Establishing an Essential Morning Routine: Part I
There are a number of elements that take the KonMari Method™ far beyond a mere home organizing approach into a true lifestyle practice. One of these fundamental pillars is VISION: before embarking on a journey to tidy up our home once and for all, we must first be clear about our goals for our ideal home + life.
As a Certified KonMari™ Consultant, working with clients in the vision-planning phase is a very special, individualized part of the process - and one of my favorites! Through a series of questions, clients are encouraged to think about their home, their life, what’s working, and what could change in order to reduce physical + mental clutter and bring them closer to their vision. While no vision is ever the same, there is one specific activity/habit almost always mentioned as an area people genuinely wish to improve.
Can you guess what it is?
The Morning Routine.
When you stop to think about it, perhaps it’s really not all that surprising. How we start our morning sets the tone for the entire day. No one enjoys feeling behind schedule before our feet even hit the floor in the morning, yet so many of us struggle with making the most out of those crucial first hours in the day.
Keeping with the self-care theme, this is part I of a two-part blog series focused entirely on establishing + maintaining a morning routine. Today we’re talking tips + habit changes that make those early morning wake-ups a little easier. Part II next week will focus on the morning routine itself.
Everything shared in this post is drawn from personal experience over the past four years as a practitioner of The Miracle Morning - by Hal Elrod. No affiliate links. I’m just a superfan who highly recommends his book and this practice.
The tone of our morning has a powerful impact on the rest of our day. By simply changing our mindset + approach to waking up, we change our day and ultimately our life. How we feel when we wake up in the morning is not solely based on how many hours of sleep we get, but significantly impacted by how we tell ourselves we are going to feel when we wake up.
As a mom to two young boys, I'm not here to give advice on how to get more sleep - if you have tips in that area, send them my way! What I can share are steps to help prepare for waking up earlier each morning, ready for the day ahead.
Your morning begins the night before.
Set + commit to your bedtime. If you're a night owl like me, this is one of the toughest habits to stick to; however, it's one of the most crucial components for a successful early morning wakeup. Decide your bedtime based on the time you want to wake up, determine how many hours of sleep you ideally need, and work backwards. Make a commitment to yourself to stick with it - even for a week. Adjust where needed.
Enforce a digital sunset. Not only does this help with ensuring an earlier bedtime, it significantly and positively impacts your quality of sleep. Because the blue light from our phones + computers affects circadian rhythm, put all screens away 60 - 90 minutes before bedtime. I also recommend placing your phone on Airplane mode and charging it in another room or at least away from your bed while you sleep.
Prepare your environment for your future self. Do you need at least a cup of morning coffee before feeling functional? Are you planning on an early morning workout before the sun is even up? I promise you, your morning self will thank you for having that pot of coffee made or the workout clothes set out. Some call this "putting the house to bed" - just make it part of your evening routine to tidy up, make the coffee, set out the clothes, books, journal, yoga mat, or any other supplies you’ll be using in the morning.
Set your intentions and commit to your wakeup time. Just before going to bed, think about your wakeup time and why you want to be up earlier in the first place. If mornings are particularly difficult, go easy on yourself - begin by committing to waking up just 30 minutes earlier than usual. Those extra intentional 30 minutes for yourself in the morning are far more beneficial than 3 taps of the snooze button.
Establish a pre-morning routine.
No snoozing. If you must, place your alarm clock on the other side of the room so you have to get out of bed to disable it. Movement creates energy!
Drink a full glass of water. Before doing anything else, drink a full 8oz glass of water for immediate hydration. This also helps increase your energy and motivation to wake up.
Brush your teeth. Sounds funny, but do this immediately after that glass of water. Your wake up motivation goes up a few more notches. Washing or splashing water on your face helps too.
Get dressed. Next week I'll give some ideas on what to incorporate in a morning routine, but it's always a good idea to include time for some type of movement or exercise. So go ahead and put on those workout clothes right away.
If optimizing your early morning hours has been something you've been wishing to improve, feel free to add to or customize the suggestions above. Make your morning work for you. Achieving our vision for our ideal life is simply the result of purposeful thoughts, routines, and habits done repeatedly over time. As Peter Voogd says, "Discipline creates lifestyle." Are you ready to give it a try? Go ahead and move that alarm clock across the room, put a glass of water on your nightstand, prepare your environment for success, and commit to an intentional early morning refresh.
My hope for you is that through these small intentional habit changes, you grow even closer to a life that truly brings you JOY.