Do you wake up early in the morning realizing that another hectic and busy day is ahead? You can’t help the feeling of being reluctant and demotivated. My morning routine checklist for adults will boost your mood right from the start.
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The issues with busy mornings
While we struggle with our busy daily routine, overcrowded schedule, and tight deadlines, we are in a constant rush from early morning.
If you think about the numerous tasks that are awaiting you from the moment you wake up, you cannot use the morning properly to set your intention for the rest of the day.
And then, you end up anxious, demotivated, and tired, and the day hasn’t properly started yet. The issue with this approach is that you consume too much energy this way, which can lead to burnout and many other serious health issues.
Needless to say is that if you put too much effort into your tasks and busy schedule from early on, you can’t get in touch with your needs, set a clear intention of how your day want to be, and direct your focus where it’s needed the most.
Waking up this morning, I smile. 24 brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment. — Thich Nhat Hanh
Download your Morning Routine Checklist For Adults PDF
In case you need help with your morning routine, and you’re not satisfied with the way how it is now, download my free morning routine checklist PDF file. As you see from the file, I added on the list some useful activities you can have in the morning. Also, you have an empty space there for notes, and you can track how you feel after that, or throughout the day. You can also keep track of your goals for the day.
Download your free copy here. Click the image below and you can start tracking your morning routines.
The importance of a healthy morning routine
Morning gives you the fuel for the entire day. It can help you set a clear intention and focus from the start. Also, adding some rituals such as warm lemonade with ginger, cinnamon and honey can give you an additional energy boost and vitamins.
If you start your day positively, there is a bigger probability to maintain that spirit during the rest of the day. Otherwise, if you start your day in a rush, imbued with stress, you will need a lot of energy to deal with all difficulties as they occur.
Here are just a few benefits your proper morning routine can give you:
- better energy
- better mood
- a sense of inner peace and happiness
- positive contribution to your health
- clearer focus
- reduced anxiety with the “take-it-easy” approach
- reconnecting with yourself through journaling
Morning is your time of the day to spend it with yourself. You can pick your favorite activity, such as meditation, yoga, or journaling, and add it to your daily routine. In case you’re convinced you don’t have time for this, think again. Instead of setting an alarm too late and jumping out of your bed frantically, grabbing your clothes, and going out for a commute, try to get up a bit earlier. Sacrificing some little amount of your sleep might be worthwhile if it means enjoying your mornings more. Believe me, it’s going to be worthwhile.
Before you hit the ground running chasing task after task in your busy daily routine, you can have your peaceful morning routine. Not everyone uses it the best way.
Morning is an important time of day because how you spend your morning can often tell you what kind of day you are going to have.
― Lemony Snicket
Why not use the limited and precious time you have early in the morning to boost your energy and plan your day in advance? If you are disorganized during the morning, your day is only going to get worse.
If you feel tired soon after getting up, it’s time to bring about some changes in your morning routine!
Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with Nature herself.
― Henry David Thoreau
The morning routine checklist activities
Since morning is a crucial part of your day, there are many effective and useful morning rituals and activities you can implement to start your day with an abundance of fresh energy and a positive mood. So, forget busy and hectic mornings. They can only do harm to you.
What you need instead is some mindful attention right from the start. Also, lest we forget some helpful morning activities that can unveil the hidden beauty of small and precious things in your life.
The morning routine checklist for adults consists of 10 amazing activities you can use to turn dreadful mornings into your favorite part of the day! I listed 10-morning activities you can incorporate into your morning routine.
- plan your day in advance
- make your bed
- set your intentions for the day
- do a quick journaling
- stay unplugged
- find your mini me-time
- move your body
- hydrate
- grab a nutritious breakfast
- add bits of cheerful songs/podcast
Plan your day in advance
This is really a thing – plan your morning routine the night before. To avoid all the morning rush and stress, take time and make a plan for what you need to do the next morning. Assess the time needed for each of the activities. When you wake up the next day you will not waste your time in futile efforts to organize. Write a to-do list so that you could have a clear overview of your activities.
Set that alarm a bit earlier
Sacrificing a few minutes of your sleep is a better solution than hasty and stressful mornings. Plan your morning activities accordingly and set that alarm clock a bit earlier, just to have enough time to complete all your morning rituals.
Make your bed
This certainly isn’t one of our favorite activities! However, it’s highly effective. Making your bed right from the start reduces the temptation to crawl in and snooze. Therefore, making the bed will motivate you to stay out of it, and slowly focus on other activities. Also, making your bed will help you feel more organized and proactive from the start.
