A little Self-Care to Get your Day Started Right

How you start your day matters?

We all have that friend who stays up too late vegging on Netflix, only to wake in a rush, slam an oversized energy soda, and fly out the door in a whirlwind — leaving any chance for reflection and preparation — self-care — among the morning rubble.

Brushing teeth and putting on deodorant completely optional.

Beginning your day intentionally prepares you for the hundred different scenarios waiting to play out as soon as you walk out your front door. And ** hint, hint ** your morning routine begins the night before. 

Whether you consider yourself a morning person or not, here are five tips to help you start a morning routine that will help you connect with your best self:

5 Tips to Starting your Day for Success

Turn-in On Time: Every great day begins the night before. Unlike our “friend” above, an effective morning routine starts by turning in on time; exactly what time is up to you, as long as you’re getting enough sleep to awake rested and ready to go. Public Enemy number 1 to a good night’s sleep? Doom scrolling. Put your phone down and allow your body to follow its natural circadian rhythm.

• Avoid doom scrolling through your social media feeds before bed. Blue light and a spinning mind are not conducive to drifting off to dreamland.

Don’t Hit Snooze: It’s tempting. It’s easy. It’s your morning lifeline. But training yourself to get up when your alarm starts jingling is critical to living intentionally. Get up with a purpose. If necessary, put your phone across the room on a dresser so you’re forced to get up to turn it off. Once you’re up, stay up.

• If you use your phone as your alarm clock, place it across the room so you’re forced to get up to stop its incessant beeping.

Give Yourself Enough Time: What time do you need to be to the office? How much time to you need to get the kids to school? Whatever you have planned, give yourself enough time in the morning to ease into your day. Beginning your day in a rush of stress and panic makes it hard to kick that fight-or-flight feeling and focus on accomplishing all that lies ahead.

• Avoid starting your day in a state of stress or panic by giving yourself plenty of time in the morning.

Make Time for Breakfast: The word itself is self-explanatory. It’s time to ‘break’ your overnight ‘fast.’ Speed up your metabolism in the morning with a healthy breakfast. And if your workout happens in the morning, grab an apple or banana to fuel your fitness. Setting the tone with a healthy breakfast makes it easier to stick to your lunch and dinner meal plan.

• Set the tone for your day with a healthy breakfast.