Hands up if you’re always in a rush in the morning and feel stressed as soon as you get to work? Are you one of those people who is constantly pressing the snooze button because you don’t want to get out of bed and try to put off starting the day as much as possible?
Some of us are morning people some of us aren’t that’s a fact. However, every day starts with one so you might as well make it work for you the best way you can. Kick starting your morning with a positive mindset can really improve the quality of your day.
I’ve never really been much of a night owl. Usually, I’m fast asleep on the sofa by 9PM, so rock ‘n’ roll hey! I feel much more productive in the morning so normally I get up a bit earlier to try to get a head start and settle down with my planner and a cup of tea and jot down my intentions and action list for the day.
If you absolutely hate mornings, always rushing out the door with breakfast in your hands (if you’re lucky!) and running late for work you’re not alone. What has worked really well for me is taking my time in the mornings and slowing things down. I can hear you screaming that you don’t have time in the mornings to brush your hair, let alone anything else. Well, how about if I told you that taking my time has benefited my well-being and productivity?
Not convinced yet? Well, let me show you how…
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not easy and with like anything related to creating a healthier lifestyle it’s about putting in some extra effort at the start to make those changes happen. To begin with, making your morning less fast paced may mean going to bed earlier or waking up 30 minutes earlier than normal, but here are some holistic practices to help your mornings become calmer.
Make time for a nourishing breakfast
So many people don’t even make time for breakfast in the morning, and this is something I just don’t understand. Breakfast for me has always been and always will be the best meal of the day. Not only is digging into a beautifully prepared breakfast a nice way to start the day, it can help boost your metabolism, stabilise your blood sugar levels, and enhance your concentration. Make your breakfast wholesome and nutrient dense, something like wholegrain cereals, eggs or a smoothie is a great way to begin your day.
Take 5 Minutes out to meditate
Not to go all spiritual on you, but something that I like to do and trying harder to do more of is spend 5 minutes in sitting in silence before I get out of bed in the morning. I’m no expert on meditation and probably not very good at it, but I believe that meditation means something different for everybody. Exploring different types of meditation can help you find the style that feels most comfortable and effective for you. It’s not all about lighting incense and chanting, my interpretation involves closing my eyes for a moment of calm, emotional clarity and allows me to focus on my day ahead and let go of any negativity.
Set your intentions for the day
Setting out daily intentions in the morning on how you would like to feel is a fantastic ritual that can really help to create a positive vibe to your day. You can also use them as part of your meditation practice to help manifest and action them to make sure they come to life. Here are some great intentions to consider if you’re looking for some inspiration.
Speaking of intentions, a common one for most people would be cutting out bad habits, such as eating junk food, too much screen time, smoking, ect. So you need to set intentions to avoid those habits. For example, if you’re trying to cut back on smoking, then looking into buying vapes from Vape Town could do the trick. If you’re trying to eat healthier, then only buying healthy groceries will do the trick.
Write a gratitude list
While eating your breakfast, you could multitask by writing down a list of everything that you are thankful for. I’ve just started writing a gratitude journal and I find it such a wonderful way to dull out some of the negativity in the world and focus on the blessings I have in my life.
Morning planning to create some ease in your day
Sitting down with a mug of tea and my planner in the morning is a moment that I relish. It’s my moment of calm where I can get organised, write down my goals and get focused for the day. Taking a small amount of time in the morning to find some clarity brings ease to my day. I try not to overload my to-do list with tasks so that I feel stressed, but equally, it allows me to stay on top of things during busy periods because I’ve given myself the chance to gain some focus.
I am not a morning person at all! I always skip breakfast, I try to get a banana or something similar on the go and a lot of times I even forget about it… So I really want to start practicing some of your tips, hope I will be able to have a calmed morning 🙂
Lovely! I hope you find these tips helpful.
my issue is that i wake up late therefore I’m in a runs all the time. with it being cold now, it’s harder to get out of bed haha these are great tips
Getting out of bed is so hard now that it’s so dark outside.
I hate morning so I am awful I get up and panic and forget everything – I need to try and bring in some of these ideas.
Maybe taking things slowly will help with your panic.
I’ve really been struggling with getting motivated when I wake up and often find I just sort of slump into the afternoon without really achieving anything. I love these tips and will be trying out the mediation and gratitude journal tomorrow alongside some morning planning/prep.I think I get a bit overwhelmed with so much to do and end up doing nothing so these tips are perfect, thanks so much for this post- just what I needed! xx
How is it going? Have you noticed them making any difference to your day?
I never needed a post more! I find myself running around in the mornings.
Bless you! I hope it helped.
I could definitely do with taking this advice, I’m an awful morning person! I never have time for breakfast and always end up having it in the office!
I don’t think a desk breakfast is a bad thing at all. Some people don’t even make time for that.
What a lovely post. I definitely need to start eating a healthier breakfast, and taking the time to do so as I think it can make such a difference xx
A nourishing breakfast is a lovely way to start the day. 🙂
It’s always like a mad house in the mornings here! With work and nursery runs before 7:30am it’s hard to see how we could build a more relaxing routine in. Wishful thinking for us!
There are definitely different processes that you could add to your morning routine that work for you to make it more calmer and less chaotic.
I am one of those people who never has the time from monday to friday, I am always rushed and raring to get to work to just get on with what will be a billion tasks waiting for me x
Great tips here, I find writing my to do list the night before means I know exactly what I need to do in the mornings x
YES to this! I love to do lists.
For years we have really struggled with mornings. from September we started making massive efforts to be more organised and it has really helped.You have listed some great tips here!
Being more organised definitely helps things run more smoothly.
I am always in such a rush in the mornings I don’t even have time to think! X
I used to be like that, but slowing things down has really helped me.
I’m notoriously slow int he mornings, I actually wish I could speed up a tad but I do like to have a clear head before starting my day and that takes me a while.
If that works for you then that’s great! 🙂
I am one whose always snoozing the alarm button but then there are times when I am up out of the bed like a bad egg. Lovely tips
Ha! You’re not on your own with that one.
I think I need to take some of this on board as my mornings are far from relaxing which is a shame.
A calmer morning definitely makes you feel less frazzled at the start of the day. Hope they get better for you.
I’m all about calm mornings and finding a routine that works for me and Boo x
Fab! I hope it’s working for you.
Don’t even ask about my morning routine, I’m the worst! I am such a night person, I don’t do breakfast, I don’t do talking in the morning ha. I love the idea of a gratitude journal, I’ve cut out all the negative energy in my life lately and I think this would help me stay on the positive route
Ha! I love that you don’t do talking in the morning. 🙂
With four kids to dress feed and get out the door our house is organised chaos although I have found doing a workout early mornings does help me be a lot calmer
Glad you’ve found something that makes your mornings calmer.
Some awesome tips here. Having a well thought out and constructive morning routine can make all the difference to the rest of your day.