Set your intentions for the day
Always start your mornings mentally preparing for the day. Think about the day ahead, visualize how it’s going to be, what you’re up to, and try to set an intention and a clear focus. It feels like gathering mental energy for the day ahead. However, don’t fall into a trap of overthinking. The goal here is not to increase anxiety with all possible negative scenarios, but just the opposite.
Try to gather energy for what’s to come, visualize and add some positive mantras to boost your mood. Choose some mantras that resonate with you and revive them. This is the fuel you need for the rest of the day.
Of course, this is not a revolutionary thought itself, but we neglect it anyhow. Let’s try out to take it seriously and really stick to inviting and fostering positive thoughts from early in the morning. Guess what will happen? There is a high probability that positive thoughts will affect you positively and raise your vibes.
Do a quick journaling
This is one of the best activities you can do in the morning to connect with yourself, to get focused on what’s to come, to lay out some fears and worries, and to feel relief from the start. Whenever I did quick morning journaling, I felt my anxiety decline, my mood increased, and it felt like I gained some clarity about what I needed to do to be aligned with myself. It’s difficult to track your emotional state throughout the busy day, and therefore, mornings might be the best part of the day for this.
Stay unplugged
Don’t check your emails or social media right after waking up. It’s a bad habit we all are prone to. It’s so counterproductive and intoxicating to check your notification first thing in the morning. It can increase anxiety from the start, get you into overthinking loop, and you might feel rushed to reply immediately.
My tip is to disallow notifications on your phone for just about anything: social media, emails, etc. Once you feel awakened and refreshed, you can check them out.
Mornings are hard, and why make them harder with all those business and notifications? You can always check them later, during your break at work, or during your commute time.
Find your mini me-time
Irreplaceable little morning rituals you love make your mornings upbeat, energetic, and easy to handle. Whether it’s hot coffee with milk, a quick shower, music in the background while you prepare for your work… If it makes you happy, include it in your morning routine, all the time. Let your mornings be imbued with positive associations and vibes from the start.
Or, in case you need some meditation, or mindfulness time: stop all your activities for at least 5 minutes and just focus on the present moment and your breaths. That way, you can enhance your focus and regain the calmness you will need so badly throughout the day. If you don’t have time for a full meditation, there are some meditation apps that can help you.
Move your body
A significant precondition to a successful day is early morning exercise. That’s why it’s an unavoidable part of our morning routine checklist for adults. Did you know? A 10-minutes workout to energize your body!
Boost your energy level, enhance your mood and activate your limbs with a quick workout sequence. As an outcome, your brain will love the fresh dose of oxygen it gets that way. The challenges will be easier to overcome if you energize and move your body in the early morning.
Hydrate
After a long night’s sleep, proper hydration is required. The benefits of hydration are numerous. For example, drinking a glass of water is a great way not just to awaken your body, but to give it enough fuel to work properly. After a long night’s sleep, water is there to help you awaken your brain and clean your digestive system.
What could be better than adding some vitamins to your liquid? For example, you can add some lemon juice to a glass of water. It is a quick and effective way of improving your vitamin daily intake, as well as staying hydrated.
Grab a nutritious breakfast
No matter what others say, breakfast IS important, especially if you have a busy day ahead of you. However, not all types of breakfasts are good. A meal without proper nutritive value can make you drowsy and slow.
A balanced and nutritious breakfast is something you mustn’t avoid. You need fuel to start your day properly. but it doesn’t mean you can indulge in the candies or snacks from the early morning. You need a nutritious meal to supply your body with valuable nutrients. You can combine proteins, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates.
Don’t bother with cooking and long preparation. There are plenty of quick and healthy recipes online, and it can take as little as 10 minutes to prepare a decent, yet healthy breakfast. Who could avoid that kind of breakfast?
Add bits of cheerful songs/podcast
For additional energy boost and inspiration, you can always turn to music or some inspiring podcasts. Avoid heavy subjects from early on, such as politics, etc, and focus on something that can motivate you and keep you going.
Also, when it comes to songs, pick some that speak to you, can motivate you to take on the world and energize you. The goal is to be energized and in a good mood so that you can tackle all the tasks that the world has thrown upon you.
Recap of the morning routine checklist activities
I hope I provided you with a superb morning routine checklist for adults. The list is in PDF format and you can print it easily. I also gave you some interesting suggestions about activities you can start implementing and make your mornings more energetic, fun, and interesting.
Hopefully, I motivated you to approach your mornings differently, with appreciation.
I'm a blogger and idealist. I've been exploring mindfulness, mental health, and other psychology and personal growth topics for years. I strive for harmony, self-improvement, inner peace and perfection. I am a narcissist abuse victims advocate and an empath.
Contact: sonja@upbeatimpulse.com
