This post about mindful morning rituals and routines gives you an overview of simple ways to get out of bed each morning that will inspire and energize your day.
We all know what it’s like to wake up to a new day overwhelmed by the endless list of tasks and responsibilities that wait for us. Let’s think for a moment about morning rituals that are not fun, yet remarkably common.
Hit the snooze button and stay in bed for just a few more minutes. A few minutes turn into 15. This is called the “dread snooze”.
The thing is, sleep quality is no good at that point. In my version of the dread snooze, it’s usually the time I play out worry-filled scenarios generated by my brain.
Was it Mark Twain who said: “I’ve been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened”? Maybe he used to lie in bed too long, too.
You might think a few extra minutes in bed is all you need to feel ok. Believe me, I’ve been there.
But here’s the thing: by the time I drag myself out of bed, I’m not only tense, but I’m also annoyed at myself. Great combo!
The key is to choose to do one thing, just one thing, that sets a positive tone for the rest of your day.
But first, if you’re like me, you’ve got to trick yourself out of bed.
Jump Start Your Mindful Morning
When you look at the top habits of highly successful people, there are several things you see again and again.
Get up early (between 5am and 6am). Drink a glass of water. Write in a journal. Meditate. Exercise.
t’s a long list. Don’t get me wrong, I admire anyone who can carve out an extra two hours each morning. But guess what: if you’re not careful, you’ll do what I did. You’ll turn it into another perfectionist exercise in futility. In other words, if you’re not careful, you’ll be right back in the hamster wheel again on the race to nowhere.
Repeat after me: I am not a tense, self-annoyed hamster!
And you also don’t have to be Oprah Winfrey, Martha Stewart, or Jack Dorsey (CEO of Twitter and Square). After all, there are many ways to be successful.
For me, success means that I have taken care of my body and my mind, so I can have an inspiring morning writing and doing other work. You can be you, doing your morning your way, not adding more to your plate to keep up with an idea of “success”.
Why not invent the top habits of a relaxed, inspired version of you?
How to Trick Yourself Out of Bed
As soon as you wake up, even if it’s 30 minutes before your alarm goes off, get up. Period.
If you feel tired, say to yourself: “my eyes feel tired, but that will go away as soon as I’m up!”
Come up with a convincing, rational sounding phrase that replaces the excuses. So, instead of, “I just need ten more minutes. . .” or “I’m so tired, I deserve to sleep in . . .” you have the thought: “I’ll be so glad I got up.”
The truth is, I’ve never regretted getting up early; I’ve only regretted staying in bed too long. Remind yourself of this, because it just might work for you!
It’s important to just get up, no lingering or excuse making.
You might truly be tired for valid reasons. And make no mistake about it, we all need a reasonable amount of sleep.
The thing is, you are not going to get quality sleep by lying there once you’re awake.
You’ll get quality sleep the next night, when you go to bed a little earlier. Why? You’ll be sleepy, because you got up earlier that morning. Makes sense, right?
Tricking yourself out of bed is THE toughest thing I will encourage you to do. But it’s worth it.
We’ll talk about naps in another post, but for now, here’s a quick exercise you can do to start your day off right.
Exercise: Pick One Thing, Do That
I’ve tricked myself out of bed every morning for years and have succeeded at getting myself out of bed before 6:30 am — and often as early as 5:15 am.
I have only failed when I tried to cram too much in to the morning.
That’s why I’m encouraging you to pick one thing. Pick something small, like expressing gratitude when you get out of bed.
Examples:
An example can be saying to yourself, “I Am” (as one foot touches the floor) “Grateful” (as the other touches the floor). Great! You’re out of bed and expressing gratitude.
Another example is to stand on your porch with your coffee (or, tea!) while you watch the sun come up, instead of sitting at the kitchen table scrolling social media.
At one time, I decided my one thing was to wash my face as one of the first actions I took each morning. It felt so good, that I still do it every morning even if I’m feeling resistant. It’s not that I didn’t wash my face every morning, but I would do several other things first.
It’s not earth-shattering, but pick one small action that feels special to you and do that for a week, and then ask yourself how you feel.
Choose something brief that you will look forward to so you will make it your new habit. The point is to build up your morning-ritual muscles, so to speak, so you have just the right balance of activity and peace each morning.
Once you’ve got your one thing, go with it! If you need time to figure it out, that’s ok — you can bounce around for a few days, trying out different practices. But after a few days, settle on something and do it consistently.
Bring Mindfulness Home
Read more examples of how to bring mindful routines to your daily life in the blog.