How to create a morning routine that works for you
Start your day right with a morning routine tailored to you.
How often do you feel like you’re starting your day on the right foot?
What would your ideal morning look like?
What small changes could make a big difference in your morning routine?
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How you start your morning often sets the tone for the rest of your day. A structured morning routine, consisting of a series of daily actions performed in the same order, can help ground you and set a positive tone for the day.
Research shows that morning routines can significantly improve productivity, mental health, and overall well-being. Key benefits highlighted by various studies and expert opinions include:
👉 Increased productivity and focus: Establishing a morning routine helps streamline daily tasks, reduces the mental burden of decision making, and allows for greater focus on complex and creative activities.
👉 Physical and mental health benefits: Incorporating physical activity, even in small amounts, into your morning routine improves cardiovascular health, boosts mood, and enhances mental clarity. Additionally, a healthy breakfast stabilizes blood sugar levels, giving you sustained energy all day long.
👉 Reducing stress and anxiety: Routines provide a sense of control and predictability, which reduces stress and anxiety levels. In uncertain times, maintaining a consistent routine helps ease feelings of distress and increase mental resilience.
Sticking to a structured morning routine also develops self-discipline and consistency, essential qualities for achieving long-term success and fulfilment.
How to create a morning routine that works for you
You can create a morning routine that works for you by becoming aware of your current routine, designing your desired routine, and then using trial and error to develop a routine that works for you.
⚒️ Become aware of your current morning routine
Before you try to change your morning routine, it’s essential to understand your current habits (= where you are now). Follow these steps to list and review your morning activities:
👉 Document your activities: Write down the activities you regularly perform at the start of your day.
👉 Evaluate the benefits: For each activity, write down how it impacts you. Does it improve or worsen your focus, productivity, energy or mood? Does it align with your personal values and goals? Is it good, bad or neutral for you in the long run?
Approach this exercise with curiosity, the way a journalist or scientist observes someone else. Don’t judge or criticize yourself, simply notice what you’re actually doing. Reduce the impact of any unhelpful thoughts and feelings, and hold your self-stories lightly.
⚒️ Design your desired morning routine
To create a morning routine that works for you (= where you want to go), start by defining what you want to achieve. Is it increased energy, better focus, more productivity or a calm start to your day?
Once you've identified your goals, decide which activities to add or remove from your current routine. Your routine should reflect what really matters to you, such as your life purpose, personal values, and principles, to ensure it is sustainable and meaningful. Eliminate activities that don't contribute to your desired outcomes or that you don't find beneficial. Refer to the section ‘Actions to remove from your morning routine’ for specific ideas. Include activities that support your goals, are beneficial, and match your morning energy level. Mornings often bring peak energy and mental alertness, making it an ideal time for high-impact activities. For suggestions, see the section ‘Actions to include in your morning routine.’
⚒️ Use trial and error to develop a morning routine that works for you
Since what works for one person may not work for another, it’s important to personalize your morning routine. A useful approach to determine which activities work best for you is to use the trial and error method. This involves systematically trying different approaches (trials) until you find a successful one.
Here's how to apply this method to adapt your morning routine:
👉 Implement and Observe: Follow your designed morning routine for a week. For each activity, note how you felt during and after the activity. Consider your energy levels, enjoyment, productivity, and mood.
👉 Reflect and adjust: At the end of the week, review your observations. Keep activities that were energizing or productive. Eliminate or modify activities that left you feeling drained or unproductive. Experiment with alternative approaches, such as different exercise or mindfulness routines, or changing your breakfast.
👉 Iterate: Repeat these steps until you develop a routine that aligns with your individual goals and consistently boosts your energy, mood and productivity.
Use the strategies below to enhance the trial and error process.
Strategies to increase your chance of success
When using trial and error to develop your morning routine, employ these four strategies to enhance your chances of success:
⚒️ Make the cue obvious
Every behavior starts with a cue that triggers it. When designing your morning routine, choose a clear and specific cue to initiate the first action. For example, the sound of your alarm clock can cue you to make your bed. Alternatively, placing a glass of water by your bedside can cue you to drink water upon waking.
Each subsequent action in your routine should be triggered by the completion of the previous one. This creates a seamless flow: your second action follows the first, your third follows the second, and so on.
To increase the likelihood of successfully establishing your morning routine, write it out clearly:
👉 When my alarm clock goes off, I will make my bed.
👉 When I have made my bed, I will write down three things I am grateful for in my journal.
👉 When … (continue this pattern for each step in your routine).
⚒️ Make it attractive
Your desired morning routine will likely include actions that are beneficial in the long run but not necessarily enjoyable, such as exercising or eating a healthy breakfast. To make your morning routine more attractive, link actions you need to do with actions you enjoy (temptation bundling). For example, if you enjoy listening to audiobooks but find exercising challenging, combine these activities. Alternatively, reward yourself after exercising with a relaxing shower.
⚒️ Make it easy
The easier a behavior is to perform, the more likely you are to do it. Begin with small, manageable changes and gradually build a more comprehensive routine. This approach is crucial for long-term adherence.
👉 Taking committed action toward your desired morning routine will require you to make some changes. You are more likely to succeed if you start with one or two small, manageable adjustments. For example, instead of drastically changing your wake-up time, set your alarm just 15 minutes earlier than usual. Instead of incorporating a full workout, begin with a simple 5-minute stretching routine or a set of push-ups. Instead of overhauling your entire breakfast routine, start by adding one nutritious ingredient. As these small changes become habits, you can gradually build upon them and make further adjustments to create a routine that aligns with what truly matters to you.
