Best Morning Routine - 26 Ideas To Build Your Perfect Routine

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How To Create The Best Morning Routine – 26 Ideas To Help You Build Your Own

A morning routine is a sequence of actions made up of different components. Morning routines have been a staple part of the day for the successful and organised for a long time now. Everyone’s seems to be a bit different from each other’s, so how do you know what’s the best morning routine for you? There is no secret, but there is a good formula to follow when choosing which steps to add into yours.

The best morning routine for you does not need to include all the steps below, or even half of them. What is important is that you choose the ones you feel benefit you the most.

You can always add to your routine, so to begin with I would suggest choosing just 4 or 5 things to do as a “dead set” routine, and then you can add others in as you go, or on days you have a little more time.

Wake up a bit earlier so you can enjoy this YOU time

This one sucks if you’re not a morning person. But if you get into the routine of it, it only sucks for a short amount of time. The pros absolutely outweigh the cons here and will make such a difference to your day.

This way you start the day on your own terms, you have that designated time to start your day off properly. It’s all too common to get out of bed as late as possible, then spend the morning (or day!) in a rush/stress and never quite feel like you have enough time for anything….

Now imagine waking up that little bit earlier, being able to take a bit of time and enjoy your morning routine – even if it only lasts 15 minutes.

Now you’re calm, not in a flap, and ready to take on the day – on your own terms.

The best morning routines start the night before

Taking any/all decision making out of your morning will help dramatically. If you’re like me, you will have the grandest ideas of outfits and plans for the next day. Realistically though, if left until that morning, those plans suddenly go out the window and you find yourself in comfy (not cute) clothes, flailing through the day.

When you have those ideas for a cute/smart outfit for the next day – lift them out. Take any decision making out and you’re already a step ahead.

A bit of planning can go a long way.

1. Get out of bed – do not snooze

This one also sucks. Well it sounds like it does, and it’s hard. But what if you actually feel a lot better for it? Do you ever actually feel better for that extra 10 minutes? No lol. So what if you then chose to get up when your alarm went off the first time and gained that 10 (or 20 or 30…) minutes back into your day?

Enough time for an amazing morning routine!

The first few times you do this will be hard, but your body and mind will thank you for it. Suddenly the alarm going off is a signal to start your day, not a time to battle with the clock/your mind, feel no better, and give yourself less time.

If you want to feel more refreshed and energised in your day, you need this one in your routine.

2. Don’t check your phone/email for 30 mins after waking up

You want to start your day off on your own terms, so stay away from your phone for that first 30 minutes of the day. Going on your phone as soon as you wake up is basically a roulette for what will be on there. You never know whether your timeline is full of good news or bad news. Whether it’s full of pictures/things you don’t want to see or think about.

Don’t let your mind be filled with someone else’s life, before you’ve even had a chance to wake up to your own.

Your mind first thing in the morning is precious, and often has a lot more ideas/positive thoughts in, than you may realise.

Give yourself the chances to feel how you truly feel and enjoy any positive thoughts and ideas that usually would be suppressed by scrolling social media or the news, before you’ve even properly woken up.

3. Make your bed

This is probably one you’ve heard before! It sounds so trivial but it helps more than you’d realise.

If you make your bed first thing in the morning, you’ve already accomplished something for the day! Not only this but once you’re then ready to go back to bed (or any time you walk into your bedroom during the day), the room looks a lot more put together and organised, which can make you feel instantly calmer.

4. Affirmations

Affirmations are a powerful thing. If you know anything about the Law of Attraction then you will have heard of affirmations. Saying affirmations (especially first thing in the morning), can instantly give yourself, your self esteem and your confidence a boost.

Stand in front of a mirror and tell yourself things – out loud.

Say things like:

I am worthy
I am wealthy
I am successful
I am happy
I am healthy

And watch and feel that boost in your body and mind.

Imagine the benefits you will get from flooding your mind with positive thoughts like these, instead of social media!

If you don’t want to say them outloud, writing them down can also work well!

