What time do you get up in the morning? When are you at your cognitive best? What do you do to start your day off right? Do you feel out of sorts and already stressed about the day when you get up? Do you feel like your day plans you and you don’t have control? Do you feel like you rarely accomplish what you think is most important? If any of these are true for you then read on and start taking back control of your life.
Everything starts with beginning your day right. Your body, mind, and heart need to be prepared, physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, in order to be able to unleash the potential that resides in you. A morning routine can help you do this.
What does a morning routine look like? I would like to start by talking about what it is not. It is not an opportunity to look at email, get caught up on social media, surf the internet for news, listen or watch CNN, or watch sports.
It is an opportunity for you to set the foundation for your day. It includes reflection, learning, journaling, exercise, and meditation. It is a time and place where you can implement some of the guidelines we presented in last month’s journal. It is a time for you to set your day up for success and create calm within the storm of life.
What is an example of a morning routine?
Let me give you the essence of my morning routine. Yours needs to be adapted to what works for you.
I am an early riser and get up at 5:00 am. I go to bed early enough to get seven hours of sleep a night. The alarm rarely wakes me up. Early morning is quiet and I am at my cognitive best in the morning.
I start by making coffee and doing some stretching exercises. After that, I listen to a five to ten-minute leadership thought of the day. I am a committed Christian and so I spend some time reading and studying the Bible. I also spend some time reading a devotional or another book in an area I am working on. I write in my journal at least three times per week and finish my plan for the rest of my day.
This routine takes me about ninety minutes and gets my day off to a great start. I do my full exercise routine later in the day.
This is what works for me and I am adjusting this as things in my life change. You need to implement something that works for you. It can be as short as thirty minutes or could be longer than ninety minutes. I would suggest starting smaller so it is sustainable. The most important part is to give yourself some uninterrupted time to work on and prepare, set your day off right, and prepare on the inside for what will happen on the outside. It is time spent on becoming who you were created to be.
Start this today and commit to it for the next thirty days. I believe it will become a, “cannot do without”, part of your day.
