Recently I started waking up early and experimenting with different morning routine ideas. Thanks, primarily, to our cat Pringy who is an early bird himself and has to wake up everyone else if he doesn’t get his breakfast before 7 AM. So before I do anything else during the day, I like to set aside some time for little morning rituals. These 30 morning routine ideas are suitable for many people and you can mix and match them.
No more long morning routines
I will be honest before I had grandiose ideas of waking up before everyone else and having this long morning routine with multiple steps. I was planning to meditate, do yoga, journal, prepare a nice breakfast, do this, and that but the reality showed that I simply don’t have time and desire to have a long morning routine that lasts more than an hour. If it’s occasionally – sure, but every morning it’s too much.
While I love the idea of a good and easy morning routine, I’ve noticed that I also love a little change. It’s no surprise because the way we spend our time every season varies, so we have a need to adjust our lifestyle.
The positive morning routine is not an antidote
Our morning routine consists of the things we do firsthand after we wake up. I think the majority of us want to have a productive, good, positive day full of good vibes. I do believe that a good start to the morning can help us to have a better day. Not always, of course. It’s not a panacea, and issues do happen even if we have the most positive routine. However, a better start to the day can help us to stay focused on the positive aspects of our lives even in the hardest moments.
I made this list of 30 healthy morning routine ideas primarily for busy people or those who don’t have much time in the morning. All of these things can be done in 5 to 10 minutes and if you try very hard you can combine some of them (or do them at the same time) in the same amount of time.
Patience
Establishing any type of routine takes time, patience, and knowing what you like and what serves your particular lifestyle. You can’t just read someone’s advice and think it is universal. Try yourself, see what works for you and what doesn’t, and just keep going. One way or another, you’ll find out what is the best routine for you.
But for now, if you need any ideas, here are my easy morning routine ideas for busy people.
Morning routine ideas for busy people
1| Make your bed. I know it sounds simple. I love making my own bed, it transforms a room and organizes everything in my brain.
2| Meditate. You can do any time of meditation. I always prefer guided meditations. And when I meditate in the morning I love to do gratitude, positive, or grounding meditations.
3| Quick stretch. A good morning stretch helps me to feel more energized and awakens my body faster. You can even do it in bed before getting up.
4| Gratitude journaling. I prefer to do it in the evening, but sometimes I think about the things I am grateful for. If you prefer to write them down, go ahead. It really makes you appreciate that you woke up, you’re alive and you’re here.
5| Affirmation and intention journaling. I love writing my intentions and affirmations down because it puts me in a positive mindset and I stay focused throughout the day usually.
6| Cold shower. There is nothing to help you to wake up faster than a cold shower. Good for mind, body, mood, and overall health.
7| Ice cube massage. I love it, especially, when your face is puffy or you had a hard time waking up. It will help with puffiness and definitely will wake you quickly, plus it is refreshing.
8| Drink your morning water. Before I drink coffee and eat, I always try to drink water. It’s up to you if you want to add lemon, lime, or any other things into your water. I prefer plain room temperature water.
9| Sit outside with a cup of tea or coffee enjoying the morning. Honestly, those are the best moments. Having coffee outside when it’s still calm, silent yet the sun is already up and bright is truly magical.
10| Listen to good calm music. Recently I’ve been into ambiance or nature sounds. I love to play calm music with bird sounds, ocean waves, or just something that has a magical vibe to it. Luckily birds are singing now all the time and I can listen to them live. Here are some of my favorite YouTube ambiance playlists:
- Healing music
- Forest shrine
- Fairies’ Garden (my husband thinks it’s creepy because there are fairies laughing but I love it)
11| Open your windows. Let the fresh morning air and the songs of the birds fill in your room.
12| Draw an oracle card. I love oracle and Tarot cards and have quite a big collection. Drawing an oracle or Tarot card in the morning can serve as guidance or advice throughout the day. There are different varieties of Oracle cards like the Sacred self-care oracle (this is the one I have and I love it), Mindful living inspiration cards, Finding inner peace inspiration card, Happiness cards, Daily rituals oracle.
You can also make your own cards with affirmations, quotes, intentions, etc.
