Does it include anything that’s specifically for you?
Now that I’m working from home much more frequently I’ve come to realise just how important my morning routine is to setting me up for the day. On the days when I’m fortunate enough to be working from home, I’ve noticed how much I appreciate some thinking and reflection time to warm me up for my day.
I’m an early bird, so it usually doesn’t feel too hard to get up early, so that I have time to do what works for me first thing in the morning.
Typically this is what it looks like, on those days I’m working from home;
Top of my list, I have around 15/20 mins reading with my first coffee. I try to avoid checking my phone; but I allow myself to check the weather, which is important for what I do next..
Secondly, there’s my usual morning dog walk; which ticks so many boxes for me;
- There’s the exercise element obviously – and even on a wet, grey Yorkshire morning I can be grateful for that!
- There’s the injection of nature and topping up my batteries in just appreciating my surroundings and the time outdoors in the fresh air
- The thinking time. I think of my morning walks as my meditation. As I always take the same route I don’t think about where I’m going – so I’m free to focus on whatever needs attention in that moment. The sorts of things that I tend to think about are:
- What difficulties are likely to crop up today?
- What do I most need to get done today?
- What am I grateful for today?
As part of getting washed and dressed I have some precious time with my toothbrush! My electric toothbrush takes around 90 seconds and I use that time to have a wee stretch – nothing too dramatic, as I’m brushing my teeth after all – but there are a couple of exercises I do in this time that help me with a stiff back.
Hitting the desk/office I always leave a few minutes so that I can prepare for what’s going on that day; what’s coming up over the next few days that I need to start working on now and anything that’s still left over from the day before.
Of course, there are always those days when I’m up super early because I’m working away somewhere, and it’s all I can do to get myself ready and out the door with everything that I need in readiness for a long commute. On the days when I don’t do everything as I’d like to, I try not to beat myself up. I take a gentle approach to my morning routine, knowing that I’ll get back to it when I can.
It’s not always possible to do all of this and there are days when I feel I don’t have the time to do 1 and 2 (whether that’s true or not is up for debate obvs!) – but 3 and 4 are hard lines. I brush my teeth everyday, at least twice so that’s a no brainer and perhaps it’s the control freak in me, but having even a couple of minutes planning time is essential for setting me up for my day.
So, how do you start the day?
Does the start of your day get you off on the front foot?
I came across this great quote recently, from a stoic philosopher;
That’s such a great reminder that when it comes to our sense of wellbeing, it’s often the small things that we do EVERY DAY that really make the difference.
What small thing could you do every morning to get your day off to a great start!!