Many of the morning rituals I see or hear of people doing involve very ambitious activities that are very healthy and good for you, but nearly impossible to keep up every single day. I don’t know about you guys, but going for a 20 minute run every morning just isn’t going to happen for me. I can barely get out of bed and in the shower without groaning and dragging my feet.
This is why I created a simple yet super effective morning routine that is a great way to start your day, without being too demanding.
SIMPLE YET SUPER EFFECTIVE SELF CARE MORNING ROUTINE
Contents
#1 Wake up as soon as your alarm goes off
This one is definitely the most difficult one to do and it’s one that I struggle with a lot. That being said, EVERY TIME I manage to do this, and wake up without hitting the snooze button, I feel way more energized and less groggy. This feeling carries on throughout the whole day so if you can handle it, it’s TOTALLY worth it.
I find the easiest way to do this is to put your alarm clock or phone in a place that is not right by your bed. That way you actually have to get up and turn it off. This reduces the temptation of rolling back over into the comfy blankets.
They also make fancy alarms that help you get up right away but I wouldn’t go out and get ones that fly away or make you do annoying things, like solve a puzzle in the morning. This is sure to start your day the WRONG way. One of these might be good though, it’s an alarm clock that is actually a mat. So you have to stand on it before it stops beeping – genius!
#2 Wake up WITHOUT CHECKING YOUR PHONE
Don’t check your phone right away. Although our phones can be a source of joy, more often than not, our phones are little stress machines that hoard everything in the world that is bothering us.
Work emails, social media, missed calls – it can definitely be a source of negativity that we always seem to check AS SOON as we wake up.
The whole point of this morning routine is to start your day filled with positivity.
You phone may be holding a positive message or it may be holding bad or stressful new. Since there’s no way to know until you check it, it’s best to leave your phone alone until your morning routine is done. This way you can tackle anything that your phone (or the rest of your day) will bring you with a positive mindset.
Pssst… Start your 10 Day Self Care challenge by downloading this FREE PDF
#3 Do Some Jumping Jacks
Those people that are suggesting you go for a run in the morning are not wrong. Starting the day off with some exercise is a great way to get those natural endorphins flowing and get your blood pumping so that your body is ready to to take on the day.
The problem with going to the gym or going for a walk is that it’s super time consuming and a lot of commitment. This increases the chances that you just won’t do it at all, even if you said you were going to.
Promising yourself to just do 20 jumping jacks in the morning is a lot easier to do and you’re still getting that blood pumping and the endorphins. It’s not a perfect solution but it’s a lot better than doing nothing.
You can also use this as a starting point to build your way to up to eventually going for a full run or doing a full morning work-out. Baby steps people!
#5 Meditate
Before you start showering, putting on make up etc. take a few minutes to yourself to clear your mind. I think it’s better to do this after the jumping jacks because then I’m less likely to feel sleepy and want to jump back into bed. Meditating in the morning can be tough when all you want to do is go back to sleep and the jumping jacks really helps to make this easier.
Now I am usually in a rush and want to start my day quickly so meditating for 10 minutes is a little extreme for me. I’m talking 3-5 minutes max here.
It’s also amazing if you use a diffuser with an essential oil that is good for waking up and boosting energy. My favourite energy boosting oils are:
- Lemon
- Rosemary
- Cinnamon
- Peppermint
Related:
#6 Make a Healthy power smoothie
I find it’s best to do this after I’ve showered, gotten dressed and am basically ready to head out the door. There’s something about making a breakfast smoothie that just makes me feel really healthy and energized and also helps me make it to lunch without needing a huge greasy or fatty breakfast.
My two favourite breakfast smoothies are:
banana Oat Smoothie
-1/4 Cup Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats
-1 Banana cut into thirds
-1 Teaspoon of Honey
-1/2 Cup Plain Low Fat Yogurt (don’t use flavoured yogurt, I made this mistake once)
-1/2 Cup Fat Free Milk
-1/4 Cinnamon
This smoothie is delicious. Although the texture is a little weird so it might take some getting used to. Since it has the oats in it, it is very filling and makes me satisfied for a long time. You can even add half a frozen banana to it to make it even more filling.
I also find that it’s easy to keep these ingredients in stock all week without them going bad. Sometimes it’s hard to make green smoothies because you need to have a lot of fresh produce on hand so I find this one is a great daily go-to!
ENERGIZING GREEN SMOOTHIE
1 cup kale, stems removed
1 cup of water
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 cup chopped fresh or frozen pineapple
1 banana
1 Tbsp almond butter
This is an awesome green smoothie but doesn’t keep me as full as the banana oat. I find I need a peanut butter toast or other small breakfast in order to keep me full until lunch. This one does feel very clean though so it is energizing and gives you that power punch that will carry you through the morning.
I use a magic bullet to make my smoothies in the morning because the clean up is super easy. You can just drink it without getting a glass dirty and you don’t have a giant blender (like a Vitamix) to clean afterwards. This makes it really easy for me to add this to my daily morning routine.
20 minutes for a healthy start
The BEST PART about this morning routine is that it should only add about 15-20 minutes to your morning. This is time that you’ll now have because you’re not hitting the snooze button for an hour. Totally worth it!
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