A splash of chilly water on my face lifts me from the lull of sleep. My coffeemaker sputters to life, and the primary rays of morning mild peek over the hills outdoors my window. These are the every day rhythms of my morning, bringing calm and luxury of their repetition it doesn’t matter what’s in retailer for the day forward. I first started cultivating a morning routine again in faculty—I discovered solace in creating construction throughout such a transitional season. I feel this was my first step towards actively in search of wellness in my life, and over time, my morning routine has grow to be the center of my journey towards private progress.
Throughout the month, I’ve been sharing how I create a imaginative and prescient for my life (with the Vision Workbook I exploit to make clear it), and I’ve mapped out easy methods to set and obtain targets that can transfer the needle towards that imaginative and prescient. Today, I’m sharing the linchpin of your complete course of:
Establish a morning routine the place you’ll be able to see your imaginative and prescient every day, overview your targets, and (that is key) maintain up your calendar to see if the way in which you’re spending your time matches up.
Also, we launched our new Youtube channel at this time! We’re kicking it off with my precise morning routine—so test it out and I’d love so that you can subscribe to our channel as a result of we’ve SO many enjoyable episodes coming your means.
Productivity Versus Prioritization
When requested some type of the query, “How do you get everything done in a day?” My reply is—I don’t! I’m a mother, I run two companies, and like most of you, I’m juggling a lot. There are an limitless variety of issues I might be doing. So usually, “productivity” focuses on how we could be doing extra, however at this level in my life, I’m specializing in doing much less—whereas prioritizing crucial issues.
Since everyone knows that our greatest intentions could be sidelined by components outdoors our management (a gathering ran over, the varsity nurse known as—your child is sick, errands took you twice so long as anticipated), the early morning is the very best time to get actually clear about what we’re going to prioritize that day. It sounds easy, however I actually imagine that is key in designing the lifetime of your desires.
My Morning Routine
Since I like getting impressed by others’ morning routines, I assumed it may be useful to share my very own. Here’s the play-by-play:
6:00 am – Skincare
My alarm goes off, I look on the sleep stats on my Oura ring, then I head into the bathroom, splash my face with cold water, cleanse and moisturize.
6:10 am – Coffee
I head into the kitchen and turn on the coffeemaker (I always get it ready the night before). While it’s brewing, I feed our cat Clem, and prepare my cozy living room spot with my iPad for journaling, headphones, and whatever book I’m reading. I grab my Ritual Mug and get comfy—this is my favorite part of the day.
6:20 am – Meditate, Journal, Read
I pop in my air pods and do a quick meditation or mindfulness app to get in the zone—lately I’ve been listening to “get energized” from the Superhuman app, then I change to stress-free music and begin journaling.
You guys, I’m obsessive about my new journaling methodology. Adam stunned me with an iPad Pro for Christmas, and it’s been game-changing as a result of I can mix handwriting with typing. I exploit the Evernote app in order that it’s all searchable (yep, even my handwriting) since I usually return and revisit my journal for publication concepts or quotes I’ve jotted down.
My journaling is a combo of artistic free-writing, prayer, and recording issues from the day earlier than that I wish to bear in mind later. If I’m experiencing writers’ block, I simply put pencil to iPad and begin writing—something, even when it is unnecessary it at all times sparks one thing I wish to dive deeper into.
I additionally use this time to learn one thing inspiring, which helps me get in a constructive headspace for the day and grounds me in what’s vital. Right now, I’m studying passages from the e-book, To Bless the Space Between Us, and I at all times write down one quote or takeaway to assist synthesize what I’ve learn.
6:40 am – Review my targets
Next, it’s time to get out my Vision Workbook and review the following sections:
Mantra for the year
Mine is “less distraction, more engagement.”
List of words describing how I want to feel
It’s amazing how just reading the word “energized” immediately give me more energy.
Goals for each area of my life
It may sound repetitive to read these goals every morning, but trust me: there’s something about getting clear on what matters to you daily that changes everything.
6:50 am – Align my calendar
This step takes just a few minutes, but it probably has the most powerful effect on the rest of my day.
Since the way we spend our time is a direct expression of what’s most important to us, isn’t it worth it to be intentional with how we’ve allocated our precious hours in the day ahead?
After reviewing my goals, it’s the perfect time to examine whether my calendar is aligned and balanced. I can ensure that it’s not too heavily weighted towards one area of life (like career) while sacrificing all the others (like health or family.) For example, if one of my goals is to be a better listener with my kids, I can see where on my calendar that day I can drop a few minutes of time for undistracted conversation. If I’ve committed to doing pilates 2x per week, I can see if that’s on my calendar—and if it’s not, find a place for it! Yes, you might have to cancel or move something else that’s on your calendar to make room for these priorities. Saying “no” to some things so you can say “yes” to others is all part of the process.
Life is crazy busy, and for me, I have to be super intentional about making time for the important stuff or else my schedule will easily crowd them out.
6:55 am – Prioritize the day
My Vision Workbook serves as a reminder of my goals and my action steps. I use my calendar to make sure I’m spending my time on them. And the final step of my morning routine is to write down the three most important tasks for me to get done that day. They can be work-related or personal, they just need to align with my overall goals so I can make sure I’m always making progress.
Usually, I write these down in my journal, and then I also keep a pad of paper on my desk where I’ll write them down so I can easily see them throughout my workday.
You know those days where it feels like you’re just spinning your wheels and hopping from one thing to the next, but it feels like you have nothing to show for it? Even on days like that, if I accomplish my top three priorities, I can end the day knowing that even if I didn’t get everything done, I still got the most important things done.
7:00 am – Family time
It’s time to get the kids up, and the mad dash begins to get everyone dressed, fed, and out the door for school. One great thing about getting up before everyone else is that I can be laser-focused on the morning routine I laid out above. Then when my kids get up, I can be totally focused on my time with them.
And, this brings me to the other most important thing about a morning routine:
Create good habits, but don’t hold to them too tightly. Sometimes life gets in the way, and it’s better to roll with it instead of resisting.
When Henry was younger, he would wake up at 5 am and want my attention first thing, so my morning routine often started by reading or playing a game with him. No, a round of Chutes and Ladders isn’t the way I would have chosen to start my day (especially at 5 o’clock in the morning), but I learned to enjoy those sweet times and remember—it’s a season, and it won’t last forever.
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Drop your morning routine questions in the comments, and be sure to head to our brand new Youtube channel to watch my entire routine in action! If you like it, please subscribe to our channel—we have so many amazing episodes planned for the coming months.
And if you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your own copy of my Vision Workbook. It’s totally free, and I truly want it to be a useful tool to help you create the life of your dreams.
