A morning routine begins the night before— A full stomach, a warm bed, a clean face and body, a book, a drawing, deep breaths. [This is the fastest way for me to fall asleep.]
My ears wake before my eyes. I ask my body what she needs. [Sometimes she needs to linger in bed, sometimes she needs to wake up and pee.]
I drink water. I pet the dog. [It’s an attempt to stay off my phone right when I wake up, but I have compassion if my lizard brain goes straight for the phone.]
I start slowly, journaling, sipping coffee. Yoga is a must, as I thank my body for carrying me through the night. I thank my breath for always returning. [Mornings are my favorite time of day; there's something beautiful about each day being brand new.]
I’ve begun speaking out loud “Today is a good day. I have love to give. I have a place to live. I have so many opportunities. Anything can happen.” Call it a prayer; call it a mantra. [This keeps me in an open posture, whether I’ve woken up early or late, whether I’ve spent “too long” scrolling on my phone. Again, it’s an act of self-compassion.]
My default breakfast is soft scrambled eggs on buttered toast with Earl Grey or Chai tea on the side. I could eat this every day, so almost always do. [Some mornings, I don’t eat breakfast at all because I don’t feel hungry. I just wait until lunch to consume leftovers from the night before.]
This is the best part of the morning: getting dressed and doing my makeup and hair. [I anticipate this moment of self-expression and bringing my internal mood, external. I have so many options as a Flamboyant Gamine for communicating my heart through style.]
I post on IG, then walk the dog to get away from obsessively checking my phone. Then, get to work on what I have planned. I do my best to avoid overwhelm when it comes to my work. I give myself three major tasks to complete, anything else that gets done is a bonus. [I’m an Enneagram 9, so I need simple methods like this to prioritize, avoiding non-essential tasks and procrastination.]
And that’s it! These are the major components of a mindful morning practice for me. The order may change or time spent in each “activity” may fluctuate, but this is what the morning usually looks like for me. Check out the video below to see an actual morning of mine and more in depth perspective of why these practices are important to me.
I work from home and have some flexibility in when I start on projects and videos. If you have a 9-5 kind of life, maybe consider incorporating aspects of this routine into your morning, or consider how to make your weekends or days-off more intentional.