5. Go Over Your Goals

Going over your goals is so important. Keeping it all very fresh in your mind about what you want, what you are aiming for, and who/where you want to be, gives you a good perspective and helps you make good decisions throughout the day. For example if your goal is to make more money (generally), then maybe focussing on work a little more. If your goal is to get healthier, reminding yourself of this may help encourage you to take that walk or cut out a little more junk food.

Keeping your goals close to mind, keeps you on track for where you are aiming for in life.

6. Do a Breathing Exercise

This is one of the most important ones if you ever wake up feeling stressed/anxious (this is something I’ve had my fair share of). You only need a few minutes, or even just one. Sit somewhere comfortable and focus on your breathing. Deep breaths in and out will make you feel a sense of calm. Some days will feel more hectic or stressful than others, a minute or two of calm can make such a difference.

7. Exercise

Movement can really wake your whole body up. It gets your blood pumping and heart rate up and gives you those feel good endorphins. Humans are designed to move. But it can be so easy to sit behind a screen without moving too much. Getting in even a small amount of exercise first thing in the morning can make you feel good and give you a boost of energy. Even just 10 minutes of dancing to some upbeat songs and you’ll feel great after!

8. Stretch

The whole point of creating your best morning routine, is finding things that suit you. So if full blown exercise first thing in the morning isn’t your thing – try some stretches! Stretching or Yoga can also wake your body up, but without the full on movement of a workout or dance routine. This is especially important if you spend a lot of time at a desk/looking at a screen.

9. Find a New Recipe

Maybe you’re a foodie! Maybe you even have a food/food related blog. Finding a new recipe in the morning you can cook that day could be the perfect inspiration for you to get your creative juices flowing. This will help you get out of a rut when it comes to meal time too, and is a bit of fun in the morning! Even if you prefer to meal prep, you can find and save new recipes and note down what ingredients you need on your shopping list!

10. Drink Water (with lemon)

We lose so much water when we sleep which can leave us more dehydrated than we realise. Getting into the habit of drinking a large glass of water in the morning is giving our bodies what they need. Lemon is a good thing to add as it’s full of antioxidants too!

Lemon juice I mean, not the whole lemon!

Being honest, I’m really not a fan of lemon, but the water is the important part here, the lemon would just be a bonus.

11. Have a tea or coffee

I think most people need tea or a coffee in the morning, so go ahead! My only recommendation here would be to drink the full glass of water as well (preferably before any caffeine).

Having that warm drink can also bring about a sense of calm, or be your “timer” for doing another task, for example, reading…

12. Read

Bet you never saw this one coming!

Reading some pages of a book can be a lovely way to start the day.The dangerous trap here is that you spend a lot longer reading than you mean to. This is why having some sort of timer is good, be it a set amount of songs in the background, a physical timer, or the length of time it takes to drink your drink in the morning.

If you read a personal development or book on a topic you love, it can be a great with to kick start your morning.

13. Have a shower

Having a shower may seem too obvious to even be listed. But the best morning routine for you is most likely made up of some elements you are doing already. If you have ever struggled with waking up in the morning, or struggled to get yourself feeling up to facing the day, this is one step not to skip.

There’s something about a warm shower with some amazing smelling products that can really lift your mood and freshen your mood up for the new day. Even if you plan to spend the day in comfy clothes and not doing a huge amount (hello lockdown), having a shower first thing in the morning will set you up for the day.

14. Multitask While Brushing Your Teeth

You brush your teeth (hopefully) twice a day. Only 2 minutes a time, but that’s nearly half an hour a week. Try squatting or balancing on one leg for the teeth brushing duration, or put a happy song on to help lift your spirits.

This is a super quick way to help boost your mood and energy levels, but without adding on any extra time to your mornings.

Please be careful if you decide to dance about with a toothbrush in your mouth though!

15. Meditate

Meditation is one of the best ways to clear your mind. Alone meditation can be daunting as (assuming you’re like me) you had/have no clue what you were doing. How are we supposed to know what to do, how to sit, or even how to breathe?

Guided Meditation is the answer.

