins. I like to add a powdered blend of greens to my morning water. It ensures I have all of my greens servings in the day before I’ve even taken a bite of food.
Workout & Stretch
I prefer to workout on an empty stomach (besides my greens drink). I know that isn’t the norm, so if you need to eat something before a workout, do it. I exercise at home. Over time, I have set up a decent little home gym in my basement. I follow streaming programs and workout six days a week.
One of those days is always a yoga or flow day. And I typically take a rest day on Sunday.
I think it’s great to get your blood flowing and your heart pumping first thing in the morning. This works really well for me. At the end of the day, I never have the motivation for a full-blown workout, so it’s part of my morning routine.
I always end my workout with about 10-15 minutes of stretching.
Meditate
I find it very refreshing to focus deeply for a brief period of time and to be one with myself. Taking 10 minutes to do this each morning is very relaxing. I also find that it’s a way to be honest and open with yourself.
I prefer to use guided meditations when I meditate in the morning. I like to use the Unplug app. There are monthly challenges and daily recommendations, or you can search for a topic and pick a meditation.
I really like the search feature. When I’m feeling unfocused I find a meditation about focus. Or if I’m confused about my life’s path I find a meditation about exploring your future self.
Journal (and Coffee)
Every morning I take a few minutes to journal. First I make a cup of coffee, then I find a comfortable place to sit and write down my thoughts. I either write in my regular journal or my future-self journal, depending on how I’m feeling. I never write in both during my morning routine time slot for journaling.
Mostly, I prefer to free-write so I just go with my stream of thought. This helps clear my head for the day ahead.
Hobby Time
I think this is my favorite part of my morning routine. This is when I sit down to knit, crochet, read, or do something else just because I love doing it. What a great feeling it is to have time for what you love each and every day.
Hobby time is the last thing I would ever give up in my morning routine. I know if I say I’ll do it later, I won’t. The truth is, our days are busy and the first thing we push aside are the things that don’t seem essential.
But our joy is essential, and my hobbies bring me much joy.
Do what you love during hobby time – it just makes you so happy.
Creative Writing
Some might think this should go into the hobby time slot of my morning routine, but it’s separate for me. I love to write and always have a story spinning. So giving myself time to creatively write is a necessity.
To me, it’s more than a hobby and needs to happen every day.
Remember, you can decide what your morning routine looks like, so if you don’t write, pick something else.
Make Breakfast and Get Ready for Work
This is exactly what it says. I make a healthy breakfast and get ready for work. At this point, I’ve filled my morning with things that are good for me, motivate me, and make me happy. So I don’t feel like I’m just getting up to go to work day after day.
I feel positive and ready for the day knowing I’ve had time to enjoy things I love.
Create Your Sample Morning Routine
What would you add to a morning routine? Create your routine by writing it out, maybe add some time parameters for each section of your morning.
Once you have an idea of what you’d like your morning routine to look like you can start to build it one morning at a time.
I started with half-hour increments because that seemed doable at the time. I knew I wanted to add everything I eventually did, but I couldn’t start and maintain it that way from the beginning.
Before I started my morning routine I was waking up around 7 am. Now I wake up at 4 am. But the first day I only set my alarm 20 minutes earlier so I could stretch and sit with a cup of coffee before getting ready for work.
I eventually started with a walk around the neighborhood before continuing to add section by section to my morning routine.
Click here for more on how to create your morning routine step-by-step.
Add an Evening Routine to Your Sample Morning Routine
Yes! Yes! Yes! You need to set yourself up for success. And that means preparing for your morning in the evening. Check out my article here on How to Create A Simple Evening Routine and Why You Need One.
What will you add to your morning routine? Let me know in the comments below!
