For a long time I was annoyed with my morning routine. Mostly because it never seemed to work. But when I took a deeper look at my morning routine I started to noticed four sneaky habits — some that I’m good at and some that continue to be a slippery slope for me — that sneakily derail my day.
I didn’t even realize I did some of them and you probably don’t either! Or maybe you do, but you just don’t realize how much they impact the rest of your day.
I hope you read this list and think about them over the next few mornings. Experiment with ditching these sneaky habits and see if it makes a difference in your morning routine and in your whole day.
1. Hitting the snooze button
Before I really learned how to take control of my day, hitting the snooze was my BIGGEST enemy. In my mind nine more minutes solved everything. It would instantly make me feel rested, it would take away my groggy vibe, and it would magically snap my headache away.
My hands held onto my phone and I hit the snooze button without even thinking about it. Over and over again until I absolutely had to get up in order to make it to work on time. Want to know the most frustrating part? The snooze never did those things my early morning self convinced me it was going to do. I usually woke up feeling crappy. Turns out snooze sleep really isn’t very restful.
Be honest with your self on when you need to wake up and when you will wake up. My alarm is set for 4:50am every morning, but when I go to bed late, I move my wake up time because I know I won’t get up and I don’t want to set myself up for a snooze trap.
Hitting the snooze button is basically telling the day… You win. I’m not running the day, the day is running me.
p.s. learn how to stop hitting your snooze button and wake up for good in this post!
2. Scrolling on your phone in the first 30 minutes of your morning routine
If no one has told you –> starting your day off by reading email or scrolling through social media, is not helping you win the day. But it’s seriously so hard not to scroll.
I once heard that answering emails is working on a to-do list that someone else made for you. And we all know that it isn’t long before social scrolling becomes a trap of comparison.
This continues to be the hardest thing for me to eliminate. I unconsciously reach for my phone throughout the day to scroll when I have a lull or a moment of boredom. But when I’m intentional and consciously decide to not go on my phone after I greet IG with my 5am accountability photo (see my weekday Instagram stories), I can tell the difference.
YOU DECIDE how you start your day. What if you started your morning with a book and cup of coffee or a workout and a large glass of water instead of scrolling through your phone? What would change in your mental and physical capacity? What else could you give to your family if you started that way instead of head down in the blue light?
It might be pretty spectacular.
3. Sleeping with your phone next to your bed
Having your phone next to you when you go to bed, all throughout the night and first thing when you wake up is a recipe for distraction. I recommend putting your phone on the charger, alarm set, and in your bathroom 30 minutes before you go to bed.
This is the easiest habit to break. You just have to decide to do it.
p.s. if you didn’t notice this is very closely related to number one and number two. If you solve this first, it might be easier to tackle one and two 🙂
4. Leaving your bed unmade
This has never been a problem for me. I am definitely that person that writes something on their to-do list just so they can cross it off (brush teeth, check!). The perfectionist in me loves a good to dos list and love checking something off of said to-do list even more. Making my bed is the easiest check of the day.
Even though it’s a small thing — and even if you don’t get a high from checking something off of your to-do list like I do — making your bed is the first chance you have at doing something with your day. I like to consider making my bed as the easiest 30 seconds of productivity that I’ll do all day. It doesn’t take long and it’s one step in the right direction for your morning.
Bonus? I think of this tidying up as cleaning part of my room and simultaneously cleaning a little part of my brain. Ahhhh, feels good.
5. Not getting ready
Before you jump on me and say “messy hair don’t care, girl”, “sounds nice, but I don’t have time for that”, or “how vain!”….hear me out. I am not advocating that you have to spend 3 hours primping each morning (although if that’s you jam, you do you). “Getting ready” is different for everyone and you get to decide what makes you feel on fire for the day. But that’s the key. The way you get ready should make you feel good. Like you can tackle anything.
For me, “getting ready” is…
- Showering. Which includes washing my hair only about 3 times a week
- Putting on some light makeup. My Tula face products, Bare Minerals foundation (optional) and mascara (not optional)
- Doing my hair. Maybe with dry shampoo or maybe a full blow out and curl depending on how hard my workout was deal
- And getting dressed. Most days it’s jeans or leggings with a tshirt or tank top and a sweater. I keep things pretty simple and it has to be comfortable.
Time to test!
Ok, guys. I want to know. Do you do these things? All of them? Some of them? What did you read and think, holy crap that’s me, I need to try to avoid that tomorrow? I’m super pumped to see if any of these hit home, let me know!