Start your day and own your morning

Your morning mood determines the quality of your day. These couple of minutes just after you wake up affects your state of mind and set the tone of the whole day. And if you manage to get up with a positive mindset you will be able to get through all of the craziness that your life so very carefully planned for you the day before. The morning struggle begins the moment you open your eyes. That’s why you must act quickly to find a way forward. There is no time to spare. You can end this struggle only with diplomacy, never with war.

The more prepared and awake you are immediately after waking up the easiest facing the unpredictability, fighting procrastination and embracing chaos will be. If you are not a morning person it might seem crazy now. But it’s possible and actually quite easy to adjust your morning routine and start your day in a productive and mindful way. Of course, if you’re ready for a change. The decision is yours. Everyone can become a morning person. It’s all attitude. Because every change begins with an attitude, a positive one. It will be challenging but I’ve got some ideas that can actually help you.

Change begins with a positive mindset

First, you need to deal with your ego in a sensitive and tactful way. Be kind. Be mindful. Be grateful for every single minute of your life. Life is a gift, that’s why it’s called “the present”.

Secondly, get into healthy morning habits and start your day with a positive mental attitude. Create a healthy, solid morning routine that works for you and start your day in a productive way. In other words, wake up early and own your morning. Do it without looking for any excuses. You are the captain of your own ship. So just do what you have to do to make your life better, easier and more enjoyable. Start with a good morning routine based on healthy habits.

Thirdly, accept that change begins with a positive mental attitude that defines the quality of our life. And never underestimate the importance of your morning routine. Because it’s the foundation stone of your daily success. Of course, every person creates a success of their own terms. But all successful people share one common denominator - a positive mental attitude and a solid morning routine that boost productivity and motivation levels immediately they wake up. So even if a recipe for a success is highly personalized and must be designed individually there are some basic ingredients for this creative process that begins in the early morning. These miraculous ingredients are actually quite easy to add to your recipe for success. You probably know by now what sacred ingredients I am talking about. If you are thinking about goals and habits you are right. The whole process is based on a three-step process:

3 Steps Recipe For Success

• The first step is to set your goal structure because you need to know that you want to achieve to be able to actually do that.
• The second step is to create healthy, powerful habits that will get there, straight to your goals
• The third step is to use the habits you have created in order to achieve your goals and adopt a positive mindset - the leitmotif of your successful journey, some kind of theme song of your life, the one that will inspire you to take an action and make your life worth living.

Now, that we know what determines a personal success we just need to start our journey to get there. And this journey begins in the early morning with a successful morning routine and healthy morning habits. When you start your day you must own your morning and get ready to smash up your day. And the only way to do that is through the solid morning routine. I don’t know about you but I like to keep everything organized. I just run well on a routine that prevents procrastination and missed timelines. Of course, not every single morning is the same because life is unpredictable and some things are out of our control but with a positive mindset you will be able to overcome every obstacle in life.

And now we are finally getting to the heart of the matter: my healthy morning habits that I live by. I separate my morning routine into 10 different time frames and different categories that fit in with a particular time frame just to make things clearer and more precise. So let’s start from the beginning.

Healthy morning habits - 10 different time frames

1. Upon Rising

“This a wonderful day. I’ve never seen this one before.”

- Maya Angelou

• Develop the habit of getting straight up.
• After waking up avoid to hit the snoozing button right away. Hitting snooze can be tempting but if your body gets into a sleep cycle again getting up will become even more difficult. And worse, of all, sleep inertia can stay with you throughout the day, making you feel actually more tired and less productive.  
• Develop a habit of getting straight up, stretching a bit and waking your mind, body, and soul in the next couple of minutes

2. Ground Yourself

“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.–Vincent Van Gogh

• Develop the habit of being grateful
• Start practicing gratitude and being thankful. Every day is a gift. That’s why it is called “the present”
• Use Mirror technique - Stand directly in front of the mirror, look straight into your own eyes and give yourself a pep talk. Reflect on your worth and value.
• Do Mindfulness meditation to start your day with a positive mindset

3. Reflect on Your Day

“Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent.” – Marilyn Vos Savant

• Develop the habit of reflection
• Make reflection a daily learning habit and evolve from it. Take a couple of minutes of your time in the morning and reflect on every aspect of your life, Think about things that you have done right and about your mistakes. Change or fix the things that are not working.
• Keep Journaling - writing a journal helps to clarify thoughts and understand emotions

4. Energize Yourself

“You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.” – George Lorimer

• Develop the habit of waking your potential
• Start your day with a clarity of mind, improve your focus and observation
• Do some morning breathing exercises to energize yourself
• Re-hydrate yourself - in the morning our body is dehydrated after hours of night sleep so start your day with a glass of warm lemon water that will cleanse your body and boost your mood and energy level.

5. Make Yourself Productive

“Some people dream of success while others wake up and work hard at it.”– Winston Churchill

• Develop the habit of productivity
• Create a habit of achieving things. Start with some small steps in the right direction. Set reasonable and achievable goals and give yourself credit for every single accomplished task. This way you can build your confidence and improve self-esteem.
• Make an anti-distraction plan daily plan - prioritize things that need to be done, use your time effectively, learn to pay complete attention to a present moment and learn to take small brakes when you feel overwhelmed, stressed out or tired
• Get inspired - take some time for looking up for inspirations (listen do a podcast, watch Tedtalks, listen to your favorite music, use positive affirmations, read some motivational and inspirational quotes)
• Find your balance between being productive and actually enjoying the present moment

6. Plan & Visualize

“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of Hell, a hell of Heaven.” – John Milton

• Develop the habit of success
• Set yourself up with your little visions and goals for the day. Start with small achievable goals like making your bed.
• The mind doesn’t actually know the difference between small and big goals. But it definitely understands the difference between success and failure. That’s why you need to create a habit of success by setting achievable goals starting from the easiest one to gradually getting into more complicated ones.

7. Schedule Things to do During the Day

“To get through the hardest journey we need take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping.” – Chinese Proverb

• Develop the habit of scheduling things to do
• An effective strategy of scheduling is a powerful tool to become more productive and focused on things that need to be done and it’s a great way to fight procrastination and a waste of time
• Schedule time to relax

8. Move Your Body

“Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.” – George Addair

• Develop the habit of working out
• Physical activity increases your mental and physical energy, boosts your metabolism and sets a positive mood for the rest of the day
• If you’re not into a fast cardio workout do some yoga exercises, do some simple stretch or walk at least 30minutes in the morning

9. Be Kind to Yourself 

“You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – Christopher Columbus

• Develop the habit of positive self-talk and kindness
• A positive internal dialog is the form of self-care that is a powerful tool in building your confidence and improving self-esteem
• Overcome negative self-talk with positive affirmations and self-kindness
• Be kind to yourself because the person you will spend every second of your life is YOU!

10. Nourish Yourself

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.”– Peter Drucker

• Develop healthy eating habits
• Prepare a healthy breakfast that will boost your metabolism, energy levels, and positive mood
• Choose a healthy breakfast option based on superfoods
• Choose a healthy coffee option: coconut oil, organic cinnamon, non-dairy milk
• Prepare your meals and snacks for the day

I hope you enjoy my healthy habits ideas to include in your morning routine!

Take care

Stay positive

Be mindful - because every single minute of our life is a gift!

xx Kate