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Have you ever heard the phrase "Set yourself up for success"?

That is exactly what I'm doing with my morning routine. I'm setting myself up for success for the rest of the day!

Some morning routines are more effective or efficient than others and the things I do may not align with what you enjoy.

In this blog post, I want to not only share my own morning routine centred around productivity, but I also want to help you customize your own morning routine that works best for you, ups your happiness, and aligns with your goals.

I'll also go over the multiple different habits you can do and the desired effects they give.

You can set up your morning routine to give you whatever effect you want.

Mine is productivity, but yours can also be made to enhance your creativity, positivity, motivation, or any number of other things you want in your day.

Pick a few feelings you want to enhance in your daily life and build your morning routine around them!

Let's get into the different activities you can add to your morning that can help you achieve the effect you desire.

How to Make a Productive Morning Routine

Are you a morning or evening person?

Do you enjoy waking up early or staying up late?

Although this blog post is for morning routines, it can work just as well for night routines too.

If you're a night owl who doesn't want to get out of bed earlier, don't! Instead, shift this into an afternoon or night routine.

Before we get into it, I'm going to list the reasons I believe a morning/night routine is important to the rest of your day and why you should begin the habit NOW.

1. Sets a Positive Tone: A morning routine creates a positive tone, influencing your mindset and attitude for the rest of the day.

2. Boosts Productivity: Starting your day with structured activities can boost your productivity by giving direction and focus for the day ahead.

3. Boosts Focus: A morning routine can help clear foggy emotions and thoughts so you can fully give attention to your daily tasks.

4. Increases Energy Levels: Starting your day with activities like exercise or meditation can boost your energy levels which sets you up for a more energetic, motivated, and productive day.

5. Reduces Stress: I struggle with this, but my morning routine has seriously helped me overcome a lot of it. Creating a morning routine can help reduce stress by giving a sense of control and mental clarity when you come across challenges throughout the day.

6. Improves Time Management: By allocating time in the morning for key activities, such as planning and goal setting, you can improve your time management skills and maximize your efficiency throughout the day.

7. Fosters Self-Discipline: Consistently following a morning routine requires self-discipline, which can spill over into other areas of your life, contributing to overall personal growth and development.

8. Promotes Self-Care: I can't stress this enough, but a morning routine is about you and your needs. That's why adding self-care activities, such as practicing mindfulness, skincare, or reading, lets you prioritize your well-being before the demands of the day take over.

9. Starts Your Day With Momentum: Completing tasks early in the day builds a sense of accomplishment, motivating you to feel productive and take on more challenging tasks.

10. Enhances Overall Happiness: Finally, by starting your day with activities you enjoy, a morning routine can help your overall happiness and satisfaction with life.

Alright, now that we've talked about why morning routines are so awesome, let's talk about how you can make your own!

My Favourite Activities for a Morning Routine

Once again, I don't necessarily use all of these in my daily morning routine, but these are some of my favourite methods that I've seen other people use over the years.

I love that each one is better for certain things such as enhancing productivity, creativity, or happiness.

What I want you to do is as you go through this list write down all of the activities that speak to you.

Afterwards, we'll go through your list together so you can choose what works best for you to do daily in your morning routine.

We will also talk about how you can lay them out in a way that works best for your schedule.

As you go through the list, remember to keep in mind the feelings you want to foster during your morning routine so that they can follow you throughout your day.

1. Meditation: Center yourself and clear your mind by focusing on your breathing. May help with mindset, mood, and focus.

2. Exercise: A workout, yoga, or running are all great examples and will help your energy levels, your mood, and your overall physical health. May help with energy levels and focus.

3. Journaling: Reflect on things like your thoughts, intentions, and what you're grateful for. May help with mindset and mood.

4. Breakfast: Putting time aside to cook and make something you're genuinely excited to eat can be an awesome way to start the day. It's delicious and can help your mind be clearer and focused for the rest of the day. May help with energy levels and mood.

5. Goal Setting: If you review your goals and priorities for the day it can help you to focus and stay on track. May help with mindset.

6. Reading: Read uplifting, motivational, or informative books to build your knowledge and personal growth. May help with focus.

7. Visualization: Imagine your success, goals, and positive beliefs about yourself and your abilities. May help with mindset.

8. Affirmations: Recite affirmations for a positive mindset, and self-confidence, and reinforce your goals, dreams, and commitments. May help with mindset.

9. Practice Gratitude: Take a moment to tell the world what you're grateful for. It's great for making you feel a sense of appreciation. May help with positivity.

10. Morning Stretching: Stretching or mobility exercises can help loosen muscles, improve flexibility, and relax the body before you start the day. May help with energy levels and focus.

11. Visualization Board: Create or look at a visualization board with images or words representing your goals, dreams, and aspirations. May help with mindset.

12. Brainstorming: Spend time brainstorming solutions to challenges you're facing, stimulating creativity and problem-solving skills. May help with creativity.

13. Personal Development: There are multiple activities here such as listening to podcasts or taking online courses to expand knowledge and skills. May help with mindset.

14. Connect with Loved Ones: Reach out to family or friends with a quick phone call or message to strengthen connections and relationships. May help mood.

15. Nature Walk: Go for a walk outdoors to enjoy fresh air and connect with nature. May help with energy levels and mood.

16. Tidy Up: Spend a few minutes tidying up your living or workspace to create a sense of order and clarity, reduce distractions and improve focus. May help with mood and focus.

17. Music: Listen to uplifting or energizing music to boost your mood and create a positive atmosphere. May help productivity and motivation.

18. Plan Your Day: Use a planner/journal to map out your tasks for the day to better structure your time and increase productivity. May help productivity.

19. Shower: Starting your day with a soothing shower or bath can make you feel better. May help productivity.

Awesome! You should have a list of activities that spoke to you when reading.

Now look through and cross out the ones that don't fully align with the feeling you want to focus on.

Also, cross out the ones that you don't like/want to do (if there are any).

I suggest that you have between 2-6 activities on your list. Too many may make your morning routine feel tiring and tedious.

I would suggest structuring it so that the ones that require more energy/time to complete are grouped and the ones that take less energy/time are grouped.

My Productive Morning Routine

And now on to the reason you're here!

I have had a morning routine for a while now but really cemented it about a month ago.

There have been so many positive things happening in my life that have come from this routine, and I hope you can have a morning routine that makes you feel incredible for the rest of the day.

It Starts at 6 AM

At 6 am my alarm goes off from across the room.

I get dressed and exercise for 30-40 minutes (usually cardio, weights, or pilates) first after waking up.

Afterwards, I say my daily affirmations, meditate/pray, and visualize my day, goals, and dreams.

I then set time aside to make and eat breakfast.

Then my day starts!

I journal, shower, and read in my before-bed routine.

I do change it up sometimes depending on how I'm feeling or if I'm crunched for time but usually it follows that pattern!

Every once in a while I add a hike, weekly planning, or connecting with family.

Are you Ready to Build the Best Morning Routine Ever?

Thanks for reading this far!

I applaud you for wanting to start your day with a morning routine.

If you want to chat about anything I mentioned in this blog post, I'd love it if you DM me on Instagram!

See you soon!

Isabella