Happy February,
I’ve been living with my parents for about a month and although it has not been easy because it has become a big shift in my life. I try to maintain routines that will help me stay on track with my goals.
One of them is waking up early and building a healthy morning routine. I talked about some of the things that have helped me overall achieve this goal and I wanted to expand on how those healthy habits have helped me be more of a morning person and being more productive.
When I wake up before anyone else and get things done that is when I feel like I have had a productive day.
I wrote an article on my WeHeartIt where I talked about some of my most used tips to get up early. From putting my phone away from my bed, to reading a book instead of aimlessly scrolling through social media.
TIPS FOR A GOOD MORNING ROUTINE
1.Wake up at the same time every day
If you wake up at the same time every single day your body gets used to it and then you wake up without needing an alarm. More importantly, your body regulates and you tend to feel well-rested and ready to start the day. Plus, there is plenty of research that suggests that snoozing your alarm is more hurtful for your rest time because you ended up feeling more lethargic.
2. Drink
Hydrate before you treat yourself to any drink. Try to put a glass of water near you so that when you wake up you can drink it right away. This is important because when you wake up you might feel like your mouth is dry and also because our body just like plants needs water and drinking water before you drink your cup of coffee, matcha drinks, or smoothies can help you stay hydrated.
3. Make your bed
One of the habits that have changed my life has been making my bed and the reason for that is because growing up my mom always told me to make my bed and although I would get annoyed. In hindsight, I’m glad because it has made me feel more productive and has helped me separate my sleeping and working space.
4. Create a work or study area
Just like creating a cozy space for your night routine, it’s important to create a space where you work (and hopefully it’s not your bed). I know that it can be hard for people that might have a small space or even share a space because that is my case, so I completely understand. Even if it’s in the dining room or a small corner of your room create a creative space surrounded by things that inspire you. For instance, adding plants, lighting up a calendar, playing relaxing music, etc.
I know that it can be hard to not want to study in your room and on your bed but try to avoid it when waking up because it can hurt your goal of trying to wake up early and you might end up falling back to sleep.
5. Take up a hobby
It might be hard to take up a hobby throughout the day because you might work or you have school or even both. If you use the morning as a time to focus on yourself and doing something that is fun then this is a great time to do that because you have the morning to focus on a simple habit such as journaling, reading, painting, or even creating a blog.
6. Breakfast
When you wake up early you are more likely to make a healthy and delicious breakfast. You will even have more time to enjoy it and not feel like you can only grab a granola bar and run out the door. I used to do that before and by the time 9:00 came around I used to be hungry, but by eating a filling breakfast such as french toast, waffles, avocado toast, or even a fruit and veggie smoothie.
7. SkinCare Routine
Instead of focusing on makeup, this quarantine I want to focus on my skincare routine and by not complicating my skin care routine and doing it every single day has helped me improve my skin. I suffer from hyperpigmentation, which just means that I have a lot of acne scarring and I tend to get hormonal acne. If you would like for me to share my simple and affordable skincare routine comment below and I will try to do that this month.
8. Get Ready
Changing into clothes or even wearing cute lounge clothing can be very helpful. Especially during the lockdown and at the beginning it was fun to be in pajamas or even roll out of bed and log onto zoom, but I noticed that it made me feel unproductive and although at times I am okay with wearing sweats on zoom calls. I like to get ready at least 3-4x per week.
9. Don’t go on social media
I didn’t have this bad habit before but have recently developed it and I know that it’s not good for me. When you check your social media you are allowing comparison and self-judgment when you look at other people and their posts. It’s not a good way to start your day and also when I mindlessly scroll through social media I can spend hours and before I know it, hours have passed.
10. Manifest, Script, and Visualize
This is something new that I started this year. I like that in the morning the only thoughts that I have are where I write three things that I am grateful for because expressing gratitude for what you do have is an important part of manifesting. I also script which is just me thanking the universe for the things that I want in my life by writing them as if they are already true and being really specific about what I want I like to create a monthly board where I put images that represent my goals and what I am working towards.
When you focus on yourself first thing in the morning, your well-being, and your goals instead of social media, or what you feel you might be lacking or other people’s lives you aren’t giving yourself the full power you need to reach your full potential.
