Morning Routine 2021
If there is anything I learned from COVID-19 and the dog days of quarantine is that no day is guaranteed or in your control. Each day seemed to be unstructured, full of boredom, endless hours of laying on the couch, maybe the once a day family walk, a garage work out here and there. Either way, I learned a lot more about myself than I thought was possible in a few months. About how I operate, what I took for granted, and what I wanted to change about my life and myself when life ‘returned to normal.’ So, when it came to me setting some of my new year's resolutions, most of them were centered around my emotional and mental state.
When my family went to Florida over Christmas Break I noticed how bad I wanted to wake up early and go go go. I wanted to see the sunrise everyday, I wanted to read in the sun, I wanted to enjoy my coffee before everyone was awake, I wanted to go on runs before our day started, I wanted to go on early morning walks. I noticed I felt this drive when I was around the nice weather and the sunshine, but when it was cold at home or in Omaha my motivation for this type of morning was not the same. But I noticed how different I felt immediately when I was up early and had a productive ‘me’ morning, versus me laying in bed until I had to go somewhere.
So, in January I made it my goal to put together a morning routine that pushed me and included habits I wanted to become better at, yet still fit for me. I was also heading into soccer season and obviously COVID taught us all that the things we thought were guaranteed certainly are not. So my goal in this routine was to help me become more mindful, enjoy the moment, calm my mind, change my perspective, energize myself from the start of the day by exercising my mind, moving my body, and fueling myself properly. I also didn’t want my routine to just be a routine and then it ends. I wanted the practices and impact to bleed into the rest of my day and my life. I wanted it to help me change my perspective. COVID taught me already to enjoy all the things that once might have felt like a chore, but I wanted to be in charge of how I felt about my daily activities. In the past I felt like I was letting the words and actions of others dictate my day, which is not how I wanted to live. In my routine now I have noticed that no matter what uncontrollable events are happening around me or to me, the hard, the sad, the frustrating, this routine gives me the choice to control my attitude and what I am grateful for. It gives me immediate perspective and instantly reminds me that I am putting myself first and I am bettering myself. By doing this it usually minimizes the other problems I thought I was facing and it allows me to deal with them from a healthy place within.
My morning routine is fit for me, it helps me be mindful about my day, it helps me step away from my screens, it motivates me, it helps me be where my feet are, and it puts me in command of my life, my emotions, and my perspective.
This is what it looked like for me at the beginning of the year. I put no time limit or time restraints on anything aside from what time my alarm was every morning.
7:15 - wake up, make my lemon water
5 Minute Journal
Daily Positivity Book
Daily Prayer Journal
( my own personal journal ; sometimes )
Read
Morning Stretch
Morning Workout ( something to move my body before my actual workout for soccer that day)
Hot/Cold Shower
Coffee&1st breakfast ( yogurt w/ protein + collagen w/ fruit)
Organize my day with my planner, to-do lists, or have an online class
2nd breakfast: some sort of bagel sandwich or something more filling
It seems like a lot or maybe even strict but all of these practices seemed to flow naturally for me and I immediately saw a change in my daily energy and daily mindset. I felt a lot of anxious and nervous emotions a lot of last year, really for the first time ever, and it stemmed from my lack of control and sense of self. This routine has allowed me to put my heart and my mind first and it has given me a little bit of control in a world, now more than ever, that seems unpredictable.
One of the changes I have seen in myself through this is how I have learned to appreciate the day at hand, not the whole week ahead. During COVID and again this winter I really learned to appreciate nature. And through this routine I have noticed how it has taught me to appreciate the smallest details about a day, like the sounds of birds chirping again, watching people walk their dogs, windows open, the warmth of sunshine, early morning sun, the smell of a spring evening.
Lately my routine has been altered a little bit. I wanted to add in this post that my routine hasn’t changed, just my life at the moment has and I am listening to myself and what I need. Being in season is drastically different than our off-season. Between traveling and playing games my body and mind have needed more sleep and time to recover. I still go to bed early but instead of starting my routine at 7:15 it has started at 8:15 or at 9:00. I have still taken all the benefits of my routine into this part of my life right now, but I have just had to tailor my routine a little to fit what I need at the moment. Which is totally fine, and quite frankly it took me some time to be okay with that.
But when it comes to doing something for yourself, it has to be for yourself. What works for one person, won’t always work for the next. Personalize it for yourself, your own personal needs, what makes you feel like you, the parts you want to work on day by day, or the parts of your life you want to appreciate.
