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Our morning routines can DECIDE how our mornings go. Did you know that? I am sure you did and I am also sure I have mentioned it a bunch of times in other blog posts, but I don’t mind repeating myself. If you wake up fumbling and bumping into walls aimlessly every morning, how do you think you’re going to feel all day? I’ll tell you this: you’ll feel a lot less together than if you have a set morning routine that sets your day up for success. I study a LOT of girl bosses and entrepreneurs who are successful and rich (all things I intend to be) and one of the most common denominators I seem to continuously find is they all have MORNING routines! You’d be surprised at just how much having a morning routine that sets your day up right will CHANGE your LIFE. Don’t believe me? Just try it!
So, today I am going to share with you the 9-step morning routine that I have created for myself that has proven to make my day more productive and more ready for ANYTHING while also keeping a positive mindset and mood up as well. Keep in mind, I wake up early in the mornings to give myself time to do all these things, so consider your wake up time when creating your own boss morning routine! If you don’t wake up early… well… I would advise you give yourself at least an hour earlier in your day so that you can get ahead and feel like a boss (a post on benefits of waking up in the AM will be coming soon also). Also, I have a post on Nighttime Routine that will help you properly prepare for this morning routine if you’re interested in that! So let’s get into it!
Morning Routine for Success!
Wake up. Pray. Meditate and practice visualization. Prayer only works if you are a spiritual person, but it definitely makes me feel like I am starting my day off on the right foot. I start my day with God and that makes me feel like my priorities are in the right place. I was never much of a meditator (and if I am being honest, I am still not). However, I still take some quiet time in the morning before having to begin my busy day to just sit and breathe. During this time I also visualize how I want my day to go. I visualize the kind of life I want to have and how someone with that life behaves. It both relaxes me and gets me slightly motivated to go and knock out some goals. I can only last doing this for a few minutes, like I said, cause I am definitely not much of a meditator.
Yoga and exercise. I am not much of a gym person. I have tried multiple different forms of exercise and discovered that yoga was it for me, but recently, I have also come across this REALLY FUN online dance studio called *Hip Shake Fitness*! This is the first time I have ever come across a company where I actually WANT to workout because it is so much fun! They have dance workouts like *how to twerk* and it even has workouts for hip hop or *Bollywood Dances*. It is literally soooo much fun and I just love it so much! So, I do those workouts like three times a week and I ALWAYS have to do my yoga because Yoga is life.
Devotional and coffee time. Once I have finished my exercise, I get my coffee. Coffee is something I genuinely look forward to every single morning. I am a coffee addict and my mind doesn’t want to be bothered until I have had that first sip of caffeine. Then, one I have my coffee in hand I do my devotion and read my bible. The reason that I don’t start my day with this is because I want to read my bible and do my devotion when my mind is fully awake and aware. I am not all the way there in the mornings and I know I will not retain anything I read if I try and force myself to read the bible first thing in the morning. Not to mention I won’t be in the spirit to receive anything when I first get up cause I don’t exactly wake up with Joy before my coffee.
I take a few minutes with my goal board. I don’t have my goal board for this year yet. I have been meaning to make one for the LONGEST but I never seem to have the time (I am slacking, I know). However, when I do have one, I sit and I look at all of my motivational quotes and ponder on my goals. This time of just reminding myself of my why is important to me because it helps me keep things in perspective. I know that I am not working myself like this for no reason and it reminds me that I am going places. If you don’t have a goal board (first of all, make one), but also you can look at your goal journal or your list of goals for the year and use that to remind you why you’re doing what you’re doing. For right now, my goal journal with my list of 2019’s goals is what I spend some time with daily.
Get dressed and ready for the day. Now is my time for teeth brushing and putting on my clothes. I have a VERY short skin routine (really just a morning burst cleanser) and i always wet my hair every single morning so my locs aren’t all dry and crusty. As I am getting ready for the day I will often move around and dance to some music that energizes or uplifts me. If I am not listening to music than I am listening to a business podcast, Youtube video, or Facebook live from one of my favorite girl bosses.
Check planner + to do list. Now, I start planning out how I am going to achieve my goals for the day. I LOVE my *productivity planner*! I can mix and match it to suit my needs and it helps me prioritize my tasks so that I am less of a workaholic and still get a lot of things done!
Eat breakfast. THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY SERVING IT UP RIKKI’S WAY (You get 10 points if you know what that was a reference to). Breakfast was hard for me to get used to eating. I NEVER used to eat breakfast. I just wasn’t a fan of it. I wasn’t hungry in the mornings most of the time anyway. That’s why I started pushing my breakfast towards the end of my morning routine. A lot of the greats have advised against it because you should be energizing your day with nourishment so you should have breakfast fairly early. Well, that doesn’t really work for me. I think one of the most important things about having a productive morning routine to set up your day is finding what fits YOU. Doing all of those other things first helps build up a hunger for me. Now, if you wake up hungry, I would suggest putting this somewhere in the top 3, but for me, after I have done my workouts at least is the best time to eat.
Read. I LOVE reading self-development books and books about being a girl boss. It helps motivate me and I find myself constantly learning about how to better myself. I truly believe that anyone who is an entrepreneur, girl boss, or just wants to live a better lifestyle should spend some time reading. I promise you that reading daily can make a big difference in your self-development and learning. I am considering doing a monthly book review on the self-development books I read on my YouTube Channel. What are some of your thoughts on that? Maybe I should do a blog post instead or even also? Comment down below with your input!
Gather my things and get started with my day. Once I have done all that I am ready to get started with my day. For me on most days that means opening my laptop and getting started with work for clients or writing a blog post. Then, within a few hours I’ll have my part time job to go to.
With this routine, I usually feel pretty good about starting my day. I feel refreshed, energized, and ready to KNOCK OUT my goals. As I said, this morning routine starts early in the morning. However, we all know one of the biggest successful people habits is to wake up early in the morning anyways, right? So why not get yourself a girl boss routine to PROPERLY prepare yourself for success!!
What does your morning routine look like? Does it help you start your day right?