I hate getting out of bed in the morning. I'd happily sleep all day if I could.
Unfortunately that's not possible and I have to get up at some point. I've found that having a good morning routine in place makes the process a lot easier for me.
I've always more or less stuck to the same routine. I wrote about my morning routine back in 2016 and, reading back through it before I wrote this post, I was surprised to see how little has changed. I'm obviously a creature of habit.
Related post: How to Perfect Your Morning Routine
However, as you know, 2020 has been different to most years. I let my normal daily routine slip during lockdown as I was going to bed and getting up whenever I felt like it (usually quite late), as well as spending a lot of time on social media.
Plus it was summer, my favourite season, and I wanted to enjoy my time off so I spent a lot of time outside, walking along the seafront near my house or just sitting in the sun reading a book.
Related post: What My Daily Routine Looks Like in Lockdown
Now autumn is on its way, I'm back at work and things are slowly starting to go back to normal for me, I'm getting myself back into a routine which puts me in a positive frame of mind and sets me up well for the day ahead.
My Productive & Healthy Autumn Morning Routine
The main thing about my morning routine is that it always takes a little while to get going. I've never been a morning person and it takes me ages to wake up properly, so I like to get out of bed a little earlier than I need to, so I can ease into the day. I'm not one of those people who can just leap out of bed and start their day straight away.
As I mentioned in my first morning routine post, I like to start my morning routine the night before by tidying up the house, washing any dishes in the sink and making sure my bag is packed for the next day. This gives me less work to do in the morning and more time to concentrate on myself.
I set my alarm for 7 or 8 AM, depending on whether I'm going to work that day or not. As soon as I wake up, I head straight to the kitchen and make a cup of coffee. I'll go and sit in the living room to drink it while I check and reply to any notifications on Twitter and Instagram.
I don't do anything else on social media at this point because I don't want to get sucked in and waste an hour scrolling the timeline (which is very easy for me to do).
Something I do in the autumn which I don't do in the summer is light a candle or two to give the room a cosy vibe.
During lockdown I had a lot of time to work on my freelance writing business and also my blog, which was amazing. I developed the habit of reading and repeating affirmations, which really helped me believe in myself more and feel more positive and confident about my work.
I have less time to dedicate to my writing now I'm back at work, but I still do the affirmations every day. It only takes about one minute but has definitely started to make a difference to my mindset (it doesn't work immediately, but the more you do it, the easier it gets and after a few weeks you really start to believe your affirmations).
One thing I noticed when reading through my old post was that I used to do a short daily meditation from YouTube while I drank my coffee. My mind has always been too active to meditate well and that practice didn't last long. I'd all but forgotten about it, but the funny thing is I've recently started trying meditation again.
My anxiety has been high lately so this time I've paid for a year's subscription to the Calm app in the hope that it helps a little, and also makes me more likely to commit for longer.
So far I've really been enjoying doing both morning and evening meditations to clear my head and have found them really beneficial. My brain never completely shuts up but, with practice, it does get a little easier to focus on the meditations.
By this point I've been awake for about half an hour to 45 minutes. I've made some coffee, checked social media, read my affirmations and listened to a 15-minute meditation.
Once I'm awake properly, I like to get some exercise in. If it's just something low impact like yoga or a walk along the seafront, I'll do it before breakfast, but if it's my day off and I'm planning to do a more intense workout like some HIIT or running, I'll eat breakfast first and then do something else (like any writing I need to finish) for about an hour before working out.
Breakfast is usually something like avocado on toast with some fruit and green tea or orange juice. Once I've eaten, worked out and then showered and got myself dressed, I'm ready for the day ahead.
What's your morning routine like? Do you do the same thing every morning or do you like to mix things up a little?
Related post: Ten Ways to Become a Morning Person (When You Really Aren't)
Last post: Five Ways to Plan Your Fall to Perfection
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