Good morning and welcome to Flawed yet Functional! I’m so delighted you are here which means you are wanting to work on changing your life by changing your food and your healthy habits! My health has been deeply impacted by changing my habits, specifically my morning routine. Today I’d like to show you how to create a healthy morning routine and offer you a challenge to get yourself up and going in the morning! Let’s check it out!
The Purpose of a Healthy Morning Routine
I think there is a common misconception in productivity and organization-type blogs that creating a morning routine, a to-do list, or setting goals is a way to get more done. We live in the busiest society the world has ever known. We do not need to get more done. Rather, we need to get the right things done. A focus on the things that promote good physical, mental, and emotional health should be the focus of our morning routine rather than simply a checklist of more activities to accomplish.
The purpose of a healthy morning routine is to get your body up, awake and primed for the rest of your day. Your morning routine may include many activities or only a couple. The number of things you aim to get done in the morning is not the focus of a healthy morning routine. Your aim should be to establish healthy habits that support a healthy lifestyle.
Your best morning routine is going to be different from anyone else’s morning routine. While there are things that are constant to provide a healthy mindset and body, the way each person accomplishes those things are unique to them. For example, exercise and moving our bodies is important for everyone. I like to do HIIT and Cardio video workouts, but you may enjoy a run around the neighborhood or perhaps an early morning weight lifting class. Another person may not be able to fit exercise into their morning routine at all. That is totally okay! Even though physical movement is necessary for everyone, it doesn’t have to happen in the morning. Be flexible with yourself and your health requirements. Find the time of day and type of activity that best meets your goals and needs.
Set Realistic Goals
When I first began creating a morning routine, I filled my routine minute by minute with so many activities. Each one was good in its own right, but I could not begin to fit all of them into a couple of hours before my children woke up. My focus was on more instead of best.
I’d love to show you how to pick a few purposeful activities that will fit into the time available for your morning routine and do great things for your health. Your morning goals should be attainable. There are a time and a place for stretch goals, but I don’t believe that the early morning is the time to focus on stretching yourself. Just focus on your mental and physical health in a way that prepares you for the rest of your day.
Get Accountability
There’s nothing quite like a little accountability to help you get out of bed in the morning. Accountability for my morning routine has looked different at different times in my life. I’d like to show you three different ways you could hold yourself accountable as you begin creating your morning routine.
Text a Friend
First up, ask a friend to be willing to text you or receive a text from you when you get out of bed. When my kids were super little I did this with a friend to help hold her, and me, accountable for getting up on time in the morning.
Discuss with Your Spouse
Second, tell your spouse what you plan to do. Depending on whether or not you feel their questions can be supportive or probing, you may not want to have him /her ask you if you got up on time. But the practice of relaying your plans and your goals to someone else, especially someone who knows you as your spouse does, is infinitely beneficial. Verbalizing your plans will make them seem concrete so that you must stick to them. Also, your spouse knows you like no one else and could offer helpful tips/advice/solutions that you might have a hard time coming up with yourself. Also, they can probably identify when you have bit off too much or perhaps suggesting a focus that would be more fulfilling.
Make Use of Printables & Progress Charts
Third, print out some progress worksheets. Below is a sign-up for a 5 Day Rise & Shine Challenge which will guide you through creating a morning routine over five days. Each day will have a worksheet to help you track your progress. Writing things down is so helpful in creating a habit!
Don’t feel hokey with a check-off chart or even a sticker chart like you might use with your children! There is something permanent about having a physical sheet of paper that you have to mark off when you have accomplished something each day. That’s why a to-do list is so powerful! Liberally use physical reminders to help you stay on track with your morning routine!
[thrive_leads id=’9009′]Keep at It
Research shows that it takes somewhere close to 60 days to establish a new habit. It’s not the 30 days like we have been told. It is actually far longer to change the way we behave. So when it comes to getting up on time, not hitting the snooze or journaling, you need to keep at it!
I’d love for you to join me in a new 5-day challenge which will help you set the groundwork for a productive, healthy morning routine. In 5 days you’ll be guided through different aspects of a healthy wake-up routine. However, at the end of the 5 days, you will still need to keep working to refine and establish your morning routine. Evaluate the aspects that invigorate and excite you and eliminate the pieces of your morning routine that are too much, too stressful, or don’t help you prepare for your day. It’s an ongoing process, but that is exciting because it gives you the freedom to fix things along the way. You don’t have to be perfect the first time! A healthy morning routine is a constant work in progress.
Ready to Take Action?
Are you ready to take control of your mornings? Would you like to begin to promote good health (stable blood sugar, lower stress, time for important things, etc.) by having a productive morning routine?
If you would like to take control of your mornings and begin taking control of your health, I’d love for you to join me in the 5 Day Rise & Shine Challenge! Sign-up below for 5 days of instructional emails and printables to help you set up a morning routine! Begin today establishing the healthy habit of starting your day out right.
[thrive_leads id=’9009′]A healthy morning routine does not happen by accident. It takes deliberate thought and intention with weeks of practice before it becomes an established routine. Don’t let the time it takes to make your morning routine a habit dissuade you from trying! It is worth it to try and try again, to fail multiple times, because the end result of getting up on time, getting enough sleep, and being purposeful in how you start your day is well worth the effort. Join me today!
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