Want More Life Satisfaction? Your Morning Routine Matters.
By Kristin Yates DO
Genuine life satisfaction starts with a stellar morning routine.
Prior to this realization, however, I used to wake up in the morning, roll over, hit snooze, and grab my phone. I would tell myself that I was just allowing my brain to wake up a little more before getting out of bed.
It’s just a few minutes to myself, right?
So, I’d check social media, email, jump out of bed, take a quick shower, and throw myself together before my kids woke up.
However, this routine left me feeling rushed, flustered, and anxious—and this was before I even got to work.
I wanted to feel calm, settled, and in the right mindset for the day. However, my “few minutes to myself” routine was not helping.
I decided to change my morning routine and swap out three things: hitting snooze, scrolling social media, and checking email.
I started doing these five things instead and it made a big difference.
- Make the Bed
Making your bed is a simple way to immediately accomplish something to start the day. This is a small task that can snowball into the completion of several other small tasks. This mindful action can affirm that you are a person who not only makes your bed daily but also accomplishes tasks. Also, it’s a great feeling to come home to a crisp bed.
- Start a Gratitude Practice
You are what you think. If you make a habit of looking for the positive things in your day, you will train your brain to do it automatically. This will make you happier throughout the day.
We can feel discouraged by all the things that we have yet to do. Having a gratitude practice helps you feel grateful for having goals and the baby steps towards that goal.
Instead of focusing all that isn’t done, a gratitude practice acknowledges all that has been done.
By taking time to consciously focus on what you have, it becomes easier to recognize all the wonderful things that are in your life at this very moment. This breeds an abundance mentality and you guessed it! Abundance creates satisfaction.
Not sure how to start a gratitude practice? Keep it simple. Jot it down in a notebook or even in the notes section on your phone.
Try these 3 tips:
- Write down what you are looking forward to for the day.
- Reflect on your favorite part about yesterday.
- Jot down something that you are working towards but may have not accomplished yet.
3. Daily Intentions and/or Goal Review
Start your day with a review of your intentions and/or goals. Do this before you allow others to task you with their goals.
My favorite: today is going to be a good day no matter what.
If you frame your day with positivity, your brain will look for evidence to prove that true.
Review your goals for the week/month/year. Pick 2-3 small things that you can accomplish today that will bring you one step closer to that goal.
That’s it.
It only takes a few minutes to go from autopilot to deciding the direction that you are heading.
Read more on live your best life: 4 ways to live with intention.
4. Mindfulness Practice
The benefit of having some sort of mindfulness practice is that you teach yourself to become aware of your thoughts. The more that you are aware of your thoughts, the easier it is to change them. This is beneficial when you are in the habit of having negative thoughts and self-talk.
Read more on 10 Mindful Ways to Invite Inspiration to Your Day.
If you’re a parent, read more on how mindfulness improves the parenting experience and 7 mindful parenting tips to start today.
Options for mindfulness practice:
- Visualization: This is the act of imagining yourself in a situation in order to achieve a desired outcome. This could mean imagining yourself at your ideal weight, performing a surgery independently or having financial freedom.
- Meditation: There are so many ways to meditate and apps to help you do it. My favorites are Headspace and the Honest Guys meditation channel. Read more on finding balance with yoga & meditation.
- Journaling: Allowing yourself to just write your stream of consciousness can be therapeutic because it helps you to identify what exactly it is that you are thinking.
5. Move Your Body
I have never been someone who loves to exercise. There have been periods of my life that I have gotten into the habit of exercise and enjoyed it. This includes when I thought it would be fun to try to be a runner and train for and complete a half marathon. I’m glad I did it but I can’t say that I am dying to do another one.
However, morning exercise doesn’t have to be a long, sweaty cardio-fest—unless you’re into that. What I mean is just move your body. Take a walk, stretch, try yoga.
Read more on 5 ways to add fitness to your day.
Thoughts on Morning Routines
Swapping out hitting the snooze button, scrolling on social media, and checking email first thing for the things mentioned above have really helped me make the most of my mornings. My life is definitely better now because of these changes.
I am not perfect and there are certainly days that I get off track. However, I now notice the difference on those days that I miss my morning routine. I encourage you to try out a new morning routine for a few days and see how it can positively change your life.
About the Author:
Kristin Yates, DO is a board-certified Ob/Gyn and lives in New Hampshire with her husband and two children. She enjoys teaching self-care and burnout prevention skills to residents and early career physicians. She enjoys reading, writing, and cooking. Her favorite thing about being an Ob/Gyn is providing a safe place for women to invest in self-care.
Connect with Dr. Yates on her website, Instagram, linkedIn, and facebook.
The Mindful MD Mom Asks: Do you have a morning routine? What are your favorite tips to feel calm and settled before the business (and busy-ness) of the day?
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