👉 You are more likely to succeed in completing your morning routine if you prepare yourself ahead of time, reducing the friction of carrying out your actions in the morning. Help your morning self the night before by consistently going to bed at a time that suits you (sleep is essential for mental wellness), laying out your workout attire, determining the tasks you will focus on the next morning, or preparing healthy breakfast ingredients.
⚒️ Make it satisfying
We tend to repeat behaviors that are immediately satisfying and avoid those that are not.
👉 Reinforcement involves making a behavior satisfying by adding an immediate reward at the end, increasing the likelihood you'll repeat it. Make desired but unsatisfying actions more appealing by adding an immediate reward, such as taking a bubble bath, eating a small piece of chocolate, or taking a 10-minute break to do something you enjoy. Choose rewards that align with your needs and goals, life purpose, personal values, and principles.
👉 Tracking progress is satisfying and makes the progress visible, enhancing the feeling of satisfaction. People who track their progress on habits, such as losing weight, are more likely to make progress than those who don’t.
Actions to remove from your current morning routine
Consider removing one or more of the following actions from your current morning routine to enhance your focus and productivity:
👉 Tackling email: Checking email first thing in the morning can derail your focus by diverting attention from what really matters. It's easy to get caught up in responding to emails, consuming valuable time and mental energy. Delay email until later in the day to focus on high-priority tasks that align with your goals, allowing you to be more proactive rather than reactive.
👉 Checking your phone: Checking your phone often leads to distractions, disrupting your morning routine and setting a negative tone for the rest of your day. Exposure to social media or news updates early in the morning can trigger stress or anxiety. By refraining from checking your phone, you can engage in offline activities that promote self-care, such as exercise, meditation, or enjoying a leisurely breakfast with family, setting a positive tone for the day.
👉 Negative self-talk: Starting your day with negative self-talk or dwelling on past mistakes can set a pessimistic tone for the day. Instead, focus on gratitude practices to cultivate a mindset of optimism and resilience.
👉 Snoozing the alarm: Snoozing the alarm multiple times disrupts your natural sleep cycle, leading to grogginess and decreased alertness. It can also create a rushed and stressful start to the day, rather than allowing for a gradual and energizing transition.
Actions to include in your morning routine
Based on your morning energy levels, certain actions may be more effectively tackled during your morning routine. Consider incorporating one or more of the following actions into your desired morning routine.
👉 Start with a simple, achievable action: Begin by making your bed or drinking a glass of water. This promotes a sense of optimism and accomplishment, setting a positive momentum for the day. It also helps establish a sense of structure and consistency.
👉 Focus on your most important work: Incorporate your most critical tasks in the morning to capitalize on your highest energy levels and cognitive abilities. This minimizes distractions, sets a productive tone, and ensures progress on actions aligned with your needs and goals, life purpose and personal values.
👉 Practice gratitude: Set a positive tone for the day with gratitude practices. Write down three things you're grateful for or perform a short meditation focused on appreciation.
👉 Engage in mindfulness: Start your day with calm and focus through mindfulness practices. Incorporate a few minutes of mindful breathing, a brief body scan meditation, or gentle movement like yoga or stretching while paying attention to bodily sensations.
👉 Exercise: Include an exercise routine such as running or strength training to kickstart your metabolism, boost energy levels, improve mood, sharpen mental focus, promote better sleep, and reduce stress and anxiety.
👉 Tap into creativity: Many people find their creative juices flow more freely in the morning. Engage in activities like writing, brainstorming new ideas, or artistic pursuits like painting or composing music when your mind is clear and receptive to novel concepts.
👉 Tackle cognitive challenges: The morning is often the best time to perform challenging cognitive tasks or to absorb new information. Engage in studying, attending lectures, or educational activities when the brain is most receptive to learning.
👉 Set priorities and organize: Use mornings to set priorities and organize your day. With a fresh perspective and ample energy, assess what needs to be accomplished and create a plan of action. Prioritize five essential tasks aligned with your needs and goals, using SMART goals to be specific about what you want to achieve.
👉 Strategic thinking and planning: Mornings are ideal for strategic thinking and planning. Outline goals for the day, week, or long-term projects, leveraging the clarity of mind and focused attention in the morning to enhance decision-making and problem-solving abilities.
What if you fail to follow your morning routine?
Consistency is essential for establishing habits, but it's important to recognize that mornings can be unpredictable due to factors like illness, unexpected commitments, or schedule changes. Be flexible with yourself to accommodate these events. Aim to never miss twice: get back on track the next day.
Don’t be too hard on yourself if you miss a morning routine. Treat yourself with kindness, reduce the impact of unhelpful thoughts and feelings, and hold your self-stories lightly. Reflect on why you may have deviated from your routine and identify any patterns or obstacles hindering your consistency. Seek support from friends, family members, or accountability partners for encouragement, motivation, and practical advice.
References
You Get 25,000 Mornings as an Adult: Here are 8 Ways to Not Waste Them, James Clear
Kissing the Frog: How to Set Up a Morning Routine That Sticks, Psychology Today, Diana Hill, Ph.D.
Create a Morning Routine That Works For You, Psychology Today, Jeffrey Davis, M.A.
Five Minute Morning Habits To Bring Focus To Your Day, Psychology Today, Kristen Fuller, M.D.
