Know What You Want From Your Morning Routine

Now that you have reflected on your current morning routine, you can start brainstorming what you want from your new one. The first step in this brainstorming process is knowing what you want from the morning ritual. 

Perception 

In the last chapter, we mentioned how perception sometimes matters more than reality. When you were reflecting on your journal, did you notice that your perception did not match reality? If so, how did it differ? If the reality and perception matched, why do you think your perception was accurate? Have you done any work on perception before? 

To know what you want from your morning routine, you have to understand your current perceptions and how they affect the way you approach your mornings. You cannot have unrealistic expectations for your mornings, or else you will feel they are worthless and give up. 

From the get-go, understand that a morning routine is not going to change your entire life. If you have bad habits elsewhere, a morning routine will not erase them. Although a morning routine will benefit you in a number of ways, it will not completely turn your life around on its head. 

Additionally, do not think that creating a morning routine is easy. Even though everyone naturally wakes up, a morning routine is a daily commitment you make to yourself and your life. Unless you are willing to put in the hard work, a morning routine will likely not stick in your life. 

Finally, the last perception that you need to break is that a good morning ritual will stick now and in the future. Even the best morning rituals will need to be improved later. Since life changes, so too should your morning ritual. If you do not want to change your morning ritual down the line, it will likely stop being applicable to your life. 

No matter what your perceptions about mornings may be, make sure that they are realistic. If you think that any of your perceptions do not match reality, take the time to try to adjust them and ingrain the new perceptions into your head. 

Know Your Main Objective for Creating a Morning Routine 

With the discussion of perception out  of the way, you can now start thinking about the main objective for creating a morning routine. Although this step may sound scary, you probably already know the answer to this question, even if it may not seem obvious at first. 

The main objective will help guide you when selecting activities and goals for your morning routine. Unless you know what you want out of your morning routine, you cannot create a ritual that impacts your life and improves upon your needs. 

The main objective for your morning routine should be why you want a morning routine in the first place. Do you want a morning routine to give you more time in the day? Do you want a morning routine to make your days less stressful or more productive?  

In other words, the reason for choosing this eBook is likely to be the main objective for creating a morning routine. 

Prioritize Your Goals 

As you were thinking about your main objective, you probably thought of several goals that you have. That is completely fine and normal. Very few people only have one reason for wanting to start a morning routine. 

Even though it is normal to have multiple goals, you need to prioritize them. If you try to focus on too many goals simultaneously, it will be difficult to create a morning routine that feels capable and not overwhelming. Prioritize your goals to keep everything manageable. 

For example, start by focusing on your main objective. Your main objective is the most important goal. So, it should be the one you start with. You can add a secondary goal if you feel that it is not too overwhelming. At any time you feel that you have too much on your plate, go back to your main objective goal. 

Know What To Keep and What to Change 

Now, you can start brainstorming based on your morning journal from chapter two. The morning journal’s point was to record and recognize trends about the relationship between your morning routine and your daily feelings, thoughts, energy, and actions. 

Whenever you reflect on your morning journal, start noting what habits you want to keep and what habits you want to change. Even if your morning is relatively rushed and stressful, you may have one or two things you want to keep in the morning routine. For example, most people want to keep their morning cup of coffee. 

In addition to noting what you keep, pay attention to what you want to change. In many ways, knowing what you want to change will be the most important. It gives you room and time to add new activities that enhance your goals and well-being. 

To keep this stuff organized, you might want to create a chart in your morning journal. On one side of the chart, list what you want to keep. On the other side of the chart, list what you want to change. You can even go as far as to cross out what you want to change to help visually ingrain it into your brain. 

Select Activities That Match Your Goals 

Once you cut out many activities from your morning routine, you will likely find that you have a lot of time to fill. You will fill this time with productive and energizing morning rituals that establish productivity and relate back to your main objective. 

There are countless morning activities you can add to your morning ritual. Some of the most popular include reading, writing, working out, sitting outside, meditating, mindfully eating or drinking coffee, and planning out the day. We will talk about more individual activities in upcoming chapters. 

In your morning journal, write down a list of activities you may want to try. You do not have to try every activity at once, but it will help you switch things up later on. I recommend having an entire section of your journal dedicated to activities you would like to try out for future reference. 

Focus On One Activity At A Time 

As you are first getting started, select one activity that really excites you and best matches your main objective. With your morning ritual, be sure to add that in and try it out. Although you may be tempted to try a variety of different activities at once, refrain from doing this. 

Focusing on too many activities at the beginning will feel overwhelming, and you will not be able to master any of them. Instead, selecting one activity to focus on ensures that there is not too much on your plate and that you can adequately decide if it is right for you. 

Recap 

Begin to craft your morning routine by having a strong understanding of what you want from it. Determine the main objective and secondary goals to help guide you when selecting your new morning ritual activities. Make sure to only focus on one activity at a time to not become overwhelmed by and give up on the new morning routine.