Do you have a morning routine checklist? If not you really should consider creating one in order to help you have an effective morning routine. Too often I find that people don’t even have a set morning routine yet alone a morning routine checklist. Yet, having one of these can make a big difference in your physical and emotional wellbeing and in how your entire day goes. I shared on my podcast episode here about my morning routine. While I don’t always get everything on my morning routine checklist completed, I at least one one and I know what I want to do every morning. Sometimes I have coaching calls, or I go to the gym to go swimming and then my checklist is shorter. However, I have both a minimum checklist of the things I must do, and a checklist of what I do on a morning when I have more time available.
That said, this is probably not the first time you have heard of this. In fact, many best selling authors and others have recommended this for years. The Miracle Morning by Hal Enrod being one of the most famous. There have also been scientific studies done that have said that what you do in the morning impacts the rest of your day.
So what should be on your morning routine checklist?
Different people will have different recommendations, but these are mine.
- Some kind of movement or exercise. Stretching and doing some kind of walking, or dancing and swimming or other sports if you have the time are always a good idea. At minimum I do 10 minutes of stretching and walking every morning no matter what.
- Drink water- too many of us don’t get enough water. I drink at least 16 oz of water every morning.
- Take supplements and or vitamins and use essential oils. Some of you may not yet be using or taking any of these but in my opinion we all need some as you can’t get everything you need from food anymore.
- Prayer or meditation or both. These really are necessary to put you in the right mindset for the day.
- Journaling- you can actually write down what is going on in your life, or you can journal what you are grateful for, or anything else you want to write about. The morning pages is also a good journaling exercise that many people recommend.
- Infrared sauna– if you have one at home and have the time, this is always a good idea. I bought one just a few weeks ago and I try to do it in the morning when I can and when I can’t do it in the morning, I do it in the evening.
- Bath or shower. I know that many people do this in the evening and sometimes I do as well, but I try to shower in the morning even if only for 2-3 minutes. If you can tolerate cold water, this is really good for your immune system.
- T-zone, this is another really good thing for getting your circulation going in the morning.
- Eat breakfast– I intermittent fast until about 8 am but then I eat my breakfast. If you have an autoimmune condition you do not want to skip breakfast as it really is better for your health and your hormones for you to at least eat something.
- Read scriptures or another inspirational book or listen to them. I find this really helpful for getting into the right mindset and for helping with my faith and spirituality.
So what should not be on the morning routine checklist? Yes, I also have a checklist for you of what should not be on your morning routine checklist.
- Watch TV- even on the weekends, I don’t do this before 9 am.
- Spend time on social media. I know it’s tempting but it really isn’t a good idea. I sometimes will post my reels for the day or other updates while I’m in my sauna, or doing something else, but I don’t spend time surfing or chatting with people or reading my social media in the morning.
- Eating sugar. Personally I’ve quit eating sugar all the time, but eating sugar in the morning is especially bad.
- Sleeping in until you have less than 15 minutes before you need to leave for the day. You really should get up at least 1 hour before leaving the house and if you are going to do even my minimum routine for the morning, then you have to do that.
- Read the news. It’s all negative and not great for you to read at any time but it’s especially bad in the morning.
Did this help you? If so, I would greatly appreciate a share on Facebook, twitter, linkedin, or pinterest.
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