13| Decorate your breakfast. It’s easy, fast, and can make a big difference. No matter what I make – oatmeal, avocado toasts, a salad – I always try to make it look nice. I use seeds, dried fruit, cute plates, and bowls. I want to start incorporating edible flowers into my food. It’s a small change but can brighten your day for sure.
14| No phone. I know, that phone and social media addictions are real and can get serious. And luckily, I am on the level where I can spend a few hours without my phone or the internet. Not spending 10-15 first minutes of my day on the phone really changes the dynamics of my morning. Sometimes, I do check some apps just to see the quick updates, but usually, I get up and start doing other things.
15| Dance. Usually, when I get up and turn on more energetic or even aggressive music and try to dance for 5 minutes just to get the energy flowing.
16| Quick exercise or 5-minute yoga. If you don’t want to dance, you can do quick cardio or yoga. Running on the spot or jumping will awaken you faster than coffee. Yoga on the other hand can help to stay focused and present.
17| Smile! Waking up every day with a smile on your face is a dream, isn’t it? Well, sometimes you have to push yourself to do so. Smile right after you woke up while saying your gratitude, or in front of the mirror when you put your makeup on, or while making your coffee.
18| Learn how to stay present. There are so many techniques and some of them are mentioned here like yoga, meditation, journaling, breathing exercises, etc. Choose yourself what helps you to stay present. For me it’s gratitude.
19| Read. I love to read something light, positive and inspiring. You can read whatever you’d like to but I would try to stay away from the news.
20| Breathing exercise. Conscious and methodical breathing can help you to get into the present moment and stay focused on your body and mind.
21| Listen to energetic boss bitch music. Well, sometimes to get in a certain mood, I have to use other tactics. Listening to pop or R&B in the morning makes me more goal-oriented and focused. I’ve been loving the new album “My way” by the Belgian artist Lyna. You can check out my Ultimate boss bitch playlist blog post.
22| Visualization. I love to visualize a positive day or my to-do list, and how productive I am. If you have a mood board, you can do it in front of it for extra motivation.
23| Eye patches or any other masks for your skin.
24| On the way to work, drive or walk through a nice inspiring place or a new neighborhood. Being in a new place and having a new perspective is always nice. When I lived in Belgium, on my way to work there was this calming place in the park that looked like magical woods. When I had hard days and didn’t want to see anyone, I’d walk through that place and would feel way better, energized, and grateful to be alive.
25| Choose a word of the day. You can write the words or phrases yourself or print them out, and put them in a jar. The purpose can be different – to motivate or inspire, to learn something new, to be grateful, to challenge yourself, etc.
26| Face Massage. I mentioned using ice cubes for your face but sometimes I love to use a facial massager I got from Sephora (this is an example, the one I have is out of stock, but you can find similar). I usually keep it in the freezer and use it after I wash my face. It feels amazing.
27| Breakfast meal prep. I know technically it is not a morning routine. But if you have a busy morning, I’d suggest preparing the food in advance. There are multiple options like overnight oats or chia seeds pudding. But even if you eat something else, you can still prep things like sandwiches, breakfast bowls, and you can even prepare some oven dishes as your breakfast. They will last a few days and will create some free time in the morning.
28| Spend time with loved ones. Mornings can be extremely chaotic and while we have to keep moving, life can be extremely unpredictable. We never know if it’s our last day on this planet or not. So hug your loved ones, tell them how much you love them, and wish them a good day.
29| Ground yourself. Grounding in spirituality means you bring yourself into the present moment and focus on now. There are multiple ways to do it but I love taking my slippers off and putting my feet on the ground. If you have an access to the yard, it is even better to do it outside.
30| Clean. Having a tidy place to come back to in the evening after work is crucial to me. It creates the right tone for my evening routine or my mood in general. Try to clean your place a bit before you leave or start working, and see how much of a difference it makes.
In conclusion, having any type of routine is very individual. We are all unique and therefore our routines and habits are more or less unique as well. These morning routine ideas are just a blueprint and you can shape it as you wish.
Let me know what morning routines you have and if you have any recommendations, leave them below.
Read other blog posts:
- 11 ways to deal with a stressful situation
- 10 things I do to improve my lifestyle
- My top 20 favorite affirmations for self-love
Photos: for the Pinterest pin by Sophi Raju on Unsplash
Disclaimer: This post has no ads or affiliate links. Every suggestion is what the author truly likes or uses.
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