Improvements to My Morning Routine

We all have things we can work on, and my morning routine is definitely at the top of my “to be improved” list. I’m a big believer in healthy routines, but creating consistency with them hasn’t been my strong suit.

I mean, you know your morning routine need an overhaul when the first thing you do when you wake up is check Instagram. Let’s just say I’m a work in progress.

How to Make Changes to Your Routines

When looking at my morning routine, all is not lost. I’ve had a lot of success changing my behaviors in the past and starting to shake up my morning routine hasn’t been much different than starting to stick to a budget or creating a new process in my business.

Whenever I try to create new habits, I’ve found two things really helpful. The first step is to write them down so you can see them together and put them out in the world. Keep these somewhere you’ll see them so they’re always front and center in your mind. For a morning routine, a Post-it on the bathroom mirror or on your bedside table would work.

The second step is to track routines to start to make them a consistent habit. They say it takes about two months of consistently behaving a certain way to make it a habit. Use a habit tracker or calendar to check off the days you’ve completed your routine.

New Additions to My Routine

While I’m still working at it, a few new recent additions to my morning routine has definitely improved how I start my day. Here’s what I’ve recently added to the mix.

Morning Routine

1. Waking Up Earlier
   While I’ve always been an early riser, I used to either wake up on my own or when my kids woke me up. This was a really bad set up to a consistent routine, since I never had the same amount of time to work with. Now I’m up at about 5 a.m. every day and can plan on about an hour and a half before my kids get up and we go into “get ready for school” mode (a.k.a. me reminding them to do the same five things every single day).
   
   It’s been so much easier waking up since Chris got us this new alarm clock. I absolutely made fun of it at first since it’s completely enormous, mimics the sun and starts playing New Age music. (No joke.) But I have to admit, waking up early feels so much more pleasant and natural. The entire day just starts better.
   
   After my fake sun rises, I have my coffee, create my daily to-do list, check my calendars to mentally prepare for what’s ahead and check Instagram. If I have a lot of work on my plate, I might get a quick work project in. If it’s a quieter morning, I may read a few chapters of a book. Whatever I do, I feel like I accomplished something before the day has truly begun.
   
   
2. Water, Vitamins and Equilibria
   A new addition to my pre-kids wake-up routine above is to drink water (which I’m terrible at) and take my vitamins, thyroid medication and Equilibria. Equilibria is a female-founded company based in Chicago that makes CBD products geared toward improving the lives of women. I started taking it about a month or two ago when I heard about it from Jess Keys, but wasn’t consistent with it at first. Once I started using it more, I started to see my anxiety level off slightly and am excited to see the long-term effects of using it more. I use the capsules in the morning and the oil at night. To be perfectly honest, I resisted using the oil at first because I don’t love the taste, but they just came out with new oil flavors that I will definitely be ordering.
   
   
3. Peloton Workouts
   Knowing what my calendar and to-do list looks like, I’m able to get the kids ready for school and as soon as they’re off (and if I don’t have a meeting) I work out. Weather-permitting I’ll go on a run with my friend Katie following a Peloton outdoor run, otherwise, I do a Peloton ride on the bike at home.
   
   We got the Peloton last fall, and I’m obsessed. The app is awesome and Katie and I are able to do so much more with the runs when we’re following an instructor. I also love my indoor rides, especially the ones with Ally Love – she’s so motivating! What I love most is that I can get a workout done so efficiently without going to a gym. Since my workday is so short (I usually break at 3 pm to pick the girls up at school), I love getting a good 30-minute workout in and then moving on with my day.
   
   
4. Beauty Counter
   Most of you know I am not a beauty expert. But this is why I love Beauty Counter. I know that when I buy a regimen set that it has everything I need and that it’s clean. I don’t have to think that my morning or evening skincare routine is missing anything. For makeup, they also have a Flawless in Five package that is pretty much the make-up for dummies set that I need.

So, while I still have a lot of room for improvement, I love these new additions to my morning routine and am definitely feeling like I’m on the path to a better morning, which then helps out my entire day! What’s your favorite part of your morning routine?