Morning Routines and Daily Habits

“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine”.  — John C. Maxwell

Creating good habits and a morning routine are very important for a lifetime of success. I do believe that how you start your mornings, is how your day will transpire. If you want to start your day the right way, you’ll do life right. After reading “Atomic Habits” by James Clear, I have to agree that changing your daily habits can guide your life to a very different destination.   

Growing up, my daily habits weren’t aligned with the healthiest lifestyle. It took me until I was 22 years old to realize that what I was doing with my life wasn’t in alignment with how I wanted to see myself in the future.  As I write this post, I cannot stop thinking about how grateful I am for making the choice to live a healthy and active lifestyle. Changing your old habits to better habits takes time and patience, it is not an overnight success, is all about having consistency and determination.

Good habits are different for everyone and there are certainly dozens of those. Today I want to share a few habits that really stand out for me and have become part of my daily routine:

•  I usually start my morning around 4:45 / 5:00am.  Although, this might be too early for some, this currently works for me especially because it gives me time to accomplish what I want in the morning without feeling rushed. Now I do want to clarify that this is my week routine and during the weekend I am a little more flexible and adjust accordingly.

• I always start my morning with a glass or two of water; this is just a great way to hydrate your body as soon as you wake up.  

• I enjoy starting my mornings with a prayer or meditation. This honestly doesn’t have to take too much time and is a great way to show how grateful to be for a new day.  Saying words like thank you for a new day, or I am grateful that I get to wake up alive and I am going make this the best day I can. I know that this isn’t always easy, I’m in the corporate world and trust me, waking up with the best attitude is not always easy but just having that sense of it’s a new day and I get to do it again instead of I have to do it again makes a huge difference. Remember, we are in charge of our own actions and thoughts. I choose to stay positive and give the best out of me no matter what the situations are or how difficult the job can be.

• I have three dogs and I let them out in the backyard to play and bathroom breaks, while I start getting ready to exercise.  

• Movement is part of my lifestyle, this is what gives me the energy to go with my day and it changes my mood and how I feel. Honestly, exercise is the only thing in life that you will never regret.  I normally try to start between 5 and 5:15am.  Although, lately it has been taking me a little bit of time to start movement as I have been taking some time to make myself a pre-workout prior to moving my body. I have a room in our home that I use as our Gym and sometimes I will follow a program or I also enjoy going out for a run or outdoor cycle. I normally exercise about 5 to 6 days per week with 1 to 2 days of rest. Although, what I mean by rest is more like easy days but I definitely practice any type of movement daily especially when you have working dogs that need to release some energy. 

• Making my bed daily is also part of my daily habits. Not only I enjoy to see my bedroom looking organized and clean but I just feel better. Even if no one is going to come to my house, having that sense of organization and discipline is key to my day-to-day life.

• Having breakfast is definitely a non negotiable. Honestly I grew up on breakfast and will never forget my childhood days when my mom would get breakfast ready while we were getting ready for school. Breakfast was for sure a thing growing up and it is still a priority in my adult life. Good nutrition is essential to a good overall well-being and it simply makes me feel good throughout the day.  

Starting every morning the right way means so much to me, and when I slip off my routine, I do noticed the difference.  Life can be sometimes chaotic and not everyday is going to be perfect; I do let room for flexibility when those chaotic times happen. We as humans do so much and we tend to push ourselves hard but it is also important to listen to our bodies and sometimes take deep breath and slow down for a minute.

If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read. Creating your own successful routine is unique to you. Do what feels good to you and most importantly make sure is something you look forward to in the mornings. My routine might not be ideal for others but is ideal for me and is something I look forward to daily.

Please leave a comment below and let me know a few of the routines you currently have in the mornings. I would love to hear them!