The Morning Routine that Changed my Life… and Why

Listen, I’m not exaggerating when I say this morning routine significantly changed not only my day, but my life. Doing these eight things before I start work had made my day not only more productive, but everything just runs so much smoother than the days that I don’t go through these steps.

I should preface by saying that I am very much a morning person. I wake up at 6:30 on weekdays, but I’m typically up by 7:30 even when I try to sleep in on the weekends. My early wake up times are a product of the many, many years as an athlete I spent waking up for workouts before class at 6am.

But that’s just to say that anybody can be a morning person. Waking up early, getting out of bed, and getting started on the day is a muscle. The more you exercise it, the easier it is to use.

So, yes, my number one piece of advice before you even get to the points on my list below is to find a way to become a morning person. If this is you, I would recommend a period of build up before you throw yourself into getting up an hour earlier every single day to check off a long list of to-dos. I recommend waking up a little earlier every week to add one thing to your ideal morning routine. Then, allow a week to adjust to each addition. I suggest this because going all in and starting all this all at once is a guarantee to burn out and go back to your old routine.

The beauty of doing it that way is slowly, over time, without really feeling too much pain from it, you’ve now become a morning person with a routine that sets you up to have a fantastic day!

So, with that all being said, here is the morning routine that completely changed my life.

1.     Move my Body First Thing

This was both the hardest thing to add to my morning routine, but also without a doubt the most impactful. Moving my body first thing in the morning serves multiple purposes.

Firstly, this starts my day by checking off one of the largest items on my to-do list. It’s an immediate accomplishment that means getting something big off my list before work even starts.

Secondly, by working out first thing in the morning, I am guaranteed to actually be able to get my workout in. Since I work at a corporate 9-5, my tasks for the day can be a bit unpredictable. Even though I can plan to work out on my lunch break, meetings get thrown on my calendar at the last minute every day. Or I plan to workout after work, and I get a hard deadline that has me working late. Or the end of the day comes and the idea of dealing with the post-work gym rush is enough to convince me to just skip it and try again tomorrow.

Thirdly, and most importantly, working out and moving my body first thing in the morning gets my blood moving, my mood elevated, and increases my productivity exponentially. Instead of a slow morning with a gradual introduction to my day, working out gets my day started with a bang. Waking up and getting straight into my workout is the number one indicator that I’m going to have a great day.

2.     Somatic Stretch and Meditate

This is a practice I started after a recommendation from both a therapist and a dietitian to help manage my grief after losing my older brother in 2023. Somatic stretching and movement have fantastic effects on grief and trauma, and it has become a must-do for me every day.

I find a YouTube video with a ten-minute timer and relaxing music and spend those ten minutes stretching, going through mental prompts to address my grief, talk to my brother and my grandparents who I’ve also lost, and observe how these thoughts feel in my body. Then if I’m done stretching before the timer is finished, which I usually am, I lay flat on my back and continue talking to those people that I miss and love.

Somatic stretching was a game changer in my grief journey and adding this to my morning routine allows me to integrate and manage my grief in my everyday life and honor my losses.

Once the ten minutes are complete, I feel massively lighter and much more at peace. Doing this every morning has allowed me to better manage my emotions and my grief and have more mastery and control of my mental state.

3.     Take a Shower and Get Ready for the Day

The next step in my morning routine is to shower and get ready for the day. Showering is the obvious next step in my morning routine after working out, but it is one of my favorite steps. I’ve created a shower that I absolutely love. I changed my showerhead to a rain showerhead (such a great move), and I use a warmer towel that my mom gave me as a gift every day. I’ve turned my shower routine from basic hygiene to an act of self-care.

Then after that, I take ten to twenty minutes to actually get myself ready for the day. I work remotely, so I spent years logging into work with no makeup, greasy hair in a bun, and oversized sweatpants.

Now, I go through a five-minute skincare routine, blow-dry or quickly curl my hair, and put on an outfit that is both comfortable and presentable. I do this because putting myself together in this way makes me feel 10x better about myself and directly improves my confidence throughout the day.

4.     Make My Bed

Listen, making your bed takes five minutes, and I believe that it should be done every single day. First of all, getting into a made bed at the end of the day is so much more satisfying and comfortable than getting into one with the sheets and comforter all twisted and balled up. Take five minutes in the morning and do this for your future self that has to get into that bed later.

