Morning Routine: Establish a Positive Attitude First Thing

by | Jan 9, 2017 | Advice | 5 comments

My morning routine is sacred. I learned early on that unless I make self-care a priority first thing in the morning, chances are I won’t take care of myself at all.

Did you know that the first seven minutes of your morning determine your mood for the entire day? Because of that fact, I actually made some significant changes to my morning routine recently.

Like most people, I would grab my phone first thing. I’d find myself mindlessly scrolling social media without really connecting with anything I was seeing for nearly an hour. Also, Myra, my business partner and bff, lives in Amsterdam. By time I wake up, she’s already been awake and working for 6ish hours. Without fail, I’d see a work notification on my phone right when I went to turn off my alarm, and that was it. Despite Myra in no way expecting a response from me until I “log in” at 7AM, I’d send over a quick reply. From sleeping to working in .025 seconds. No bueno.

I’ll be honest, submerging myself in social media first thing would leave me feeling empty, jealous, or down right annoyed. What an awesome attitude to start the day with. I found myself hitting snooze more than I liked. Unintentionally, I started to let my mornings slip away from me. I felt unmotivated, agitated, and unproductive.

So I decided to refocus my mornings, which really starts with something I do from the night before.

Before I go to bed, I put my phone on airplane mode.

My Morning Routine:

5:30 AM: The alarm goes off. I hit play on the episode of Rick Warren’s Daily Hope podcast that I would have made sure to download the night before. I get out of bed and get my cup of coffee. I usually sit at the kitchen counter with my coffee while I listen to the episode. 

Making quiet time with God a priority first thing in the morning helps me maintain a grateful and positive attitude throughout the day.

6:00AM: Me time. I give myself about 45 minutes to do whatever I want. This typically includes journaling, reading blogs, and/or watching youtube videos. Since I was in HS, I’ve allotted myself time to ease into my day. Rushing stresses me out.

6:45 AM: Get ready. I shower at night, so I quickly splash some makeup on my face and figure something out with my hair. Remember: I work from home, so I don’t always put in the most effort here unless I have a meeting.

7:00AM: Log on. This is when I take my phone off of airplane mode. I log in to Slack and Asana and check in with Myra. At this point, I start my workday.

Starting my day without immediately being plugged in has made all the difference. Since I don’t take my phone off airplane mode until it’s time to work, I spend less time on social media as a whole. As a result, my mood is much less affected by outside forces and instead I’m able to maintain joy from within.

How do you start your day? Do you have a morning routine that you stick to? Share any tips below on how you start your day positively!

You May Also Like…

TikTok got me thinking…

TikTok got me thinking…

I was scrolling TikTok, and for some reason my For You will sometimes serve up artist content. Painters. Sculptors. That sort of thing. I've always enjoyed art, but I don't have one artistic bone in my body. I loved drawing as a kid, but the talent...woof. Just not...

5 Comments

  1. I started writing down my goals for the day before I go to bed so I wake up with a list of things I want to accomplish. On it, I have work stuff, play stuff and self-care stuff, including devotion and exercise. I feel like this helps me keep things in focus.

    Reply
  2. I absolutely love these tips. As such a paranoid person, I would be really nervous to put my phone in airplane mode in case someone needed me, but turning off all of the notifications on my social media apps has really helped to disconnect me! I find myself rushing around so much in the morning, but by waking up earlier and taking my time in the morning, I always feel better. I need to do that more!

    Reply
  3. I really like this idea! I am trying to start waking up earlier and spending my mornings for “me time”, too, because I am a person who hits snooze 5 times and rushes around and I’m constantly forgetting things or something else crazy.

    Reply
  4. Airplane mode is such a good idea. I keep my phone on Do Not Disturb from 10:30pm to 8am, but I still will see notifications on the screen when I open my eyes and shut off the alarm. I try not to open it up first thing, but sometimes I find myself scrolling through before I’m out of bed too or answering texts or emails before I can even think straight. Airplane mode is a great idea though, I’m going to give it a try starting tonight! Thanks for the tip! I totally agree that mornings really set the tone for the day, and since I’m pretty far from a “morning person,” I try to be really careful to give myself a grace period after waking up. This should help do the trick.

    Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

HI, I'M JOEY

Mama, indie author, wife, believer and friend.

My only hope is that while you’re here, you feel a sense of belonging, comfort and empowerment. Because life is too short to live it worried you’re not good enough.

CATEGORIES

YOU SHOULD READ MY BOOKS!

If you’re into the kind of books that suck you in, make you fall in love with the characters and root for the underdog, then you’ll probably love these stories.