Hi friends! For those of you following along, I’m exactly one week into having a morning ritual and I thought I’d share with you my takeaways thus far.
- It’s such a relief to start the day on my own terms. When I wake up with the kids, i.e. to a crying baby or jabbering toddler, my heart rate immediately skyrockets and I start the day in a whirlwind. Now, with my 4:30am (yes, you read that right!) wake up, I get to start the day intentionally. And wow, does that put me in a good headspace and place emotionally to love my boys and myself well.
- It gets easier. The first few days I needed my hubby (who thankfully already wakes up early) to rouse me from bed. Once he even used Mel Robbins’ 5 Second Rule to get me up, which I can’t ignore…but I may have had a few choice expletives for him while still in my groggy stupor. I standby my statement to him that I can’t be held responsible for anything I say before coffee – ha!
Now that I have a morning ritual, it’s also informed my nighttime habits. In order to wake up well in the AM, I need to go to bed early and start winding down soon after we get our boys to bed. I’ve been incorporating more evening showers, reading (I’m reading Joyful by Ingrid Fetell Lee and have already started incorporating some of her suggestions into our home – post to come soon!), and even getting laundry ready to go so that I can start the day off with some of our day-to-day chores started (I use the Delay Start function on our washer so that it starts a load at 3:30am, just in time to be moved to the dryer when I’m up!).
I’ve really enjoyed my Start Today Journal and stream-of-consciousness journaling time. There’s something empowering about writing down what you’re grateful for and your goals, and then it’s cleansing just journaling about your day or how you’re feeling. It’s as if you shed what’s weighing you down and start fresh. Here’s a journal similar to the one I’ve been using. Just the right size to jot down one page of thoughts a day!
- And finally, I’ve been meditating for about 5 minutes either during my morning ritual or to wrap up my morning gym sessions. And those few minutes of stillness and purposeful breathing are everything to me.
Now that I have a morning ritual, it’s also informed my nighttime habits. In order to wake up well in the AM, I need to go to bed early and start winding down soon after we get our boys to bed. I’ve been incorporating more evening showers, reading (I’m reading Joyful by Ingrid Fetell Lee and have already started incorporating some of her suggestions into our home – post to come soon!), and even getting laundry ready to go so that I can start the day off with some of our day-to-day chores started (I use the Delay Start function on our washer so that it starts a load at 3:30am, just in time to be moved to the dryer when I’m up!).
I’ve really enjoyed my Start Today Journal and stream-of-consciousness journaling time. There’s something empowering about writing down what you’re grateful for and your goals, and then it’s cleansing just journaling about your day or how you’re feeling. It’s as if you shed what’s weighing you down and start fresh. Here’s a journal similar to the one I’ve been using. Just the right size to jot down one page of thoughts a day!
I’m only a week in and I’m sure I’ll continue to fine-tune my morning ritual, but so far it’s been a resounding success!
