“Supercharge Your Morning Routine”

I don’t know about you, but the person I am when I go to bed at night is not always the person I am when my alarm goes off in the morning. At bedtime, I am full of passion and goals - I convince myself that I’m going to wake up recharged in the morning, ready to attack the day with verve! I won’t be a person who presses ‘snooze’, I’ll have all the time I need to have a slow, intentional morning. Then 6:20AM comes. My daughter has been up three times overnight, I curse the sound of my alarm, and I don’t want to get out of my warm, comfy bed. To battle the chaos that is the morning, I do four things to ensure I stay on track. 

Here are the top four ways I supercharge my morning routine so that I can take on the day calm, prepared, and ready! 

1. Do something for your mind … and don't look at your phone.
   How many of you check your email within the first hour of waking up? I used to be guilty of this too. What this does is tells your brain, “We need to be alert.” You see an email from your boss, a client, whoever, and your heart rate increases and you get anxious or frustrated that you'll have to deal with it when you start work. Increased cortisol is not an ideal way to start your day! Your email can wait. Instead, do something to help calm your mind and get you in a focused and centered place to head into your day. In my pre-children days, I would light a candle, meditate for 3-5 mins, and read for 15 mins. This helped me to soft-launch the day and to start it off in a calm and relaxed state. Now that I have a toddler and another on the way and I don't have as much uninterrupted time in the morning, I do what I can. I light a candle, I take some deep breaths, and I do a quick grounding meditation that takes 30 seconds to do. It;s shorter, but it's still a moment for me and my mind - no distractions from outside of the home, no urgency. 

2. Do something for your body.
   Everything you read will tell you to exercise for 30 minutes in the morning. And in certain stages of your life, that might be totally doable. My toddler wakes up around 5 or 5:30am most days and it just isn't realistic for me to get my sweat on before she wakes up. So do what you can, and do something for your body. Maybe it is a 3 minute stretch. Maybe it is a series of seated stretches you can do while you eat breakfast, or your releves while you brush your teeth, or 10 squats in each room in your house as you get ready for the day. It doesn't matter what it is. My point is that you should do something for your body, no matter how “big” or “small”, and ditch the guilt and all or nothing mindset of the 30 minute workout in the morning. 

3. Touch every room once. 
   The constant going back and forth between rooms in the house can make me crazy and feel like I am wasting time on busy, rushed mornings. So I try to touch every room once - I wake up and go to the bathroom. I pee, wash my face, brush my teeth, and do my skincare. My daughter usually comes with me so I get her to brush her teeth and that usually distracts her long enough for me to do all of my stuff before she is done and I give her teeth a once over myself. I go to the kitchen and make breakfast and pack our lunch bags, then the bedroom to get dressed and do my make up. Especially if you live somewhere with 2 floors, you don't have time to be running back and forth! Try to get everything done in one room before you move to the next and save yourself some time!

4. Your morning routine starts the night before.
   What can you get done the night before to make your morning easier? For me it is picking out my outfit and packing my lunch. If you know me, you know I love to meal prep! I can't imagine taking an extra 10-15 minutes in the morning to put any food together for the day! I need quick grab and go options that are ready in the fridge. I also like to look fashionable and intentional when I leave the house and I know if I am picking something out of my closet at 7:40 and I need to leave the house at 7:45, it is going to be wrinkly and lackluster. Save yourself the time and help yourself be the person you want to be by preparing what you can in advance!