Beyond that, making your bed is a small act that has big results. Making your bed instantly makes your room look and feel cleaner, and a decluttered room leads to a decluttered mind. At least in my experience. It’s also an act that, again, takes five minutes, but it also makes you feel a little more put together and on top of the tasks in your life.

Making your bed every day is a small sign that you are being proactive in your life, and it starts your day with a quick and easily accomplished task.

5.     Open All the Curtains

Let all the light in! I like to open my curtains to allow as much natural light into my house as possible for, yes, my plants, but also because life is better with natural light. The act of going through my house and opening the curtains feels symbolic of opening up and welcoming the day. It’s a sign that the house, and therefore I, is ready to let the day in and make it a good one. It’s another small task, accomplished in a minute or two, but it’s a serotonin inducing one.

I’m not a big fan of overhead lights. I don’t like to live my life under bright, artificial light. I spent way too many hours under fluorescent light in schools and in office to ever go back. I much prefer keeping the lights off during the day and allowing natural light to provide the light I need.

6.     Unload the Dishwasher

Similar to making my bed, this is a quick housekeeping task that is so beneficial to get done first thing in the morning. Even though it only takes a few minutes, it’s a chore that I hate having to do when I have a dish in my hands. So, checking this off my to do list before I have any actual dishes to do limits the temptation to leave a dish in the sink until I find the desire to unload the dishwasher.

Unloading the dishwasher first thing in the morning sets me up to have a more efficient and smooth day as a remote worker with plenty of dishes in my home. It’s another example of a small task that yields big results. As a side note, I typically set the coffee maker to start while I unload dishes so that my coffee is ready to go once this is done.

7.     Eat Breakfast

I like to eat breakfast before I start working because I try to make an effort to separate eating and working. Anybody who is used to eating at their desk can understand why this might be beneficial. As a corporate worker, I spend the majority of my day chained to my desk, and for years that included eating there too.

But taking intentional time to sit at my kitchen table and eat away from my desk has made my meals much more satisfying and gives my brain a break from work. So, if you, like me, also combine eating your meals with doing your work, give eating at your table a chance. See if you feel the same effects that I do.

8.     Read

I like to read ten pages of a personal development book every day, because I think that we, as humans, are constantly changing and evolving. We should always be looking for ways to improve ourselves and be better people. Because not one single of us is perfect. And if you’re here reading this, I bet you agree with that.   

I’ve found that reading 10 pages of a personal development book every day is enough to scratch my brain and get me thinking about ways to work on myself and introduce different ideas to my mind. Doing this in the morning also gives me the opportunity to implement the ideas I read in the morning into the rest of my day immediately.

Additionally, reading ten pages is very easy to chew. It’s just a small taste, and reading ten pages doesn’t take very much time at all.

I choose topics based on things I’m interested in or things that I’ve noticed about myself that I want to work on. So, I’ve read books about grief, how trauma lives in our bodies, setting boundaries, writing, and mastering my emotions. My personal development shelf is diverse, but it captures the many different sides I have.

I also like to read at this point in my morning routine, because sitting on my couch and reading with a cup of coffee in my hand is food for my soul. I love everything about it.

9.     Start Work

Finally, we’ve wrapped up our morning routine, and it’s time to either leave for or start work. For me, this looks like refilling my coffee cup and making my way upstairs to my home office. By this point in my day, I’ve poured enough into myself that I’m ready to sit down and attack the workday without feeling like my day revolves around work. It feels amazing to have already gotten so much done for the day before even opening my laptop.

In Conclusion

            Having time to myself to get things done for myself before starting work has been instrumental in giving me power in my life. My morning routine has been artfully curated to include little tasks that will have huge effects on the rest of my day. This routine builds not only efficiency in my day, but it also directly increases my confidence. Working out increases my confidence in my body as does taking some time in the morning to do my hair, my makeup, and pick an outfit that is comfortable but also makes me feel cute. And additionally, sticking to this routine increases my confidence in my discipline and mastery of myself.

            To say it in the most simplest form, this morning routine makes me feel good about myself.

            I encourage you to give this morning routine a try, but don’t be afraid to tweak it to fit your day and your needs better. I’ve given you my reasoning to have each of these steps in my routine and what they do for me, but you might not feel the same way or have the same effects. But definitely don’t knock any of this until you try it! You might just find something new you never thought you could need.

            A morning routine is a small step to creating your dream life.