Morning habits that will change your life

Mornings can be different for everyone, but the way you start your day can, and often will, set the tone for the rest of your day. You might not have given it so much weight so far, but cultivating a positive morning routine, and feeding into good morning habits has been proven to kick off productivity, mental clarity and improve overall well-being.

Many books and podcasts have been produced about these topics, with one notable book that has gained significant popularity: “The Miracle Morning” by Hal Elrod. While not everyone might be inclined to wake up early in the morning, me included, there are adaptable strategies that can be tailored to different lifestyles and inclinations: whether you’re a parent, night owl, or just a couch potato who struggles with mornings. We’ll delve into six transformative morning habits, and provide tips for all.

1. The power of “The Miracle Morning“

Widely regarded as “one of the most life-changing books ever written”. In his book, Elrod decided to find a way to create a structured routine for mornings, consisting of six main key practices: Silence, Affirmation, Visualization, Exercise, Reading, and Scribing (or writing). The acronym of these practices, SAVERS, is the foundation of this form of holistic approach to well-being. It is an adaptable approach, easy to tailor to various lifestyles.

2. Gratitude and journaling

Something that can be done by most people, regardless of energy levels and business is journaling. Keeping a gratitude journal and writing down a few things each morning or night, can have a huge impact on your everyday life. This simple practice will inevitably shift your focus towards positivity, whether you realise it or not. Tracking down your thoughts, goals and progress will help you start off the day feeling lighter. Night owls can embrace these practices by having a moment of nightly self-reflection, by going through their day and expressing gratitude before going to bed.

If you’re going through a particulary bad period, setting small achievable daily goals can help you give yourself a structure. Take into consideration your current circumstances and try not to be too demanding of yourself. Completing these objectives will provide a sense of accomplishment and motivation to keep moving forward, step by step.

3. Habits for parents

For parents with young children, mornings can be a lot. A whirlwind of activities, voices, food splattering everywhere, and one million things to do before moving on to daily activities. The idea of incorporating morning habits in this environment might seem very challenging, if not overwhelming, but it’s feasible with some small adjustments. Begin by waking up 10 minutes earlier than usual, engage in a brief meditation or breathing exercise to recenter yourself and find some morning balance. You can try to incorporate daily affirmations that resonate with your parenting goals, promoting patience and empathy.

Short workouts, such as jumping jacks or sumo squats, can give you energy and get the blood pumping as soon as you wake up. You might want to read or write as well. Reading a book to your kids doubles as quality time, while writing down a couple of pages in your diary can help you feel more grounded.

4. Visualization and affirmations

What are visualizations and affirmations? These two powerful morning habits have become quite popular due to their ability to boost people’s well-being and emotional state. Visualising something means mentally picturing your goals, aspirations and desired outcomes as best as possible and in the most detailed way possible. You’ll activate your brain’s problem-solving faculties and improve your creativity. Affirmations, on the other hand, while with similar goals, are positive statements and mantras that you can repeat regularly, in the morning or whenever you feel the need to. By hyping yourself up you’ll reframe your mindset, boost confidence and set off for the day with a positive tone. Both these techniques find their roots in various mindfulness and self-improvement traditions, and can both be incorporated into your morning routine.

5. Conquer your morning hesitation

If the idea of waking up early and being active fills you with dread, try to start small and adjust yourself gradually. Begin by waking up just five minutes earlier each day, until you’ve reached your decided wake-up time.

Simplify things as much as possible, and find a shorter version of each habit. 1 minute of morning breathing instead of 10, concise affirmations and visualizations. Gentle stretches and a couple of easy exercises. When it comes to reading and writing, one page of each can be enough if you can’t keep your eyes open. The key is to be consistent.

Mornings can be so much more than the early part of the day. They hold the power to shape your day and slowly transform your life. By drawing inspiration from the book “The Miracle Morning”, we have gone through how some of these habits can be adapted to cater to different lifestyles. Whether you’re a parent, a night owl, or someone who just can’t wake up early in the morning, there is something for you. Strategies and tips can always be tailored, as long as there is the will to do it, consistency, and commitment.