What makes a good morning routine?

Mornings are a great time for getting things done. A few smart strategies will make you excited to get out of bed.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is about building a good morning routine. Because
this podcast is called Before Breakfast. I know a lot
of listeners already have great morning routines. I know other
listeners would like to build them, But what exactly makes
a good morning routine listeners? Zena wrote in with a

(00:25):
question along these lines. She asks, is it better to
start the day with productive work or should you work out, read, meditate,
et cetera. Sometimes I do those things, but then I
feel anty and like I'm avoiding something, namely the productive work.
She's worried she should be doing well. First, I want
to say that I don't think anyone should create a

(00:46):
morning routine that makes them feel anty. That is not
the point. Also, there's no one right answer to what
makes a good morning routine. But to build a morning
routine that's right for you, it helps to know a
little bit about why mornings matter. The reason many people
like having a morning routine is that mornings set the
tone for the rest of the day. A wind scored

(01:07):
then creates a sense of momentum that can keep you
going until bedtime. Also, most people have more discipline and
focus in the morning. They also have more control of
their time before work and family demands stack up, So
that makes mornings a great time for doing stuff that
life tends to crowd out those important but not urgent

(01:28):
things such as strategic thinking and planning, creative work, spiritual practices, exercise,
or nurturing close relationships. So if you're thinking of building
a morning routine or expanding one you already have, ask
yourself a few questions about the activity or activities you're
thinking of choosing. First, Do I enjoy doing this? A

(01:50):
good morning routine gives you a reason to get out
of bed. The image I like to keep in mind
is my children bounding out of bed on Christmas morning.
They're just so eager to see what the day will bring.
That might be tough to pull off three sixty five
days per year, but I do know that it's going
to be hard to get up early day after day
for something you don't want to do. In the throes

(02:11):
of a new resolution. You'll stick with it for a
few days or even a few weeks, but then something's
going to happen. You'll get busy at work, or you'll
get sick, or a family member will get sick, you'll
miss a few days, and then you'll have a hard
time starting up again. So, in other words, if you
hate to run, don't build a morning routine around running.

(02:33):
Maybe there's some other form of exercise you like, such
as taking a class, or going for a walk with
a friend, or doing yoga with a video at home.
All of these would be much better choices than attempting
to force yourself to do something you just don't like.
I mean, who wants to get out of bed for that?
The second question is whether morning time is the best

(02:53):
or only time for this activity you're considering. For many
people with regular jobs and families, morning is the best
logistical time for exercise. Probably you can find time the
rest of the day for the other activities that Zena listed.
You could meditate in your car in the parking lot
for five minutes before going into work. You could read
before bed at night. At least theoretically, you should be

(03:15):
able to do productive work at your desk during your
actual work hours. So that's why exercise is a very
popular morning activity. But let's say you work in an
office with a gym and lunchtime classes that employees are
encouraged to take, or maybe you and your spouse go
for an hour long walk after dinner together each night.
I work for myself, so I can usually run in

(03:35):
the mid afternoon as a way to take a break
from work. If you fall in one of these categories,
then maybe you'd choose a different morning routine, like working
on your novel or meditating or taking an online class.
I think productive work makes the most sense in situations
where you have goals beyond your immediate job responsibilities. Perhaps

(03:56):
you'd like to do original research that would help you
become known as an expert in your field. You could
choose to get up early three mornings a week to
work on this and then focus on your normal duties
during the work day. I've also seen some leaders use
early mornings for thinking about the long term direction of
their companies. They need to be accessible to employees during
the work day, so they do focused individual work before

(04:19):
they show up at the office. Whatever you decide to
do as a morning routine, be sure to start small.
It's better to decide to walk for thirty minutes two
mornings a week and stick with it. Then aim to
take an hour long class seven mornings a week. Over sleep,
your alarm on day three and never go back and
feel free to switch it up. To a routine doesn't

(04:42):
automatically mean doing the same thing every day. You can
carve out time without dictating that the same activity happen
within it. So maybe some mornings you exercise, some mornings
you do to productive work, and some mornings you read.
There are enough days in the seven day week that
you don't actually have to choose between these things, and

(05:03):
that means you don't need to feel anty, always wondering
if you should be doing something else. If you've got
a good morning routine, I'd love to hear about it.
You can email me at Before Breakfast podcast at i
heeart media dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
our time.