Since retiring from my full-time job at the end of June, I’ve been working on establishing a morning routine that works for my new life. My weekday morning routine has looked the same for about the last 20 years. Now I have an opportunity to reinvent myself and establish new habits and routines.
Benefits of a Morning Routine
Adding structure to your day has many benefits for your physical and mental health. Experts at Northwest Medicine report that a daily routine can help you manage stress, sleep better, eat a healthier diet, and live a more active lifestyle.
I’d also add that a morning routine can set your day up for success, and it’s an excellent way to build some new positive habits.
Essential Components of a Morning Routine
Everyone is different so the morning routine that works for you likely won’t look the same as mine. Even so, a well-rounded morning routine should include three essential components—something for your mind, your body and your soul. Let’s take a closer look at each.
Nourish Your Soul
In the busyness of life, it’s easy to neglect our souls, but adding this to your morning routine will help create a positive mindset for your day. How you choose to do this will depending on your religious or spiritual beliefs. You may intentionally start your day with prayer or meditation. Or perhaps journalling or practising gratitude will work for you. I’ve started to take a couple of minutes for prayer and gratitude before jumping out of bed in the morning.
Feed Your Mind
Aim to start your day by doing something to clear the fog from your brain. This could be reading, writing, listening to a podcast, or doing a daily crossword. For the last couple of years, I’ve been doing the daily Wordle as part of my morning routine. It only takes a few minutes, and it gets my brain moving for the day.
Sustain Your Body
With your soul and mind taken care of, don’t forget your body. Aim to include some movement into your mornings. If you’re not up to a full workout, try a short walk or some simple yoga stretches. I definitely see a difference in my energy level on days when I skip my morning workout. And don’t forget that nutritious breakfast.
If time is short, you can create a routine that incorporates all three of these elements in less than 10 minutes. If you missed my earlier post on the magic of the two-minute rule from James Clear’s Atomic Habits, perhaps it’s time to give it a try.
Six weeks into my retirement, I’m still figuring out what my new routine looks like. One thing that hasn’t changed is I’m still an early riser and the morning is my most productive time of day.
Most days, I’m still getting to all the elements of my morning routine that have worked for me over the years. But the absence of time pressure, combined with travel and the excitement of watching the morning Olympic coverage, has delayed my progress in solidifying my routine. When I figure it out, I’ll let you know!
Do you have a morning routine? What does it look like? Drop me a comment below and let me know.
I’ll be away for the next couple of weeks so watch for my next Wise & Shine post in September.
Learn more about me in my bio and on my personal blog at BoomerEcoCrusader.com. You can also find me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.