Build Your Dream Morning Routine in 5 Simple Steps!

All my life I have been told that the morning routine is the KEY to success. I never fully understood why...

”Why should I wake up earlier, sacrifice my sleep, give up social events at night just to make sure I have a few hours in the morning before I have to leave the house or start work at my computer?!”

Well folks, if you are like me, and need to have a "why" before you even comprehend thinking about making changes, then this post is for you!

I am going to dive into why changing my morning routine has been significant in my own mental health, my relationships, and my business.

Bottom line: It’s all about motivation!

My motivation to jump into the change was not until I read The 5am Club by Robin Sharma. I was resistant to try this book at first because I was adamant that I would not wake up at 5am - I was stuck in the thought "nope, that's impossible and you cannot do it - and if you don’t wake up at 5am you are a failure". BUT once someone broke it down and laid out into simple shifts I could make to keep this dream alive, I started to make the change. I knew that if I wanted to level up I needed to shift my mindset and this book did just that.

Now let's be honest, I am not waking up at 5am and I am okay with that. I know that for me, 6:30am works based on my schedule. I generalized what Robin teaches in the book and added it to my morning routine and chose activities that excited me enough to get out of bed in the morning. It is always a work in progress, and having flexibility around what success means to me has been helpful in maintaining my progress.

I believe everyone deserves a chance to have the morning routine of their dreams, where they have time to engage in the activities that light them up so they to can live their days to the fullest.

Here are 5 simple strategies to help you start your journey in developing your ideal morning:

1. Assess where you are right now

This means taking notes on what your morning routine looks like now. Write down each activity you do and come up with what you would like to replace or include in your dream morning routine. Some examples may include: yoga, meditation, exercise, reading a book, writing a page in your memoir - the world is your oyster and this time is sacred and just for YOU. 📝

2. Design and set goals for where you want your morning routine to be long-term, and break those goals down into actionable steps

I know you want to just wake up tomorrow and have your morning routine, but if we dive right in and it doesn't go according to plan, you may go back to old habits. Our goal in this step is to start building a new chain of behaviors that will stick long term, so feeling successful is KEY! As we progress we can increase the intensity and duration, but start small.

For example, I replaced my TV-watching, tea-drinking morning routine with reading and meditation as my mental health was struggling. When I started, I used a timer on my watch to help me stay on track, kept the book near my bed, and a meditation app nearby. This reduced the response effort, so it was easier to just grab the book than to fall back into old habits.

After lots of practice, these activities that were once so difficult now have reinforcing value. I felt better physically and mentally once I made this shift and if I go a morning without them, I feel out of sorts.

3. Monitor and track your progress

This one is really important! There are many apps out there that help you track your habits, however, I go for simple pencil and paper. Keeping track of my success visually has helped me continue to move forward. Tracking takes the emotion out of it, and provides us with a clear picture of how far we have come. It also shows us where we may need to give ourselves some grace and reduce our expectations.

If a goal wasn’t met one week, I would decrease the criteria and build up from there. (e.g., 3 mornings per week vs. 5 mornings 👌⁠).

4. Increase the difficulty

Set yourself a goal. For example, after completing the routine 4 days in a row, you may increase the length of what you are doing, increase the number of days or even add an additional activity you would like to accomplish. Keep it simple and only adjust when you are ready. You want to be careful of moving too quickly otherwise you risk falling back into old routines. 🙃⁠

5. Lastly… REPEAT!

Repeat steps 2-4 until you reach your dream morning routine.⁠ Once the routine becomes a habit, which takes approximately 66 days, you’ll barely have to think about it - your body and mind will just know what to do.

Just like the seasons, our motivations, goals, and needs shift, so allow the routine to be flexible and be in alignment with what you need right now.

I am here with you on this journey and do not hesitate to reach out for guidance!

We are all in this together!

xoxo,Nicole

Your Behaviour Gal