September 23rd, 2014
10 Ways to Make Waking Up Easier With a Seasonal Morning Routine
Is it just me, or is September is the new January? With back to school in full swing and the leaves changing (or thinking about it, at least!) I’ve craved healthy new habits, fresh starts, and changing the energy that I put into important areas of my life.
And I’m not just talking work!
This time of year reminds me that there’s still some summer sun to soak up, more farmers markets to take in, more bonfires to stir, more big questions to ask and dreams to dream, and more tiny adventures to fit in.
One of the ways that I love marking the change of seasons is to set aside an evening to look at what I’m craving, and how I can add in or pull things out of my daily and weekly routine that will nourish me, charge my batteries, and get me jumping out of bed for the coming months.
Your routine might be something you think about or something you’re barely aware of, but if you’re not sure where to start, consider what you typically do when you’re starting or ending your day.
Right now, my morning routine looks like this:
✚ Wake up
✚ Light workout or dog walk
✚ Get showered & dressed
✚ Have breakfast of overnight oats (With different toppings, this has been my breakfast most days since 2009!)
✚ 15 – 30 minute Pinterest spree
✚ Get down to work in my home office
Your shiny new routine might be just as good as what you did today, but changing your routine seasonally will give it newness that will make it more engaging. That “new & shiny” factor can make it easier for you to get out of bed because you have something new to look forward to.
If you live in a part of the world that doesn’t have sweeping changes between seasons, this is a great way for you to take the lead and make a change that will mark the new season.
(Aside from satisfying your PSL addiction, I mean.)
And if you haven’t created an intentional morning routine before? This is the perfect time to start.
Ways to shake up your daily routine in a beautiful way:
- Brew a new special coffee or tea to enjoy
- Wake up 15 minutes earlier and write morning pages
- Start rolling out of bed and into a workout or yoga practice as a way to care for yourself
- Set an extra alarm so you have time to hit snooze, roll over & cuddle with a pet, partner, or little one
- Drink warm lemon water in the morning to kick start your digestion & gently detox
- Read a book you’re fascinated by as you wake up instead of turning on the TV
- Write down 10 ideas, and don’t scratch them off your list when you’re done (you needed get through the “meh” ideas to get to the great ones!)
- Join More Love Letters and send encouragement to someone who needs it before you start the day
- Take yourself on a walk in your neighbourhood without distractions, to check in with yourself
- Spend 20 – 30 minutes on a new skill you want to master, like calligraphy, knitting, or pole vaulting (whatever you’re into, my dear!)
I’m not a morning person at all. Right now my mornings are 100% controlled by the two tiny dictators in my life: I get out of bed when they wake up, I make breakfast for them, let the dog out while they’re eating, and try to catch up on work/e-mails for a few minutes until they need Mommy’s attention again. My goal for the next little bit is to actually GET UP when my husband’s alarm goes off – so I have time to take the dog for a real walk and have some quiet time for myself before the kids are awake.
I’m AWFUL at mornings. I work from home but have to work 9-5 like the rest of my colleagues who work in an office. I usually can’t convince myself to go to bed until 1 or 2am (I write better at night!), & then I oversleep in the morning, flying out of bed when I see I have an email from my boss or am about to be late to a meeting. And then I do it all again the next day.
I’m trying to go to bed by midnight & wake up by 8am JUST FOR A WEEK, to make myself do it & see how it changes me & how it makes me feel, in an effort to convince myself that I need to do this all the time. But man, it’s hard!