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SOULFUL TALK
I have learned it is important to do the things that you love, life waits for no one, so the sooner we get going, the better for us. One thing which I strictly adhere to is my morning routine. It hardly matters whether I am out traveling or at home, the routine will be there, only the form will change. Buy my words a proper morning routine, during traveling when you are away from regular surroundings, gives you a proper roadmap of the entire day.
But this was not the case, a few years back, whenever I used to browse through the web and checked other’s morning routines. I would feel a bit fringy, to write about my own morning routine. There were no fancy, energetic meditation practices at 3 a.m. or a long workout with perfect make-up or something like that. Slowly I realized, it was my morning routine, thus it was supposed to be on my terms.
As a person, I want to do everything in a relaxed mood and avoid stress. To accomplish this, I usually get up early than the rest (I know it is hard). This practice helps me stay focused and relaxed, giving me enough time in hand. Else, I tend to get frantic and stressed.
On a regular day, I get up at 5 am. When the alarm rings I immediately leave the bed, without dishing out excuses. No snooze button; it is a game of will power.
First, I want to get hydrated, so prefer starting my day with a cup of water or any sugar-free drink. Next comes my beauty routine with energetic music, playing in the background. Music is very important for me, it influences my mood positively. It further paves a way towards positivity, which I immensely need throughout the whole day.
This time gives me an opportunity to think about the day ahead. Also, I get in touch with myself, it’s kind of meditation for me. Doing my make-up is part of this me-time.
For breakfast, I usually have coffee and green smoothies. I don’t eat that early and the greens energize me. If the weather is fine, I enjoy breakfast with my husband on our balcony. Though at times the weather doesn’t favor us, yet we don’t break our mini ritual, as it is immensely refreshing to enjoy breakfast in the open.
I love the journaling in the morning. It’s a mix of morning pages, to get rid of all the brain clutter and helps in planning my day mindfully. To me mindful planning indicates, I respect my feelings, e.g. if I feel tired or not so energetic, due to hard workdays before. I reduce my tasks for such days and focus on planning easy tasks. This routine assists me in finishing a few things without getting overwhelmed or frustrated.
Benefits of a morning routine
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Regularity saves energy:
With any routine, you can save energy because you don’t have to decide every morning what and how to do. Decision making saps our energy, and we have to decide a lot during the day, thus costing a lot of energy. You can save energy by establishing routines.
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Productivity increases:
Start your day with energy and your productivity will increase immensely. Interestingly, I wrongly believed, I needed to rush through things in the morning, else I would run out of time. You can imagine my hectic mood in the morning! But then I discovered, I can achieve the same as always or more if I maintain my calm and be mindful.
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Throughout the day the productivity increases, if tasks are done mindfully, rather than stressfully.
Important notice: keep away from that snooze button! It boycotts your productivity.
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Feels good:
This one is simple. A morning routine that covers your needs, makes you happy, and puts you in the perfect mood, to enjoy your day, is the right one for you. My experience demonstrated, that if I feel good in the morning, the exuberance spreads throughout the day. At least most of the days – I admit, morning routines are no magic bullets, but they definitely benefit your wellbeing.
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Stability/security:
The last but not the least benefit of morning routines, they provide a feeling of stability and security. If you do something regularly it helps you to maintain control and feel secure. Especially, in these times of pandemic, during quarantine, a morning routine can help to overcome weird and depressed feelings. I stuck to my morning routine every day of quarantine and it helped me a lot to stay focused and productive.
EVENING ROUTINE
Before going to bed, I like to sit down and watch one or two episodes of Netflix. Maybe one can call this evening routine, but I’m not very consistent in establishing a true evening routine.
I go to bed at a certain time to get enough sleep. I love to check my phone, although a lot of people recommend not to do it. As I love to start the mornings on my terms, I also ensure to end the day on my terms. So, checking my phone feels ok by now. I can adjust my routines, whenever I want.
Before I go to bed, I like to have my evenings flexible and relaxed. Sometimes I take bubble baths and read a book. The only must-have is removing my make-up, which is not negotiable.
Tell me which routines do you have and what works best for you?
(Kerstin Christine graduated in law, philosophy, and economics. She is currently working in a compliance department. Also, her thesis for a master’s degree in philosophy is underway.
Her multiple interests encourage her to focus on proper organization, a productive environment, and a positive mindset. She is educated in personal development, hypnotherapy, and mental coaching for sports. The article has originally appeared on the contributor’s website, republished here after her permission.)
Very good post about the benefits of morning routine and evening routine. Highly informative. Keep up the good work.
Very interesting routines described.
This is very refreshing and would love to do these.
Wow, loved reading her morning and evening routine. The morning routine is very important to maintain a productive day. Also, an evening routine is important to prioritize a me-time. Great one
Lovely post about the imp of morning n evening routine. I m trying build these habits, n this post encouraged me to try n be better even more. 💙
I loved the detailed explanation of her routines. Could relate much since the morning routine is pretty much similar to mine
This is very informative post. Creating and sticking to a morning routine and evening routine will help you de-stress and stay grounded. Thanks for sharing the article
Since the lockdown, schedules have gone haywire. Your post is lends perspective. I will try to follow a routine henceforth. Thank you for inspiring me 🙂
I struggle with a morning routine as I am not a morning person. But I do have a good evening routine and I do get a lot of things done before going to bed. Yes this helps plan and brings out the best. I do wish I could get up early too but my day generally starts at 9 and ends really late.
Thanks to the lockdowns… I have kinda developed a routine. I liked ur suggestions of having a smoothie in the morning..never really tried that before.
Ah this is so true! The benefits of having a routine are endless but I often find myself getting dragged into the irregularity of a freelancer/ blogger life! The mornings I do manage to wake up, absolutely make my day – I hope to keep this going as much as possible!