Transform Your Energy And Focus With this 15 Minute Morning Routine

How you start your day matters if you want to succeed

It’s no exaggeration when I say that cultivating a morning routine as a habit, can be life-changing. It certainly was for me.

A multi-passionate entrepreneur with two (at times three) business to run, a household to manage, kids, a husband that worked away, school runs, social activities and a couple of very active dogs all added into the mix. Life felt full on! I would feel as though I was in a never-ending cycle of never having enough of what is the most precious commodity of all. TIME!

I was chasing time, trying to get it all done, but never really having enough of it to get to the end of that never-ending to-do list. In fact, who am I kidding, I didn’t even have the time to make a list in the first place. I was making progress and getting things done, but life felt chaotic and as though I was constantly rushed.

I have always been a person that loves to go with the flow, a free spirit winging it through life and making it up as I go along. Whilst there is still that part of me and I love it. I just knew that as my goals got bigger and I wanted to fit more in, I had to start developing ways in which I could achieve that without feeling as though I was on the edge of burnout.

I began to absorb all things habits, routines and life hacks that I could find. To work on my motivation, productivity and obsessed with creating what would truly feel like my ‘best life’.

The 15 Minute Morning Rule

I began cultivating a morning routine of from all the things that I had learnt from various experts and high achievers. Finally coming to a sweet spot, a routine that really clicked for me, and it changed everything.

I became more focused, more productive and as a result, less stressed. I opened myself up the space where I felt I had all the time I needed to include the things that really mattered in my life.

I began to get up earlier, starting just 15 minutes earlier than normal. Then, as I could feel the difference in my day I increased that time. I am now habitually an early riser and usually get up between 5–5.30am during the week.

It isn’t really about the time of day you wake up, but more about what you do with your time first thing in the morning before you start your day.

When I started this habit, I was running my businesses whilst still having young children at home. So my mornings became a sacred time where I could be alone in quiet, on my own, to check in with myself before everyone else in the house woke up. I could sneak in a couple of hours of work before my attention was diverted to my every day Mum tasks.

I’m not suggesting that you have to get up at 5 am, in fact as my kids get older and are becoming a little bit more self-sufficient, I am looking forward to being able to sleep that little bit later, but the 15 minutes in which I start my day will remain the same.

To simplify this I have broken it down into three different 5-minute blocks of time. These are the things that over the years have helped me to create focus and reset my energy to prepare me to face the day. Sometimes my routine is longer, but I aim to get this basic structure in before I head into my work for the day.

I’m still that go with the flow person at heart, but I also know that this sequence helps me flow just that bit better and so even taking just 15 minutes in your morning can massively impact the rest of your day.

It’s just 15 minutes, we could all create that by spending a little less time on social media right? Especially if you are the type of person that wakes up in the morning and the first thing you do is to check your phone.

I guarantee insistent phone checking in the morning is not helping you towards achieving your goals, so try this instead.

“The secrets to getting results that last is to never stop making improvements” — James Clear

Always be open to looking at how you can get that one percent better each and every day, and I truly believe that a morning routine is the ultimate starting foundation of just that.

This is a great way to get started with developing your own routine as I believe our wants, needs and desires are all very different and so your own routine should reflect that. This structure is a starting point that can really shift the focus of your mindset in the morning, and ultimately your ability to keep on reaching for more of your goals.

#1 Breathwork

When you get up in the morning after hitting the snooze button for the tenth time, then you reach for your phone and instantly be hit with the thoughts and stresses of other people’s lives, you hurtle yourself into a thought cycle of never-ending to-do lists, you are already on the back foot and ever so slightly on edge. With no focus and direction in your day, hours can be wasted without being as productive or as effective if you are just whinging it.

What if you could start the day with a moment of calm? To gain some focus, revitalise your energy as you flood your body with oxygen and calm down the nervous system

Simply for five minutes??

This is about slowing the mind as much as the body, moving from your flight or fight reflex as soon as you hop out of bed.

And instead, tapping into the parasympathetic nervous system to calm into rest and digest mode. It’s not only beneficial for your mindset, but your physiology and stops the body from being in a state of chronic stress.

The technique is simple.

• Set a soft-sounding timer on your phone for just 5 minutes
• Close your eyes, sit up straight and relax your shoulders.
• Breathe in deeply and exhale completely making the breath long, slow and deep and just notice the breath flowing in and out of the body
• Ask yourself the question. If I was to show up as my best self today what would that look like?

#2 Journaling — Write It Into Reality

Again setting your timer for just 5 minutes. Write out what showed up for you when you asked the question about showing up as your best self.

Free write in a notebook on how you would want to show up in your life for the day ahead.

Showing up with your health, your nutrition, hydration and your movement for the day. How you show up for your family and significant others, how you show up at work. How you are showing up as your most confident best self who fully believes that today is going to be a good day. What are you achieving? What are your goals? Then write them out as if they are already done.

#3 Plan And Create Your Schedule

Spend the final five minutes writing in any appointments, meetings and items that you want to get completed for the day ahead. You can do this in your notebook, or I highly recommend the use of a planner for this so you can create a type of to-do list for the day. Taking the time to identify what the top 3 priority items are for that day. Ask yourself if you were to be living into that best self vision today, what 3 things could you do to help you move towards your big dreams and goals?

Pick 3 things that will have the biggest impact on moving the needle towards your bigger stuff. Keep your to-do list short, keep yourself effective.

The 3 things that go at the top and get highlighted.

Having too many items on your list can lead to overwhelm and procrastination, so I like to keep it specific and effective.

Then head out into your day knowing that you have taken the time to tune in with yourself, with your energy but also your intentions for how you want your day to turn out. Then most importantly of all, you get to go and take ACTION on your priority items.

Sure, not every day is going to be perfect, it won’t always turn out as you had envisioned. But with repetition this practice allows you to take back control of the things that you DO want to create as you move towards living your best life, to set the tone and the energy for your day.

If you win the morning, you win the day — Tim Ferris.

Download your free Get Your Sh*t Together Life planner to overcome procrastination and overwhelm by guiding you through the strategy to getting more done, but with a lot less stress.