The Benefits of a Morning Routine
Originally posted 12/17/21
How many times have you heard that you need a morning routine, start of work routine, end of work routine, and evening routine? I am sure these concepts are not entirely new to you. However, did you know there are scientifically proven benefits to routines like this? For the purpose of today's blog, I am going to zero in on the benefits of the morning routine.
Are you a morning person? I am, and I know whose fault that is. It's my father’s. I grew up in a house where weekends didn’t equate to sleeping in and downtime was the best time for projects or chores. Ok, he wasn’t a slave driver but he likes to keep busy and liked to keep us busy. I don’t think the “morning person” gene passed to my sister- but it absolutely passed to me. So the idea of a morning routine and having to get up earlier to accomplish that wasn’t a deterrent for me. But it may be for you. I get that. Don’t give up on me quite yet. There are life-changing benefits to having a routine in the morning, and I am going to tell you right now that no one’s morning routine is required to be like any other. That means just because my alarm goes off at 4:45 am, yours doesn’t have to also!
I have done a bit of research into this topic, not just for this post but for my own morning schedule. When you type the words “morning routine” into google you can spend the next two weeks just clicking on every article, blog post, book ad, video, and more with everyone's ideas on what's best for you for your morning routine. So, let's answer this question before we go on. What is a morning routine? I am so glad you asked. I found a really well-rounded answer to this question from the Game Quitters website- and they answer the question like this; “A morning routine is quite simply what it says. It’s a set of habits or motions that you go through when you wake up. It helps to set your day up in the right way and can have some drastic effects on your focus and productivity.” This is the perfect sum-up of what a morning routine is.
Before I continue with the benefits of a morning routine, I want to share some of the ways one would formulate a morning routine. The Game Quitters website has a great formula. An incredibly popular author has a formula that has been inspiring YouTube creators to attempt to follow his system and post 30-day challenges following it. That author, as you would expect, is Hal Elrod. Author, keynote speaker, and success coach. He is the author of the increasingly popular book The Miracle Morning. This book tells Elrod's story of failure and success and the key to his personal success is, you guessed it, a morning routine. He has personally coined the phrase “Miracle Morning” but it's much the same setup as many other morning routines. We will talk about how to develop your own routine later in the blog.
Now, to the benefits. There are some pretty amazing benefits to having and maintaining a regular morning routine and I am excited to share them with you. The tips I am going to share here are also posted on the MyVA360 website, in their blog post titled “10 Science-Backed Benefits of a Morning Routine”
Preparing yourself for your day
Increased productivity
Feel like you have more control of your day
Lower stress
Develop healthy habits ( you’ll see how in the development of a morning routine)
Boost energy levels
Improve relationships
Combat forgetfulness
Improve your confidence
Learn to be flexible
This list is nicely laid out by MyVA360 but it's not dissimilar from other benefit lists I have found in my research. Even just one of these benefits is a positive one for any individual. You could be a business owner, an employee, or a stay-at-home parent, you could even be retired and see multiple benefits that could apply nicely to your life.
Now if you are interested in more because of the benefits listed or just because you want to learn how to develop your own routine, you're in the right place.
From what I have read and what I have experienced, most morning routines contain some of the same aspects. For example, getting up earlier. What time? Well, I don’t know what time your household starts waking up and demanding the things of you they do daily. For me, as I said before, it's pretty early. My husband, son, and the dogs are still asleep when I creep out of the house to our little workout area on the back of the property. Then there are things to do- the key to all of these things is they are for you. They are to benefit you. This is the epitome of “you” time.
Game Quitter’s article has a great quote on what is the best routine; “The best morning routine is one that works for you and you're able to carry out every day.” Their whole article on this topic is very much worth the read. I will link it again here. There are lots of different ways to set up your morning routine. The key is to incorporate the things that you want to do, that help you, that benefit you. YOU are the key here.
Hal Elrod of the Miracle Morning has a specific setup for a morning routine. He calls each of the activities in the morning routines “Life Savers.” It's an anagram.
S-Silence ( Meditation/ Prayer)
A- Affirmations ( positive phrases and words you say or read to yourself)
V-Visualizations ( this sounds very new-age- but there is proven evidence that visualizing your ideal life very often influences your brain to make decisions that help make that vision a reality.)
E- Exercise ( This could be anything from a 15-minute yoga routine to an hour-long heavy-hitting workout)
R- Reading
S- Scribe ( Write- Journal)
If Elrod's list looks long and exhaustive- I get it. However, he's talking about anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. You're not spending an exhaustive amount of time on any of these steps.
Does any of this information pique your interest? Are you in the process of setting goals for 2022 and wishing and hoping for a life that seems so far away? I used to do that every single December as I was looking towards the next year and not wanting to repeat any of my past failures. The truth is, my morning routine has changed a lot over the last few years. I have abandoned it altogether and I promise you that the outcome of the absence of my morning routine was not fun. These routines bring balance and peace to my mornings and my days. I know they can do the same for you.
If you would like more information about my morning routines, how they have changed, and what I found works for me and doesn't, please don't hesitate to reach out.
Jennifer Cooper