Routines often get a bad rap. 

Particularly when you feel like it’s going to restrict your spontaneity and freedom. But the opposite is actually true. 

Routines give your brain something to rely on and help to prevent decision fatigue. So you actually have MORE mental space for the things  that truly matter. 

Your brain has a limited capacity for decision making. So creating routines around the things that are most important to YOU helps to create TIME and SPACE for the important things that make you feel happy and fulfilled in your life. 

Different seasons of life, different goals, different personalities, there are a million and one reasons why my daily routine is going to look different from yours, but that’s the BEST part. . .your routines get to look however you want them to!

The standard definition of routine is: “a usual order and way of doing something, or as an adverb “a series of things that are repeated as part of a regular procedure.” 

I’m a big fan of morning routines, because well, that’s when the day starts!  

And whether you’ve intentionally created it or not, you do SOMETHING every morning. 

Creating a routine around it just helps to ensure that you’re staying focused on the RIGHT things. 

A solid morning routine helps reset your body’s circadian rhythms, gives your energy levels a major boost, improves your mood and ensures that you are the one in control of your day rather than letting your day just take you wherever it’s going to go!  

SET THE RIGHT TONE 

How you start your day sets the tone.

Waking up in a rush to get out the door more often than not, will leave you feeling anxious and overwhelmed all day long. 

So the purpose of a morning routine is just to bring a little more intention to your morning so you can start your day from a place of calm and groundedness instead of feeling like you’re never going to catch up. 

BUILD THE RIGHT ROUTINE 

Even the most spontaneous of humans thrive with SOME kind of routine in their life.

The first (and arguably most important step) to building the right routine, is to know where you’re going. Just like the wise old Cheshire cat said, “if you don’t know where you’re going, any path will get you there.” 

So. . . know where you are going! 

What’s your WHY? 

Grab a notebook and take 5 minutes to write down 3 words that describe how you want your days to FEEL. 

Because when you clarify the WHY, the HOW becomes a whole lot easier. 

And that’s the real secret! 

To create a morning routine that lasts, it has to be flexible and based on YOUR own needs, not anyone else’s!

KNOW YOURSELF

It comes down to knowing yourself too. 

We are all wired a little differently and while I (and maybe you?) work best in the mornings, the research shows that most of us really do fall into one of two camps: we are either morning people OR we are night people. 

Gretchen Rubin, author of The Four Tendencies, refers to morning people  as "Larks" and night people as "Owls.” 

Night people often already run off of a more non-traditional schedule. So things like work and school are early enough. And any efforts to get up even earlier to write, meditate, exercise, etc. often just aren’t successful. 

So the time of day that you do your routine doesn't matter as much as figuring out what works best for YOU and your life and then building your routine around that. 

For me, waking up earlier than the rest of my household gives me some time to myself and is a really great way to catch up on projects before the busyness of my day starts. 

But you absolutely will not find me spending HOURS on the perfect instagram influencer morning routine. A few breaths, some scribbles in my gratitude journal and lot’s of water are my non-negotiables. Anything beyond that is all a bonus. 

There is no such thing as the perfect morning routine, only one that is perfect for YOU.

CREATE A BETTER MORNING ROUTINE

When creating your own morning routine, here are 5 important reminders: 

1. Resist the urge to go big.

   Seriously, you do not have to do ALL THE THINGS. Choose ONE thing. Take 5 minutes. You really don’t have to go big or be so extreme in your efforts. We’ve been conditioned to think that we have to go big or it doesn’t count, but that mentality often keeps us stuck and in these endless cycles of stopping and starting. And feeling guilty about all of it. So instead, start with embarrassingly small changes. Start too small to fail. 

2. Shift your identity.

   Who do you have to become to reach your goals? And how can you start showing up as that person now? You want to run 5 miles every morning? Would you stay up late drinking wine or prioritize getting to bed early so you feel energized in the morning? Make your decisions to support your goals, and how you want to feel.  

3. What things can you do NOW to make it easier LATER?

   Or as I like to think of it, “what can night Ashley do for morning Ashley?” Get the coffee pot ready? Pack lunches. Pre-chop veggies for dinner? Think about the times during your day that are easy to feel overwhelmed and then brainstorm little ways to make things a little easier. 

4. Set up your environment to support the habits you want to create.

   Research shows us that at least 50% of human behavior is habitual. Habits are just the things that we repeat often enough that they eventually become routine. Use this to your advantage!  Something as simple as setting out your clothes and leaving your running shoes by the door the night before makes it that much easier for you to actually get out the door for your run or walk in the morning. You’d literally have to trip over your shoes and make the conscious decision not to go. 

5. Let it be easy.

   Whether it’s a habit you want to break or one you’d like to create, LET IT BE EASY. Stay focused on the things that matter to you and create the rituals and routines that work for the most exhausted version of yourself, not your most motivated self. 

GETTING STARTED

Remember this is about creating the routines that best suit YOU and YOUR life, not the ones that you think you “should” be doing. 

I know it’s tempting, but just because someone else wakes up at 4am to meditate and read and workout does NOT mean that that’s what your morning routine needs to look like. 

When you are first starting out, it’s totally normal not to know where to start OR even what works best. It’s ok to try on a few different routines before you figure out the ones that are best for you. 

Just remember to start small, stay focused on the things that matter, and celebrate all of your wins along the way! 

Here’s to creating calmer mornings on your terms!