6 Elements Of A Perfect Morning Routine You Will Actually Stick To

I’m a big believer in the power of morning routine. I think that if you can kick ass first thing in the morning, you’re much more likely to remain in control of your day.

But I also think that the reason why so many of us fail to stick to it, despite best intentions, is that too often we try to use other people’s ideas of what a perfect morning ritual should include. All that “10 minutes meditation followed by a walk on the grass and journaling” advice sounds great but it doesn’t work for everybody. And morning routine does its magic only when it’s customised and unique to its owner.

So here are 6 fundamental elements that will help you to build a powerful but also truly unique morning routine you will actually enjoy.

IT WORKS FOR YOU AND YOUR LIFE
The point of the morning ritual is not to take over your life; it’s to be something that works for you and your life. It makes no sense to create an over-ambitious one-hour morning routine if all you have is 15 minutes before your kids and the dog start crying for your attention. The last thing you want is to begin the morning feeling frustrated about not being able to stick to your plan. Quality and consistency are more important than the amount of time you dedicate to your morning routine. 

YOU’D ACTUALLY BE SAD IF YOU MISSED IT
Create a morning ritual that you’re excited about and that’s on your own terms. No matter what others tell you, it really doesn’t have to include meditation or journaling or reading a chapter of Dalai Lama biography before breakfast. Sure, those things can be a great way to start a day but so dancing like crazy to Abba songs or watching 15 minutes of online knitting class. Try different things and see what works for you. 

IT GIVES YOU ENERGY AND ALIVENESS
Think of your routine as something that is going to refill you and charge you up. For me, it means including jogging and playing with my dog. But it can be a delicious breakfast, brisk walk, cuddles with your loved ones, listing to favourite music… anything you can think of that never fails to bring a smile on your face and makes you feel fully alive. 

IT’S WITHIN YOUR PERSONAL EDGES
Your routine has to work for you and your life, but it also should stretch and challenge you a little bit. It should cause you to grow. For me, getting up one hour early to go for a run and not looking at my phone until after breakfast is a challenge (I love to sleep and I’m mildly addicted to Instagram) but also gives me feeling of satisfaction and personal win that sets me up for a day. 

IT REINFORCES WHO YOU WANT TO BE
Do something that reminds you of the type of person that you want to become.
For example, I want to honour the commitments I’ve made to myself. And I want to be someone who can always say “Sure, I can do 10 km in less than an hour” So I stick to my running schedule and when I say “I will spend  20 minutes practising photo editing before breakfast” I do it, no matter what. Cause I also want to be a person who never stops learning. 

IT INCLUDES SOMETHING YOU DEEPLY WANT TO MAKE PROGRESS ON
Put all the energy toward something that you really want to make progress on and stick to it for at least 30 days. 20 minutes a day – that’s 10 hours per month. Hours that you can use to focus on something that might change your life, like learning a new skill or starting a passion business.

Over to you! Let me know your tips and tricks on building the best morning routine. What works for you and what doesn’t? 

photo by Roman Tymochko

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