When you wake up, you set the tone for the entire day. If you wake up, immediately scroll through your phone and start trying to solve problems, you crush all of your creative energy.
When you immediately start consuming information, you react to your surroundings instead of creating your own. It's also easier to become overwhelmed and lose clarity on your day.
Remember when we talked about taking a weekend to digitally detox? Today we're going to talk about starting your morning mindfully.
1. Put the Phone Away!
When you're alarm clock goes off, (especially if it's with your phone) it's so, so, so, so, easy to start scrolling.
Maybe you want to check your email. Check your IG or Facebook? Well, stop it!
It's ruining your day. Here's a great article on how waking up with technology is hijacking your productivity.
I know you're going to ignore another request for you to get an actual alarm clock in your room, but think about it.
You can charge your phone outside of the bedroom (cause that blue light is bad for sleeping!) and then you won't be tempted to check it when you first wakeup.
2. Stretch it Out:
You don't have to go to the gym or even head to a workout class, of course if you want to please do, but just wake up and stretch!
Reach your hands high above your head, roll your spine down and up, and then do a couple of jumping jacks to get your blood flowing.
When your body moves, your mind moves! It's so important to move to help your brain solve problems. This is especially true if you work a sedentary job.
I really like to use a yoga app on my phone and start my day with a 20-30 minute stretch routine to get the creative ideas flowing.
3. Meditate:
Even 10 minutes of silence can really help you focus for the day. When I was performing full time we would hit the floor for at least 20 minutes of breath work.
We would leave everything in the dressing room and then lay on the stage in shavasana. We would just breathe and our director would often guide us counting our breaths. Inhale on 10, exhale on a 10. Inhale on a 5, exhale on a 10 etc.
He would also say, "You're preparing for the work you're about to do."
Just take 10 minutes to sit still and breathe. Remember, you're preparing for the work you're about to do - your day!
You could tell a HUGE difference in our performances when we meditated and when we didn't.
4. Focus:
So, now that you've spent a couple of minutes stretching, breathing, and clearing your mind it's time to focus. You're not off the hook yet.
Don't start trying to solve problems. Try to focus on mindfully making your breakfast, mindfully packing your lunch, brushing your teeth or working on your skin care routine, etc.
Try to stay focused and in the moment.
5. Drink Water:
In the mornings after I've done all of these things, I drink 32 oz of tepid water with hot lemon. I drink it super fast to start my day hydrated.
My day is always better when I'm hydrated.
6. Kick-booty!
Ok, go out and crush THE DAY!!
You're going to have so much creative energy. Remember to take deep breaths during the day, get up and stretch, walk around the office, and make sure you're mindfully checking in with yourself.
