What we do in the morning every day is so important. For me, a good productive morning generally leads to a good day. A sluggish morning generally leads to a meh day.
Time
From Monday-Friday, I wake up at 6:30 am (weekends a little later). I’m a morning person, so getting up relatively early isn’t an issue for me. Also, I tend to go to bed at 10:30 pm the night before, so I still get a good 8 hours of sleep despite getting up early.
I feel like getting up early is so important for my daily routine. It gives me those extra couple hours before work where I can work on myself. Usually, I like to get a workout in; however, on my rest days, I use this time to go for a walk or spend some extra time reading. Whenever I do any of these activities, it just gives me a source of energy and mental clarity which comes in handy throughout the day.
No Social Media
I don’t use social media in the first hour of the day. Opening Twitter on a Monday morning and seeing a controversial tweet I disagree with just puts me off. And if I open Twitter, I generally tend to open Instagram. You can imagine how that goes when I see some pictures of people on holiday when I’m sitting there on a cold dark Monday.
Nothing against social media. I absolutely love social media and am on most platforms. But for me, there is a time and place to use it. Try to put off using social media in the morning and see if it makes a difference for you. It certainly did for me.
Be Active
I touched upon it above but once I get out of bed and brush my teeth, I like to do some kind of activity. Generally, that is a workout at the gym. However, during my rest days or days I can’t get to the gym, I like to go for a walk.
Of course, I do this for the health and fitness aspect. However, there is also a big mental aspect, where it just gives me that additional energy boost and mental focus I can use throughout the day. Also, by getting my activity in at the start of the day, it means I can get it out the way early and am free to do other things later in the day.
Cold Showers
Once I come back from the gym, I like to jump into a cold shower. I must say, sometimes I do find this difficult; however, I do try and spend at least 2-3 mins in a cold shower 4 or 5 times a week.
I wrote about the benefits of cold showers in a separate blog post.
Skin Care Routine
I want to look good now and in the future. In addition to taking care of your health, fitness and having adequate sleep, it’s important to have a good skin care routine. Even if you’re a guy, don’t shy away from doing simple things like washing your face or moisturising. It takes less than a minute each day, which could pay dividends for your appearance in the future.
Personally, I currently use three products for my skin:
- Bio-Oil: Improves skin tone and appearances of scars
- ManCave Moisturiser: Rejuvenates and retextures skin
- Babo Botanicals SPF 30: Natural sunscreen.
These are just some products I have found work on my skin. I highly recommend trying your own and seeing what works for you. As I said above, this is a big investment for your future. Considering it only takes a few mins to apply each morning, it’s definitely worth it. Be proactive, not reactive when you’re 50 and have wrinkles!
So that summarises my morning routine! It’s nothing fancy, just small actionable steps that set up the rest of my day and beyond that. By following this, it not only makes me happier, but makes me a more productive human being and benefits longevity and health in old age.
I hope this inspires you to find a good morning routine that works for you!
