The morning is a powerful time of day— it is the part of your day that sets the tone for all the rest. Whether you are a morning person or the farthest thing from being one, you can still maximize this time of day to set yourself up for what you need the rest of the day to look like for you.

The best thing about morning routines is that they are totally customizable! Sticking with a general framework can get you on the right path and you can fill in the blanks with whatever is right for you.

I’ll give you the general framework in this post and you can fill in the blanks how you choose. Keep in mind that your first combination of things may not work the best! Keep changing things out until you find the magic formula for you.

Breathe

This sounds totally obvious but it’s actually so much more than what comes to mind. When you first wake up, take a deep breath. Actually, take a few deep breaths. Make them long and slow. See if you can extend your inhales and then match your exhales. Notice where you feel your breath in your body. What feels good? What doesn’t?

Bringing awareness to your breath changes breathing from unconscious to conscious. Unconscious breathing comes from the primitive part of our brain, while conscious breathing comes from the more complex parts— specifically, the prefrontal cortex. When you activate the prefrontal cortex, you are essentially turning your brain on for the day. 

Take a few moments for yourself when you wake up and express gratitude for the gift of breath that we can use to move things in and out of our body and mind.

Hydrate

Although it’s easy to reach straight for the coffee pot, drinking a big glass of water right when you wake up is one of the healthiest choices you’ll make all day. Water detoxes our system and awakens our brain, so giving your system water before you give it anything else is like clearing out the old to get ready for the new.

The more water you drink, the more your brain wakes up, essentially. Our brain is 70% water, so you have to hydrate in order to maintain proper function.

Keep drinking water consistently throughout the day to keep your brain in its peak functioning mode. Start in the morning to set the tone for the whole day.

Tidy

Make your bed. Such a small act can make such a huge impact on the rest of your day! By making your bed, you get a feeling of accomplishment. Even though it’s a small task, you have already accomplished something productive in the first five minutes of being awake. 

When you come home at night after a long day, you don’t want to come home to things undone. Instead, you want to come home to a clean space that soothes your mind! Doing things in the morning that you will appreciate when you come back 10-15 hours later is an act of self love. 

See what you can tidy up around the house while you sip coffee. Coming home to a clean house will create peace to end the day.

Move

Moving your body is arguably the most powerful thing to add to your morning routine. As studies show, increasing your heart rate sends more oxygen to the brain, which improves brain function. Not to mention the multitude of hormones that are released during exercise that make the brain a happier and more efficient environment!

Hit the gym or a yoga class in the morning to get your brain working and to sweat out toxins so that you can start your day with a clean slate. Even if you prefer to work out at night, just 20 minutes of movement in the morning can start a ripple effect of positive benefits. 

Moving your body to create an energetic tone for the rest of your day is an essential act of self love. You’ll find that adding strength to one area will start to cause a slow overflow into other areas of your life, too.

 

These components add up to a really powerful morning that feels so simple. The key to maximizing what you’re doing is realizing what you’re doing! Even things like drinking water and making your bed carry such a meaningful impact if you acknowledge it. 

Switch around the order or add and subtract things until you find a morning routine that makes you excited to get out of bed in the morning.