The best morning routine (Less than 15 minutes)

You’re ready to reset with the best morning routine. As a busy person, it feels like time is tight in the AM, but you also know creating a morning ritual will have a great, positive impact on your entire day.

Thankfully, you don’t need a 60-minute yoga class or hour-long meditation to kickstart energy and productivity.

In this blog, we’ll share:

Clear steps to a healthy morning routine
The 30-second method to energize your day, beautifully
What you should NEVER do in the first 10 minutes of your day
How to make a morning routine stick
Easy ways to simplify “getting ready” in the morning

Clear steps to a healthy morning routine

With kids, a job or the long To-Do list, you may not feel there’s an hour or two to devote to carving out zen morning time.

That’s why we’re sharing simple actions you can apply quickly and easily. The few steps below can add up to take under 15 minutes.

A 30-second method to energize your day, beautifully

Upon first waking up, here’s a super simple way to check in with gratitude (that doesn’t involve a long chanting meditation).

Before you even open your eyes, think about 3 things you're grateful for.

These can be the smallest of gratitudes, such as:

How soft the sheets are
The fact you’re awake, alive and breathing
You have a roof over your head
There’s something you’re looking forward to today, like lunch with a friend or your morning latte

The big M word

We know you’ve heard about the benefits of meditation before, but here’s why it’s so important to be incorporated into a morning routine specifically. When you meditate:

The pituitary gland releases endorphins, which are correlated with positivity
You start your day off from a place of calm instead of flight or fight
Visualization helps you see how you want to lead the day instead of reacting as if the day is happening to you

This new habit doesn’t have to be a big, complicated beast of a ritual. Instead, try meditating even for only 3 - 4 minutes to begin. A few options include:

Set a timer and count your breaths
Download a meditation app where you’re guided through the experience

For inspiration, here are renowned icons who meditate regularly:

Arianna Huffington
Oprah Winfrey
Bill Gates
Will Smith
Kobe Bryant

These are only a few examples but show truly how great this step is for a productive morning routine.

Before getting out of bed, do THIS

The night before, place a glass or bottle of water by your bed.

Upon waking up, after having your “I’m so thankful!” moments, reach for the water. Drink all of it before getting out of bed.

There’s science to drinking water first thing in the morning.

Here’s why this is one of the best healthy morning routine tips. Water helps with:

Alertness

Many reach for coffee in the morning when it’s likely fatigue is at least partially due to dehydration. Replenish water, and you may be surprised how much more awake you feel.

Breakfast

Some studies show drinking water before breakfast reduce calorie intake (In one study? Consuming agua reduced the breakfast calories by 13%)

Metabolism

Water helps to kickstart the metabolism and when done first thing in the morning, this is helping the metabolism the entire day.

Fantastic skin

Drinking water first thing in the morning also helps flush away toxins that help lead to cystic acne and other skin troubles.
**Here are other ways to easily and quickly get skin more clear and glowing.

Pull out a notebook

Many productive morning routine practicers find that writing helps their brain release thoughts and stay present. After all, when scribbling out your thoughts, it’s hard to worry about what someone has posted on social media.

This doesn’t have to be a long journal session. Try writing for at least 3 minutes. This can be whatever comes to mind, free flow style.

Move your body, even for a few minutes

You don’t have to workout for a long time to get incredible benefits. Even briefly moving your body in the morning makes a massive difference to your daily health and energy.

Here are easy ways to get your body moving, without any trip to the gym:

Do jumping jacks to get the heart pumping
Perform 6 - 10 yoga sun salutations
Do squats, even right next to your bed

If you have time to incorporate a longer regime, such as a power walk, 30 minute yoga session, cycling or other, that’s fantastic, of course.

THE STEPS ABOVE CAN TAKE ONLY 15 MINUTES

30 seconds of gratitude
Drink water
3 - 4 minutes of meditation
3 - 4 minutes of journaling
5 minutes to move body, whether sun salutations, jumping jacks or otherwise

All that is under 15 minutes but if you keep up with the routine, you’ll likely be fascinated by the difference in as little as a few weeks.

**Side note: If you start waking up earlier and find you look quite tired at first?!

Here’s how to look more awake (even after almost no sleep).

What you should NEVER do in the first 10 minutes of your day

The fastest way to diminish morning focus, clarity, joy and productivity? Your phone.

Recommendation: Do NOT check your phone until your morning ritual is accomplished.

Here’s why.

Once you look at your phone, a few things tend to happen:

You see requests from friends, loved ones or work - Immediately, you’re feeling pulled to things you “need” or “supposed to do” before getting clear on what you want your day to look like
If you check social media, it’s easy to start the day comparing yourself to others instead of turning inward and feeling gratitude

Once you’ve walked through a few points you're grateful for, done some big inhales, moved your body and/or journaled, your brain is rooted and able to tackle the demands with a more calm, less overwhelmed perspective.

How to make a morning routine stick

You may have tried to start a productive morning routines before, so you’re feeling a bit skeptical about making it stick. Here are ways to make sure these morning habits are long-term.

Pick your wake uptime

If you get up at the same time every day, your body will find it easier and easier to get up without snoozing. In fact, many who stick to one time naturally wake up without an alarm.

The first few days or even weeks may be challenging, but opening your eyes will get easier.

The average time to form a habit is 66 days.

For some it’s weeks less and others more. If you can committ to waking up at the same time and following your rituals for about 2 months, you may be incredibly surpised how routine the mprning becomes.

Tell your spouse/partner/family

If you live with other people, especially if you share a room or bed, share that you are creating a new morning routine and why.

If you commit to meditating and journaling, it can be hard if your spouse starts opening their phone and bringing up today’s news first. Share your boundaries and ask they respect them.

Morning habits that speed up “getting ready”

You want more time to meditate, work out or journal vs. excess time on getting your face and hair ready for the day. Here are two simple ways to maximize getting ready time.

Plan out breakfast the night before

If there’s no plan for breakfast, it’s easy to be in the kitchen and suddenly 15 minutes deep into deciding what to make. This time takes mental energy, as well as time and often adds stress.

There’s a simple solution.

The evening before, plan and do any prep possible before going to bed. This may be:

Putting together a bowl of overnight oats, ready to eat in the morning
Prepare a tub of yogurt *such as coconut yogurt* with fruit and nuts
A smoothie: You can prep the ingredients the night before, so they’re easy to pop into the blender first thing in the morning

Condense your skin routine

Here’s the perfect place to spend more time focused on rooting down through meditation, gratitude and - an all natural skincare regiment.

Rather than put together several serums, creams and toners, try an all-in-one vegan moisturizer that tones and heals as it hydrates.

(Plus, after grounding down through such calming, centering practices, you want to treat your skin to natural decadence - rather than chemical-packed creams.)