Very Excellent Habits

Morning Routines are Awesome and You Should Definitely Have One

The concept of morning routines is so unsexy, isn’t it? There’s nothing fabulous about a morning routine. It’s just a series of actions that you repeat every day. Right?
WRONG! I love morning routines. I LIVE for morning routines. They’re total game changers and are scientifically proven to increase your productivity. For real. So let’s all get extremely enthusiastic about morning routines. Yay!!!
So what is a routine? Routine is repetition tied to a certain task or time of day. That’s it – it’s nothing fancy, it’s just the simple act of doing something again and again at the same time.

Here’s why you need a good morning routine…

1. They help with decision fatigue
2. They create reasonable expectations
These two points are discussed in detail in this week’s episode but they really are the cornerstones of why morning routines are so important. You make fewer poor choices when you honour your mornings (proven by a very weird story about criminals being released from prison more when their hearings are in the morning – more on that in this episode) and they help set a predictable tone for your day.
If you feel like your morning needs a bit of an overhaul, this episode is for you. Especially if you’re not into the idea of a stuffy, rigid morning routine.
In this episode, I talk about 
If you’re struggling with your morning routine – either overhauling it or totally recreating it – this episode is a must-listen. All personality types are covered and there’s something in there for everyone.
Links mentioned in this episode 

– NYT article on decision fatigue
Smiling Mind app
Buddify App
Flow for Bullet Journalling

The best bits from the episode?

‘Building a morning routine is about creating a system that works for you, that sets you up for the day and makes you feel good about being alive.’

‘Outer order equals inner calm.’

‘Routines provide us with security.’

Here’s the 5 step process I chat about in the episode.

1. Decide what you want to do every morning

Things like ‘I want to exercise every morning and spend 20 minutes reading something for fun’. ‘I want to leave the house every day fully prepared and in a calm manner’ ‘I want to take the time to eat a proper breakfast at home and not scoff a protein bar at may desk at 10am’.

These things are all doable but not all at once. Just brain dump everything into a notebook or blank doc on your computer to get started.

2. Choose your top 3 items on your list

Then forget about number 2 and 3 for now and concentrate on number 1. Number 1 is your priority for the next month.

3. Figure out the smallest way you can implement that habit.

A 5 minute walk in the morning.

Drink a 100ml green smoothie.

Read your book for 10 minutes.

Work on your novel/album/side hustle for 10 minutes.

Commit to doing that every day for 7 days. Then up it to 20 minutes.

4. Set a reward

Figure out what type of reward you get. There’s two types of rewards. Inner rewards and outer rewards.

An inner reward is basically basking in the glow of having achieved something. For example I exercise 3 to 5 mornings a week and my reward is the endorphin kick that gives me a good day. I literally lie in bed at 5.45am and I say ‘Do I want to have a good day or a bad day?’ – inevitably I choose a good day and that means getting my butt out of bed and heading to bootcamp.

Inner rewards don’t work for everyone. You might need an outer reward – you might have to bribe yourself with a cafe coffee after a workout or 20 minutes of reading a book or watching an episode of a show you love.

One tip about outer rewards – don’t give in to yourself. If you’ve promised yourself you can only watch an episode of your favourite show if you went to your yoga, don’t give in. That’s the whole point of rewards.

5. Focus on the benefits

When we start developing new habits you can lose sight of the benefits really quickly. To combat this, try coming up with a positive sentence around your new habit.

‘I’m going for a walk every morning to improve my physical and mental wellbeing’

‘I’m spending 30 minutes every morning applying for new jobs because I’m ready to change careers.’

‘I’m not drinking alcohol during the week because I want to wake up each morning with a clear head.’

By repeating the reason and benefit of your morning routine habits, it will solidify your reasons for doing it.

Want more?

You can follow me @carlyjacobsdotcom on Instagram for more productivity and habit building goodness.

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