There are a lot of guided meditations on YouTube. Search for one you like the sound of, that’s the sort of length that suits you (even start with one just a few minutes long), and let them guide you through it.

The first couple of times you try this you probably won’t zone out much at all, but once you get into the habit of it and have done it a few times, you will realise that you start to notice a big difference. You will start to realise that you look forward to this time as you have this few precious minutes of your day with no – or a lot fewer – intrusive thoughts.

If you stuffer (or have suffered) with stress (guilty), anxiety (guilty), depression (guilty), or any other mental health problem, I would highly suggest trying to fit meditation into your day.

It doesn’t even need to be in the morning, but scheduling it into your morning routine gives you a set time to sit down and meditate. Before the day starts and all the overwhelm from life sets in.

16. Morning Pages/Write

Morning Pages are where you take a notebook and when you wake up (within the first 30 mins or so), you write down whatever is in your head. Anything and everything. Writing 3 pages of thoughts, directly from a fresh mind, can be the most amazing way to not only clear your mind, but to come out with ideas you didn’t even know were in there!

Doing this as early in the morning as possible means you give your mind the opportunity to produce the amazing thoughts and ideas you didn’t even know were in there.

The other benefit is to get all thoughts out your head that are just taking up space. All those niggly little thoughts of things you “should” be doing, that serve no purpose other than to waste your brainpower, get them out your head. Write them down. Bin them if needs be!

Clearing your head is so beneficial, it helps give you more of a blank canvas for the day.

And you never know just what amazing ideas pop up too!

17. Gratitude

Being grateful is one of the best feelings you can have. A step to include when making your best morning routine is to be grateful. Be grateful for anything and everything. Either time yourself to feel truly grateful for a set time (even a minute), or list a set amount of thing – maybe 10.

Say them outloud if you can, be as open as possible and really feel what you’re saying.

You cannot feel gratitude and unhappiness at the same time.

They can coexist in your mind and in your day, but at the time of feeling truly grateful, this is all you will feel.

The more grateful for things you are, the happier you will be.

It doesn’t have to be astounding things, even just the fact you woke up, that you have a comfy bed, that you got a full night’s sleep, that you had the resources to make that warm drink.

Take the time to truly feel that gratitude, and notice more things to be grateful for, coming into your days.

It’s recommended to take time to be grateful before bed also. But practicing this at least once a day, you will start to feel the benefits.

18. Take supplements

I am not a medical expert so please always ask your Doctor before starting anything new!

Supplements are one of those things that if you get the combination right, you’re onto a winner.

Working out what your body is lacking and then topping those vitamins and minerals back up can really make you feel better.

It won’t make much of a difference overnight, but once into the habit after a month or so, you should start to notice the benefits of them.

You may not realise the difference they are making to you as they can take a bit of time to really get into your system, but, like me, you’ll notice if you stop taking them!

19. Listen to a Podcast or Motivational Video

If your goal in making the best morning routine for you is to give you a boost and fill your mind with the right things first thing in the morning, then you need this step.

There are so so many motivational speakers, life coaches, personal development gurus and all round incredible people in the world. Listening, learning, and taking in what they have to say, is such a smart move.

Have a search on YouTube/Spotify for a topic you want to improve in your own life, and absorb that video/audio.

I could listen to these for hours – and often do! But just take that 10 minutes in the morning – even while doing something else – and notice your mood shift.

Later in the day you can always put more/a longer one. Even while doing dishes, doing your makeup, cleaning, or while in the car. Giving yourself that 10 mins in the morning just guarantees you have listened to something positive that will benefit your whole being, even if the rest of the day escapes you.

20. Get Fresh Air/Sunshine

Sunshine is magical. There is no doubt about that.

Getting some sunshine onto your face in the morning can really help wake you up and feel calm. Sitting out in the sun to have your water/coffee or to read/journal would be absolutely ideal here. If you live in a warmer climate then I would encourage you to do this if you don’t do this already!

This can be a trickier one for those of us in colder climates, eg SCOTLAND (where I am). We don’t get much sunshine lol. Sometimes we get good summers and can get some amazing winter sunshine, but it’s not quite the same lol.

