Creating a morning routine is one of the best ways to position yourself for greater success in your business and home life.

Morning routines boost happiness, increase productivity, reduce stress levels, and get you grounded and settled for the day.

Your morning routine is about getting started on the ‘right foot.’

Morning routines start your day off with intention rather than letting the day get away from you. You will feel in control of the day, not the other way around. This fantastic feeling of being in control of things results positively and affects your entire day.

Many of the most noteworthy entrepreneurs contribute a large amount of their success to their morning routines.

The perfect morning routine that makes YOU happy and productive all day is out there and is now within your reach.

The Why Way provides guidance and a step-by-step guide to discover the optimal morning routine specifically designed for your lifestyle, goals, obstacles, desires, and action plan.

What to Keep in Mind

Please keep it simple.

Find one or two things (three max in the beginning) that you feel will work for YOU to get going. Find routines that are easy and enjoyable to do to start winning, then add more in time.

Choosing too many things will only result in giving up or beating yourself up because you failed. When you try to do many activities at once, you don’t do anything.

Try things out.

Once you have found a few routines that you believe will work, try them out for a week and decide if it worked or not. Remember, it takes 40 days to form a habit and make things stick for good.

Set reminders for yourself.

Use your phone or any visual cue to remind yourself to do the routine.

There are multiple apps and things you can do to do so, find what works for you, and stick to it. I use a planner and cross off tasks after I finished them. I feel accomplished when I cross it off the list, and I want to get more done.

Integrate your routine with your current schedule.

The best place to start forming your routine is with what you already do. Find ways to swap what you already do for something more efficient effortlessly. Adding more to a to-do list, in the beginning, will result in overwhelm.

Don’t forget about the weekend.

When creating a morning routine, make sure you keep it in mind during the weekend. A morning routine only becomes routine and easy if you routinely do it.

 

Options and recommendations for your morning routine

Below are options and recommendations for you to integrate into your morning routine. They are split up into four parts using the lens of Integrative Wellness principles.

  1. Mind
  2. Spirit
  3. Heart
  4. Body

You may not need something from each area, as everyone is different, but we recommend it. Some routines encompass many areas and other areas you can address at other times of the day. Find what works for you and your action plan to overcome your obstacles and achieve your goals.

Mind

The mind is your mentality, including thoughts, goals, hopes, dreams, desires, and plans.

It would be best if you had specific goals and an action plan to achieve them. The Why Way goes into extreme detail to unearth all you want to achieve and provides an action plan to achieve the goals.

Without a clear, detailed goal, there will be no focus or reason to have the morning routine.

Some options to address your goals and create a positive mental space in the morning include:

Set goals.

Put up 1-3 Post-it notes every morning or put into your calendar the most important goals you have for the day. The notes give you something to focus on to achieve throughout the day.

And because it’s only 1-3 things, it still leaves room for other things that come up – so there’s built-in flexibility too. You can build up the number of things you can do and start small to avoid a do or die mentality and celebrate every win.

Proactively plan your schedule for the next day.

You know if the next day is busy or not, and a little planning goes a long way. Look at your calendar and see what’s there – integrate your goals and your list of to-do’s to have a plan of action.

Read something that feeds your mind.

You can read for 10 minutes, and this habit can start your day on the right foot and bring immense joy. If you read for 10 minutes a day, you will read approximately 18 200-page books. Time is a poor excuse not to read.

Spirit

The spirit is anything related to your WHY and a feeling of inspiration, which means ‘in spirit.’ For some, it means religion, but for others, it may not. The spirit is about what makes you feel connected to something more profound and more significant.

Here are a few examples:

Why exercise.

If you haven’t found your WHY, continue exploring it until you do. If you have found your WHY, you can create a morning routine. Align all your to-do’s and goals and align them with your WHY.

Meditation/Prayer.

You may love your morning meditations, or you may be thinking that it’s not for you. If you want to learn more, there are many cool apps like Headspace and Calm that guide you through.

