Morning Routines Don’t Work (Out), This Does

What is your morning routine?

To be honest, it doesn’t make a difference what you do before your daily journey begins.

No one really thinks of that when they get up in the morning. Passing thoughts tend to be about not waking up in the first place.

And psst — people don’t care. Especially in the morning.

Perspective

I struggle daily with the idea of when to work out during the day. It seems like a great idea the night before but in the morning…just no. I am convinced that a recent change is the difference-maker.

Waking up early isn’t the problem.

It’s what you do right after.

Not the official, workplace, daily grind start of your day, but the first 5–10 minutes of your morning.

Nah, I’m Choosing Myself

The idea that working out in the morning just doesn’t work for some people was my idea for the past few months, but I think that was just me…not making excuses, but generalizing in a way that kept me from doing something difficult.

Isn’t that how it works? The easy explanation is always the best when you want It to be. But when it isn’t what you want to hear, it takes all you can do to come up with some semblance of an alternative.

My routine in the morning used to include watching TV — sometimes even reading a book — and sitting my ass on the couch with a slew of pillows that called my name softly and wistfully. Reading while tired is almost as bad as watching TV. It’s mindless.

Those pillows still call my name, but I just don’t listen as much.

My problem stemmed from one thing — waking up and sitting down immediately. Not just sitting, but relaxing, feet up, not doing anything with my mind.

Recently, this problem has become more and more evident. I totally stopped exercising — and I felt like crap. I was more stressed and emotionally down. I was noticing an impact in my competitive level in sports.

For lack of a better term, I was guilty.

Start Right, Not Left

Waking up in the morning should transition into some kind of mental activity that is…well, active, but not so active that the morning mind fog kills the motivation.

What I have been doing lately that has helped me loads (thankfully warm weather is approaching) is sitting or standing outside with my coffee (take it or leave it) immediately after waking up.

I try to do this for at least 15–20 minutes, but often I find myself enjoying closer to an hour alone with the birds, rain, or whatever else is going on around me. Waking up with the world, so to speak.

Then, an hour later, instead of feeling more tired than I was in my waking moments, I have the motivation to do something with myself. That potential can lead to anything: creating, exercising, or even working.

Find Meaning

In the end, you are not what you read, watch, or hear.

That is, routines (trendy version) are not what matter in the morning. In fact, most of these are simply the same thing over and over and are things that someone else is telling you to do.

Meditate. Read. Work out. Walk. …

What is the point if it has no purpose to you?

I do not mean that everyone needs to wake up “early”, whatever that means for you. My point is to not let your waking moments be the moments that put you back to sleep.

Your waking moments are some of the most important, so make them count.

I appreciate everyone who clicked, read, and even those who read the title and kept scrolling. Even though they’ll never know.

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