In this case I would recommend getting some fresh air. Even on a day you don’t fancy leaving the house, open some windows and really get some fresh air in.

Go for a walk, and take in the sounds of nature.

Even the biggest introverts (hello *raises hand*) need fresh air, and really the more the merrier.

On the topic of sunshine, you could get yourself a “sunshine lamp”. These are lamps that mimic daylight/sunlight and can give you that boost in the morning. Of course it’s never as good as the real thing, but I love mine. You just pop it on in the morning close to your face and absorb its goodness.

21. Get Yourself a Skincare Routine

My advice with this one is not to overwhelm yourself if this isn’t something that’s a part of your routine already. You probably see people online with the most wonderful elaborate skincare routines, but you can have your own including just a few products.

Choose products that you enjoy using that suit your skin. It doesn’t have to be more than 2 or 3 things. You can always add to it once it’s a habit, but making it have 8+ products in may make you feel a little overwhelmed if it’s not a set part of your day as it is.

Pick a couple, and tell yourself you will use these every morning for a month, and then see the difference. You may very well find you enjoy this part of your routine and really start looking forward to it – especially once you see a difference in your own skin.

Keeping hydrating and drinking that water will help your skin look plump and smooth also!

22. Make Yourself Smell Good

It’s been proven that when we smell nice things, it lifts our mood.

This is only a 2 second step. You can add this into whatever else you choose to add into your own best morning routine, but giving yourself a quick spritz of perfume or some form of fragrance can really make you feel more put together.

Even your favourite essential oil! Something that you think smells incredible, wear this.

Doesn’t matter if you aren’t going out the house that day, having that fragrance around you all day means you will keep getting little wafts of it and it’s like lots of mini mood boosters throughout your day.

23. Eat Something Healthy

Having a healthy and nutritious breakfast is so important. If you fill your body full of sugar and processed foods first thing in the morning, you will feel sluggish and end up having a sugar crash before the day has even really begun!

If you don’t have the time or don’t want to cook in the morning, you can grab some fruit or make up something like overnight oats. You just make them the night before and can grab it straight out the fridge whenever you want it.

Oats are supposed to help keep your stress levels down too. Always a win for busy days!

24. Prioritise Tasks For The Day

Make up a To-Do list for the day if you haven’t done one already. Prioritise tasks you want to get done first and then focus on these.

Life can be busy and unexpected things can pop up at any moment. Getting the most important tasks done first means that no matter what happens for the rest of the day, you have still got done what you set out to do.

It doesn’t matter whether you prefer to write out a daily to do list just for that day or have an ongoing to do list. Star 2 or 3 important things that you definitely want to get done that day, and focus on these first.

25. Clean Something

From the off I am aware this doesn’t sound like much of a fun task to get out of bed in the morning! But hear me out…

Some people love cleaning, others… not so much.

If you take just 15 minutes in the morning to clean something in the house, after a week that’s nearly 2 hours cleaning done!

Knowing you only have to clean for 15 minutes makes it so much more bearable. Especially if you are the type who gets overwhelmed easily.

Set a timer, or use this time to listen to your motivational video, and once that 15 minutes is up – you’re done!

This may not be the most fun option on this list, but it gives you a sense of accomplishment. It makes it easier to stay on top of the cleaning in your home without feeling like a mammoth task.

26. Do Something Fun

If even after all of these suggestions you are still thinking that there isn’t one thing there that really would make you want to get out of bed earlier, do something fun.

What are your hobbies? What do you enjoy?

Choose to spend a short amount of time on something you love doing that you find really enjoyable. Use this as your motivation to get up earlier, where you can then fit some more of the steps above in.

The most important part of creating your best morning routine is that it’s what’s best for YOU.

This doesn’t have to be your “forever” routine. It can be added to, things can be changed, times changed, or any other modification you like.

It’s HAVING the morning routine and a set set of actions that you do in the morning that will mean your morning is on your terms, not someone else’s.

Speak soon!