“Morning is an important time of day, because how you spend your morning can often tell you what kind of day you’re going to have.” — Daniel Handler
 
We all know how what we do in the morning can influence our mood and focus for the rest of our day. If you’ve ever snoozed majorly through your alarm, rushed to get wherever you need to go and spent your morning in a panicky, fight-or-flight mess, you’ll know how that can then seep into the rest of your day, where everything else just seems to fall flat or go wrong. 
 
On the other hand, when you allow space in your morning to do the activities you need to look after yourself, you’ve probably noticed how this boosted your emotional state and increased your productivity for the rest of the day. 
 
You can’t pour from an empty cup. Looking after yourself and your health as a priority each and every day is what allows us to show up for our commitments and live up to our potential. If you’re wondering how you can make the most of your morning routine, or perhaps you’re completely new to the concept and want to discover how you can set one up, then read on for some ideas to help you build a balanced morning routine that will set you up for the rest of the day.
 
Hydrate First Thing
After many hours of no fluids while you sleep, your body is in serious need of hydration to deliver to all of your cells! If you feel like stepping it up a notch, add a squeeze of lemon juice to give you a boost of Vitamin C and kick-start digestion or even better- get your hands on some high-quality electrolytes for hydration with an added boost of minerals.
 
Get Outside
It’s easy to wake up and be instantly flooded with your to-do list for the day and thoughts about work, invoking your fight-or-flight response. Instead of soaking up stress in your morning and then taking that into the rest of your day, get outside into nature to help your body relax into para-sympathetic mode. Studies show that a mere twenty-minute nature experience is enough to significantly reduce cortisol (our stress hormone), helping you get into a state of calm as you start your day. Whether you want to walk, run or just sit and eat some breakfast, get that sunshine on your face and breathe in the fresh air. 
 
Stretch Your Body 
Give your body all those yummy feels before jumping into your day with a quick yoga routine or stretch. Even just 5 minutes can make the difference and there’s plenty of inspo you can find free on You Tube. There are a number of benefits to stretching, and we should all be doing it alongside our workouts, but stretching first thing in the morning can help relieve any tension from sleep and get that blood flowing, helping prime your body for the day ahead. 
 
Enjoy A Moment of Presence
In our busy modern lives with inboxes that seem to be filling up endlessly, it can be extremely difficult to carve out time that’s just for you to take a few deep breaths and simply be present. Doing some sort of mindfulness activity in the morning may be the only part of your day where you get to enjoy some quiet alone time, and mindfulness has been shown to help boost your memory and cognitive performance, as well as help you maintain a balanced emotional state and increase focus throughout the day. Mindfulness doesn’t just have to be meditation — check out these different activities that you can do to practise being present. Even something as simple as listening to some music that calms or inspires you while you take a shower or do your morning skin-care routine could be enough.
 
Stay Off Your Phone
We know it can be oh so tempting to just take a little peek at that iPhone screen and check your Instagram comments — I mean, what if something has happened overnight that needs our (not so) urgent attention?! Absorbing all that noise and information gets our acute stress response firing, so maintain a state of calm and peace for an hour or two, or at least until you absolutely have to switch on, by keeping your phone tucked away in a corner or on flight mode for a set period of time. All those messages will be there for you when you’re feeling ready to take them on AFTER you’ve had some time for yourself!
 
Do What You Enjoy
Entrepreneurs and wellness influencers alike all love to share their morning routines and what works for them, and it’s easy to get caught up in what the Gary V’s of the world are doing. It’s important to incorporate activities that you actually like into your morning routine — for example, even if that model swears by heading to the gym at 5am, you might actually prefer to go for a jog on your lunch break and spend your morning doing something else. Enjoyment will not only make you much more likely to stick to your habits, but the whole point of a morning routine is to get you into a good mood, which won’t be achieved if you’re spending it inwardly groaning.
 
Plan Ahead
So, you’re feeling in a state of calm and happiness by having a solid morning routine — but then what about the rest of your day? Sitting down with a pen and paper and writing out a list of your priorities and tasks you need to tick off will give you a good structure to get started and help you stay on-track throughout the day. When you clearly prioritise and strategise ahead, you’ll be more likely to stay on course despite those little things that creep up throughout the work day. 
 
 
Want more articles like this one as well as What's New, What's On, and What's Hot in the world of wellness? Sign up to receive our Weekly Wrap for a curated selection of the latest and greatest each week.