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Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Creating Your Morning Ritual

Starting your morning off the right way is incredibly important. The way you start your day sets the tone for the rest of the hours to follow.  Establishing a morning routine can help you have a more productive day, become more of a morning person, and allow you to have a less stressful morning.  Routines are great because they provide you with some structure.  Because let's be real, there is nothing worse than having a crappy morning and working all day to recover from it. 

If you don't have a morning routine, don't worry.  Today I'm sharing some ideas for creating your own morning ritual!

Wake up around the same time each day:
Figure out what your "sweet spot" is.  This spot is the timeframe of when waking up works for you. There's not need to wake up at exactly the same time each day, but instead know your body and what works for you.  This "sweet spot" could even be a steady 8-10 hours from whenever you go to bed the night before as opposed to a daily 7:01 AM wake up.  My preferred wake up time during the summer is usually around 8:30 AM. 

Create a to do list:
Prioritizing the day's tasks helps you visualize what needs to be done and how you're going to conquer it. 

Eat Breakfast:
I'm sure I am not the first person to tell you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  This provides you with your initial energy for the day.  Eating super foods is the best idea because they help jump start your digestion with contents that are good for your body.  Everybody likes to eat different amounts and at different times, but be sure to add fueling your body somewhere into your personal morning ritual.  

Get Moving:
Tackle the day by moving early on.  If you don't have time to go the gym first thing in the morning, then just take a few moments to stretch the areas of your body that have some tension.  You could even do some yoga. I love this 15 minute morning yoga routine. Moving also helps to wake up and remind your body that it's time to get going. 

Incorporate Inspiration:
Motivation is a key factor in having a great morning. Think about what inspires you and include this in your morning routine. This could be keeping a gratitude journal, reading a few inspirational quotes, reading some blogs, etc. 


 There are a few things I like to do each day to ensure a perfect jumpstart to my day.  

Water + Lemon
This is a habit that was created thanks to one of the detoxes I did.  Fresh squeezed lemon juice combined with water is a great way to get your digestive track going in the morning.  It's a tasty way to start the day. I usually drink this while I get ready.
Read about the health benefits here.

Stretch/workout
I like to get moving in the morning. I typically work out early in the day, but some days that just isn't possible because I don't like to sacrifice my sleep to wake up early for a workout.  On days when I can't get a workout in, I like to stretch or do 20 minutes of yoga to get myself moving and wake up.  Occasionally I will also do a mini 15 minute workout. These just give me a little bit more energy to start the day. 

Wash Face
I wash my face each morning as soon as I wake up.  This cleans my pores, wakes me up, and allows me to feel fresh.  Even if I plan to take a shower in the morning, I tend to wash my face because it allows for a better cleaning. 

Create To Do List
Each morning I create a daily to do list. This helps my prioritize my day and figure out how I will cross thing off of my list. 

Breakfast
I eat breakfast everyday. What I eat tends to vary. Some items in my breakfast menu include oatmeal, banana and peanut butter toast, avocado toast, yogurt with fruit, or eggs. 

Read
This is my inspiration to launch my day the right day. Sometimes I like to read a few blog posts, the daily Skimm, or some motivational quotes.  Sometimes this is only for five minutes other days it's for an hour. 

I do these six things every day and the regularity of the routine helps me start my day off in a productive manner with a positive attitude. 
How do you like to start your day off?

XOXO



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