Why morning rituals matter
You wake up. Your alarm hasn’t gone off yet, and you take a moment to relax in bed while you slowly adjust to an awakened state. You stretch and yawn, and revel in how wonderful it feels to have had a good night’s sleep. You sit up, turn off your alarm, and leisurely start your day.
OR…..
You hit the snooze button three, or four, or more (?) times, finally realize what time it is and how late you are. You think of all of the things you didn’t get done yesterday, and suddenly it’s like the opening of the gates at Churchill Downs, but there is nothing magnificent or graceful about the start of your day.
The way you start your day often sets the tone for the rest of the day. Morning rituals are powerful – for good or bad. They are a tool that can help improve your wellbeing, enhance your productivity, reduce stress, and enrich the overall quality of your life. If you start the day racing, you will likely spend the rest of the day catching up.
Elements of a morning ritual
There are many potential elements of a morning ritual. All of them have value, but, if you attempt to incorporate everything, your morning ritual could last all day. Here are some common possibilities:
- The night before:
- Assess your goals. As Yogi Berra said “You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you are going because you might not get there.” If you’ve set a goal, you still might not get there, but at least you’ll be more likely to be headed in the right direction. Shoot for the moon and you’ll land among the stars only applies if heading in the right direction. If you’re not, you might end up in Cleveland.
- Get a good night’s sleep, and wake up early. This could be a process in and of itself, and we’ll address some of this in the Evening – Relax post, but hitting the snooze does more harm than good. If the time you’re setting your alarm for is unrealistic, begin where you are. Set it for the time you are able to get up and gradually move it earlier so that you are getting up when you have ample time to get ready.
- Set yourself up for success. Set out exercise clothes, know what you’re going to have for breakfast, pull together what you know you’ll need in the morning. Things that will take ‘just a minute’ rarely do. They’re not where they’re supposed to be, they’re not clean, they’re something that takes longer than you think and throws a wrench in your plan. Try to get everything pulled together the night before when there is time to adjust.
- In the morning:
- Hydrate. You might not feel thirsty when you get up, but you are probably dehydrated. Having some water will kickstart your metabolism. There are those that say the water should be warm, it should have lemon, it should have salt, or something else. The important thing is to hydrate as soon as you get up. You can experiment with temperature or additives, but start with plain water.
- Technology. Try to avoid it first thing in the morning. Many of us reach out to hit the snooze and in the same motion, pick up our phones. This generally does two things: it gets us off-track, and hijacks our day. We go from emails to news to social media. Suddenly, we’re back at the racetrack and are trying to catch up. If you manage to avoid that detour, you might find that your priorities are determined by what you see on your phone. It’s possible, even probable, that something you come across will need to be addressed and you will have to work it into your plan. But working “it” into your plan is far different from planning your day around “it”.
- Light. Dr. Andrew Huberman is a big proponent of morning light, and I have to agree with him. We’re not talking flipping the switch on the overheads here. We’re talking about getting outside and getting the morning sun in your eyes. Obviously not staring at the sun as that would be bad, but exposing your eyes to natural light without the filter of a window or sunglasses. Dr. Huberman can, and will explain the science behind getting morning light and how it helps to set your circadian rhythm. I can tell you that I feel better if I get outside within an hour of getting up, or as soon as the sun has risen.
- Mindfulness or Meditation. This is a wonderful transition from sleeping to wakefulness. But, it can be a bit tricky. You need to make sure you don’t slip back to sleep. Get out of bed to help prevent this. Sit in silence for a few minutes and simply pay attention to your breath. It is sometimes suggested that you observe your thoughts as if they are clouds in the sky that you notice but allow to drift away. I commuted for many years, so I observe my thoughts as trains that go through a station. Some pass right through, some stop, some even open the doors, but I try not to board. If I do, I exit at the earliest station!
- Gratitude. Taking a few minutes to reflect on what you are grateful for sets you up for a positive mindset and an attitude of abundance. This is something you can and should come back to throughout the day.
- Affirmations. Stating positive things about yourself in the present tense is very powerful. ‘I’m going to try’ gives you an out. Decide what you want and say it with conviction starting with “I am” rather than “I will”.
- Visualization. It’s said that the mind doesn’t differentiate between what is real and what it thinks is real. I don’t know about that, but I do know that Olympic skiers will mentally “ski” the course before they exit the gate, so I think there is something to this. Do a mental run through of the most difficult part of your day. See it, be it.
- Planning. This can be done the day before, but if you haven’t planned your day, do so now. You don’t want to end up in Cleveland.
- Writing. Julia Cameron wrote a book called The Artist’s Way. I the book, she suggests Morning Pages. This is simply taking the time to sit down and write out three pages. It must be handwritten, and it should be stream of consciousness. It’s not the same as journaling, as journaling will often be about what has happened. Morning pages are whatever comes into your mind, even if it’s just ‘I don’t know what to write’. It’s said that morning pages clears the cobwebs and allows more creative thinking.
- Exercise. There is quite a lot of controversy about the best time to exercise, but for may people, mornings are ideal for several reasons. You are able to complete your exercise before the day’s interruptions begin; you start your day with one item off your list; it allows you additional time to reflect; and it improves your mood.
- Consistency. The best routine is the one you can stick with. There is a science around creating habits, but you have to start somewhere. Select an element that resonates with you, that you believe will give you the most benefit with the least resistance. Start there, and start small. Set yourself up for success.
I feel I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Hal Elrod’s Miracle Morning. Mr. Elrod has come up with the acronym SAVERS. It stands for silence, affirmations, visualization, exercise, reading, and scribing. Silence can be meditation, and scribing could be journaling or morning pages. There’s quite a lot of overlap between this blog and SAVERS, but Mr. Elrod believes you should do all six each morning. You can do each item for 5-10 minutes if you’re pressed for time, or spend more time on one aspect.
Morning rituals are powerful, but they don’t have to be difficult or involved. Also, don’t expect perfection. I would think that your rituals might vary based on the day of the week, the seasons of the year, where you are, and how you’re feeling. Listen to your body, mind, and soul. If something is working for you, keep it up. If it isn’t, allow yourself let it go and try something else.
Note: Andrew Huberman, Ph.D. is an associate professor of neurobiology, and by courtesy, of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford so he knows a bit about these things. If, like me, you find the biology fascinating, I strongly recommend his podcast.
Photo credit: Taylor Sondergath on Unsplash
