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This lesson will talk about creating a simple, lovely morning routine.
Here are some suggestions:
Close your eyes and imagine what a nice morning will look like.
- Is it quiet?
- Is there meditation or yoga?
- Is there writing or reading?
- Exercise or a walk?
- Spending time with your partner?
- Is there journaling?
- Is there gratitude?
- Is there decluttering or cleaning?
- Planning your day out?
- Is there preparing your meals for the day?
That is a lot of things. Pick out the things in your mind of what a simple, lovely morning would look like. Pick a few and make a list.
For me, I decided I want to meditate in the morning. I want to write right after that. I want to study and I want to do some yoga. Now, there are a lot of other things I want to do as well. Reading is in there as well. So I have 5 things: Meditating, reading, writing, studying, and yoga.
I started out with just three and I have slowly added in 1-2 more. I resisted the urge to add everything that I wanted to add to my list. That doesn’t mean that I do not do them during the day. It means that I had to start out with something simple.
The more we pack into our mornings, the more stressful it will get to try and keep that routine going. If you have a long list of 10 things, it is like putting together a house of cards. As soon as a slight breeze blows, the whole thing collapses.
You know there will be some kind of stress, change or disruption in your life. If you keep your routine small and simple, you will be able to withstand a lot of those stresses. Of course, there will be disruption and you can’t always keep that routine going. Sometimes a visitor comes or your kid needs to finish a school project before you take them to school. In those cases, instead of clinging to this enjoyable, cherished routine, sometimes it is good to just let it go. Just for today or for as long as it takes. But then get back to it as soon as you can.
Don’t rigidly cling to a routine if it needs to be set aside or shrunk down. I’ve done many versions of my routine. Instead of meditating for 20 minutes or 10 minutes, I might only meditate for 2 minutes or even 1 minute. Just get that tiny meditation in. I might throw the writing out for today because I need to do something else. Or I just write for 5-10 minutes. Maybe the yoga doesn’t take very long and I just do a couple of sun salutations and just get that in.
That is a minimum version of your routine and is a great way to start!
- Pick 2-3 things for your morning.
- Do the minimum version of these things for the first few days until you get the flow of it.
- Lengthen the time after you get the hang of it.
It might sound ridiculous. Meditate for 2 minutes, write for 5 minutes, do yoga for 5 minutes and you are done. You are trying to build 3 new habits at the same time. It’s really tough to do that if you are doing 10-30 minutes for each habit. Try just 2-5 minutes per habit before you lengthen it. The length is not what matters. What matters is doing it regularly and getting into the habit of doing them.
Write a list of 3-4 things you do in the morning and the order in which you want to do them.
- Meditate- 2 minutes
- Read- 5 minutes
- Write- 5 minutes
- Study- 5 minutes
- Yoga- 5 minutes
Write on a list and have that visible. Set a timer and go through the list. Eventually you can add more time.
For now, just get into the habit of doing it.
- Test it out for a few days. See if the flow works well for you. Maybe you want to do yoga first then meditate or switch around the order. Play around with it and with what feels right to you. What sounds right in your mind when you plan it out might not be right when you experience it.
- Find different spaces work well for you in the morning. Your bedroom might be nice and quiet but may ned to go outside or a short walk to the park to find that space that you find right for you and this routine.
- Do things to the environment to make it feel nice. Brew some coffee so it smells nice. Tea is a beautiful thing to brew in the morning as well. Other people like to have a morning smoothie. Play some music or have candles and incense lit. Anything that creates the nice environment that you want.
- Declutter your space. Do this the night before. Clean up in the evening so when you wake up in the morning, you have a nice, decluttered space and you don’t have to worry about a big mess. For some, that may be a major project, decluttering your life. But you don’t need to do that. Declutter a little space and maybe at the end of the morning you declutter a little bit more until you get a simplified space.
The key for a simple, lovely morning routine is to keep it simple for now.
- Pick 2-4 things to start with.
- Do the minimum version of those until you get into the flow.
- Have a reminder list.
- Clear things out to have a nice environment.
- Focus on being grateful and mindful in each of those activities.
Be present. In that moment you are creating simplicity and loveliness. Fully be present and don’t worry about the next thing. You’ll get to that. For now, just enjoy this moment.
There will be times when you are interrupted. You might get a phone call or maybe your spouse comes in. That can be irritating. Notice when you are frustrated or irritated when things are not going as you like. Just notice the feeling of frustration rising in you. Notice the sensation.
- What does it feel like?
- What are you holding on to?
- Is it holding on to this idealized fantasy of a perfect morning?
- If so, can you put is aside for now and embrace this person in front of you?
- Can yo be grateful to have them in your life?
I encourage you to do each one fully present, with gratitude and mindfulness, and enjoy the simple morning routine you are creating for yourself!
Be sure to check-in.