Prayer is focused and guided meditation. You can achieve all four parts if you are like my mother and walk and pray at the same time. Prayer helps reflect matters of goals and the heart too. In the Bible, it states multiple times to meditate on the Word, Him, love, etc. To learn more about this viewpoint, contact Why to Fitness.

Go Outside.

Go outside and observe your surroundings. What do you smell in the air or hear in the distance? Stop and take in the moment and feel the elements all around you. You can sit or walk, but walking may cover your physical needs as well.

Religious study.

Read, take notes, better yourself, whatever it is that you feel called to do. The bible states to seek Him first. He is the reason behind morning routines, in my opinion, and why so many greats have consistent morning routines. Religion aims to explain why we exist, so it is only proper to reflect on this first thing to keep perspective.

Heart

The heart is all about your feelings, emotions, and relationships.

Gratitude list.

Go through your gratitude list. Starting your day with what you are thankful for will put you in a good mood and carry over to the rest of your activities.

Connect with friends, family members, and those who make you feel happy.

Take time in the morning while you commute to call friends and family and connect with them. It won’t take any extra time out of the day if we make the call during activities we are already doing, like commuting to work.

Do more of what gets you feeling good.

Whatever makes you happy and feel good, do more of that. Whether it’s listening to music or watching birds, do whatever it is that makes you feel on top of the world.

Body

The body is anything we can do with our bodies or physical space. The body includes what we eat or drink, how we move, and anything that has to do with our physical selves. You do not have to have anything in the morning for this, as we can have our health and fitness routine at any time of the day, but if you can add something in the morning to get you going, even if you do things other times of the day, you will start the day on the right foot.

Here are some recommendations to address your body:

Drink water first thing in the morning.

Before doing anything else, drink a glass of water. Drinking water first thing in the morning is the healthiest thing you can do and is the most crucial Area of Change. Try to drink a cup or two first thing in the morning—more on water and hydration in the next chapter.

Review MyFitnessPal for the day, eat a good breakfast and prepare food for the day if needed.

After this week, you will have 2+ weeks of logging and discover how to balance everything out now that you know what you’re balancing. You don’t have to review your log in the morning (You can do it the night before), but you will eventually have to eat. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but no one ever said when you had to eat it. When you break-your-fast, the first thing your body consumes sets the tone for the entire day. (This is why I mentioned drinking water before) Try to get the healthiest thing possible, first thing in the morning. (more on this later). If you don’t eat till later or work, you may want to take this time to review your log and prepare the proper food to ensure you hit your goals.

Your Work Out

Some people choose to work out first thing in the morning or are the only time they can do so. You can take a simple walk or go to the gym. When it comes to physical activity, there is no such thing as wrong or right; you only need to be balanced (we address this soon, calm down their soldier)

Stretch and foam roll

If you don’t work out in the morning, I highly recommend spending at least 10 minutes every day, right after you drank your water, stretching, and foam rolling.

Brush your teeth

Brushing your teeth doesn’t take much explanation, but aside from merely being a decent functioning human being, there are many health benefits and problems you avoid by brushing your teeth.

Make your Bed

Would you rather end the day and have to untangle your sheets or just get into bed? Your physical space often affects where you are in your head. Doing this first thing in the morning starts you off, accomplishing a task that you can celebrate and gain momentum.

Build your morning routine now!

If you can’t find time to do an activity you want to do, the morning is an excellent time to do so.

You’ve had a look at the options; now, it’s time to integrate your action plan into your morning routine.

Make sure to start small and work up. If you only have 5 minutes, don’t try to do anything that will take longer.

What if I am struggling or can’t do what I want to do?

If you are struggling to follow through with your morning routines or achieve your health and fitness goals, stop wasting time and cause more damage and discover the only way to permanently take control of your health and weight without working out or cutting carbs and alcohol. Click HERE to find out more.