“How you start your day is how you live your day. How you live your day is how you live your life.”
-Louise L. Hay
I’m probably the last person on earth that should be writing about discipline and how to create a morning routine to start the day. I usually sleep until I’m late for whatever appointment I have that morning.
Over the years, I’ve tried several morning routines and found that when I stick to them, I’m more productive, plan my meals and lose weight, exercise and feel healthier going up the stairs, and have more energy overall. However, I’m usually on them for about a month before I start visiting Coldstone’s for coffee ice cream with brownies and peanut butter.
Now that I’m nearing 40, I realize that I have to take care of myself and my body so that when I’m 80, I’ll still be able to live with a high quality of life. Goals like this one make me think that it’s time to dig deep into my mental health and start forming good and healthy habits that will help me get to my later years in a happy and mobile body.
What is your current routine?
What do you do when your alarm goes off? Do you snooze and lose? Or do you get up and start your day immediately? Do you grab your phone first thing before even getting out of bed? What does your routine look like? Does it lead to a productive day?
Currently, my routine on Mondays and Tuesdays involves getting up at 6 a.m. for coffee and scrolling through my phone until 8 a.m., when I have to get ready for work. On Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, I exercise at 6 a.m., have coffee time at 7 a.m., and get ready for work at 8 a.m.
This routine is slowly killing my back and my dreams. It sounds harsh, but I suppose I’ve reached the age where I realize how precious time is.
How would you change your routine?
In his book Miracle Morning, Hal Elrod recommends six components for starting your day: Silence (Meditation), Affirmations, Visualizations, Exercise, Reading, and Scribing (Journaling).
I’ve decided to practice Meditation, Exercise, Reading, and Journaling.
- For my meditation practice, I’ll start doing The Breath recommended by Dr. Joe Dispenza, whom I’ve been following intermittently and inconsistently for about five years now.
- For my exercise practice, I will restart my regime on FasterWay, an online fitness membership with recipes and exercise classes.
- For my reading practice, I’m picking up a book about stoicism, which was recently recommended to me.
- For my journaling practice, I will write about a different topic related to discipline, productivity and routines.
What would you change about your routine? Are you interested in signing up for a yoga or art class? Are you a night owl? What other self-care practices are you following?
If you would like to learn about keeping a routine through grief, click here.