Make Mornings Great Again

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4 minute read

For some, mornings are the most glorious time of the day. Others may not have stirred or woken, but you have, your brain is at its calmest, slowly getting ready to process the hours ahead. And if you’re not yet a morning person, there are many reasons to be – not least that with every new dawn comes the chance to reset; to begin again. The previous day’s worries feel further away when the smell of coffee mixed with the fresh air of the new day collides.

Early rising can be a total gamechanger, easing you into daily tasks and challenges without the stirring sense of panic that hitting the snooze button three-times-too-many often brings. The overall point is this: if you set your alarm an hour or so earlier than usual, you’ll gain blank space before the rest of your co-habitants rise, or tasks flood your mind and the day begins in earnest, thus gifting you that most rare and precious commodity: quiet alone time.

Time to think, prepare, get your body stretched and moving (science says an AM walk is the best way to begin by the way). What the following suggestions are not intended to be are pressure-filled tasks you must tick off a to-do list – they are the opposite; your time to do whatever makes you feel good before the day must be tended to.

Think journaling, meditation, stretching, yoga, sea-swimming or just staring out the window at the sky, with a coffee in hand allowing thoughts to land where they will - whatever works for you - the bottom line is - it all works. It’s all extra time carved out just for you. It’s like winning a bonus hour in the great game show that is life!

It’s not easy at first, the snooze button often wins out, but it’s easier at this time of year when the mornings are bright and the sunrises are so often stunning. After a while too, your circadian rhythm recalibrates and you wake naturally, with little resistance from your snooze button finger!

Below are other tidbits you can do to not only make your mornings more tolerable but make them something you look forward to:

Be prepared

At night, take no more than 60 seconds to jot down the things you absolutely must tick off over the next 24 hours before you go to bed. It helps relieve your brain of morning anxiety, knowing you’ve already thought ahead about that portion of your day. Get your walking gear ready, leave out your coffee mug or mentally prepare to do the one task you’ve been putting off all week – just knowing you’ve dealt with this already means you’ll wake up feeling much calmer.

drink a litre of water

Might sound like a lot, but it’s not. Sleep is a dehydrating experience for your body, and your brain, so if you get used to drinking a litre of water right after you wake, before your coffee or breakfast, your entire day will be better. It helps control hunger and gives energy and mental clarity, try it.

Stretch

Your body needs to stretch. Get on to YouTube and find a yoga or pilates teacher you like and learn a super-quick morning routine. We, along with many millions, like Adriene Mishler’s morning videos, but do find someone you connect with because if you don’t like them, you won’t do it! Repeat daily. Never look back.

Breathe

Yes, you’re breathing all the time, but are you conscious of it? Tuning into your breath, becoming aware of it and feeling how you can control its rhythm is the gateway to meditation - which, for many, is the gateway to good mental health. Sit in silence, in a comfortable position, and just do it - breathe deeply - and see how you feel. Again, there are loads of guides out there, we’re fans of the Calm app as it helps you learn to keep focus - the key is allowing thoughts and distractions to bubble up, but float away again. Like raw data just passing you by. The breath keeps you in place. Sound a bit crazy? Trust us. Try it. Five minutes to start - see how refreshed you feel.

write it down

Any thoughts that cropped up in the night. Dreams, wishes, hopes, ideas… It’s part of manifesting that which you want for your life. It’s also a nice record of your feelings. Doesn’t have to be full sentences, just words or phrases that matter to you will suffice - consider them as triggers to thought or action - whatever they inspire. It’s private, for your eyes only, and it helps to distil that mental chatter we all carry. Peace via pen.

Keep the phone away

In case you need a gentle reminder, your phone is not a fifth limb. Before bed, banish it to another room if you can, and turn the thing off. Because is there anything more anxiety-inducing than scrolling through the Twitter hellscape before you’ve even had a coffee? Scrolling first thing will set your brain off at a frantic pace, and chances are, keep it that way for the remainder of the day. All the news notifications, texts and emails will be there waiting for you - they don’t deserve your full and immediate attention. Give yourself as long as you can possibly get away with, in the morning before turning it on and you can even set a function up on your phone to help disable apps for as long as you see fit if you’re finding it a struggle.

Enjoy your breakfast

It’s not called the most important meal of the day for nothing – it literally sets your body on the right path. Make and enjoy it without a mass of headlines about Covid, vaccines, or anything else. Keep it protein-based too, you’ll feel energised and ready to take on the next thing with vigour. As soon as you’re ready.

Don’t forget the purpose of it all

This is your time. So use it for you. Have an extra coffee, start the podcast you’ve wanted to get to all month long, start your yoga routine or go out to see the sunrise. Doing what makes you feel good kickstarts your endorphins which will only serve to help keep you even-keeled for the day ahead.