Morning Routines

I think all of us go from being morning people as kids to night owls as teens. I certainly have. That said, most of my fondest memories were with my brother during our morning routines before the sun rose.

Here are some of my past morning routines, my current one at aged 15, and my advice on building your own based on my experience.

My morning routine before age 15:

Monkey Morning (with my brother during the holiday):

1. Listen to a lullaby (We just did, I have no idea why, but it just became tradition)

2. Meditate

3. Do an hour of exercise (I usually did something for rowing)

4. Cold shower

5. Continue the day

   
   

My aged 15 morning routine for productivity and mood-boosting :

1. Wake at 5:15 am with a calming song. (Apple allows this on the clock app)

2. Cold shower. Commit

3. Have a delicious breakfast or revise some work for the day

4. Make a coffee or green tea

5. Prepare your kit for the day

6. Leave for school and zone out to some Lo-Fi on the drive to school.

Try this once, that's all I ask. That day you have revised 30mins more than your peers, had a substantial breakfast and caffeinated effectively. In a year you've clocked 182 hours more than everyone else.

My age 18 routine: I do this on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.:

1. Wake up at 6:40 (much more reasonable)

2. Meditate

3. Run

4. Cold shower

5. Drink a bottle of water

6. Get ready for school

   
   

There are obviously some common factors that worked for me. I always need something spiritual in the mornings (it was meditation for me, but you could pray or sit outside for 10 min and breathe in the air). I always had some type of exercise (usually cardio to get the blood flowing). I always had a cold shower (it is just so great at getting rid of groggyness).

Although you may find yourself enjoying your morning routine as I do, the hardest part of any morning routine by far is getting out of bed. You will find yourself making excuses when your alarm goes off or deciding that you didn’t get enough sleep. Here are a few solutions for you:

• Not getting enough sleep is never an excuse, because most of the time it is you that stayed up on your phone too late (you can nap later in the day if you need to).

• Get a buddy to join you on your morning routine (can be a sibling, a friend, or a parent). You will be much more motivated to wake up when you or your friend/brother is texting you or pulling your duvet off you.

• Put your phone or alarm out of reach from your bed so that you are forced to get out of bed when it rings. This is extremely powerful and I used it to wake up at 4:40am every day during grade 10 to work.

In terms of creating a morning routine, make sure to be reasonable with what you decide to do, because the goal is to be consistent. Also do some research into the morning routines of people you look up to, you might find cool ideas there. Just make sure that you create something meaningful, get enough sleep before forcing yourself to wake up, and stay consistent with your routine. You will feel the benefits after the first morning.