how and why i create morning routine

Perhaps my best tips ever for living an exceptional life root themselves in the morning routine. I’m not a true member of the 5 am Club, because I get up at 5:30, but I can say the morning is magic. How your morning unfolds can either set your entire day up for success or complete failure. The cool thing is, you choose.

My morning routine actually begins before I even go to sleep at night. I take a few minutes to brain dump. This involves writing down the 3 most important things that need to be done the next day. It’s helpful to get them out of your mind and onto paper. I do this for 2 categories usually - 1 for my business and 2 for my household. It looks something like this: 

Business:

1. Write Blog post on Gut health 

2. Rent event space for retreat

3. Prepare/practice  for hormone class

Household:

1. Call dentist and reschedule appointments

2. Thaw chickens for BBQ

3. Send permission slips and $ to school 

Simply writing down the things that absolutely need done the next day takes them out of my mind and reduces the stress of carrying them and the pressure of forgetting. Try it. I am confident you will experience the power of releasing the task from your mind and in turn, sleep will come easier. When you wake up, your list will be ready for you. This also frees your mind from having to recall “what was it that I needed to do?” Which wastes energy. According to this article, we think between 60,000 and 80,000 thoughts per day. If we can reduce the amount of brain power used on recall, we can be more productive in our day.

Other pro tips for creating a morning routine:

1. Get up early. Since starting this post, I began to get up at 5, which gives me 2 solid hours of quiet before my kids need to begin getting ready for school. It’s super productive time because my brain and body are rested. 

2. Anchor the habit. One of the first things I do in the morning - right after I make coffee of course - is create an aromatic anchor for my day. 4 drops of motivate essential oil in my diffuser triggers my brain that it is time to get to work. I set the diffuser for 2 hours and I know when it goes off, it is time for a break. This helps me stay focused, not use my phone for a clock - which then leads to distraction, and form new neuropathways that encourage productivity and success.

Check out my post on habits of a high performer (coming soon) for more tips!