Brookes Morning Routine
If you ask me, morning routines are the key to any successful day. One too many alarm snoozes turns into a rush out the door, purse caught on the door handle, hitting every red light kind of day. (If you know, you know.) Instead of fighting it and pretending like I didn’t know why so many days ended up like this, I decided it was time to get out of that mindset.
I’ll start by saying I am a podcast fanatic. I am always listening to podcasts, sometimes even three a day. My most listened to podcasts would be “Jay Shetty”, “Rachel Hollis”, “Him & Her”, “Joe Rogan” and “Diary of a CEO”. They all have such tangible stories, advice and incredibly intelligent guests. The reason why I am telling you this is because what most of them have in common is that they all talk about morning routines. Even their guests.
After realizing this, it opened my mind that morning routines must create success. And while I am still on that journey, I can 100% say I have noticed a shift and actually look forward to waking up in the mornings. My number one rule to getting out of bed every day is “if your kids are waking you up, you’re already behind”. If you’re a momma, you know how chaotic your days can be when you rush out of bed to meet every single need of your babies and then boom, it’s 3pm and you haven’t even brushed your teeth. Waking up earlier than normal is hard, being rushed and ruled by your day is also hard. Choose which hard you prefer. I would bet money, that you would choose to wake up early as opposed to being thrown to the wolves every day.
Here’s the thing though, when you’re listening to several people talk about what they believe is the best morning routine and then throw in social media influencers, Pinterest etc. the noise of it all becomes very intimidating. How do you figure out what is best for your mornings? That’s a journey you will have to take on your own. For me, it was a very random process which included slowly letting go of social media because I couldn’t even think for myself anymore. And then one day I realized I had integrated all of these random tactics that eventually evolved my morning routine.
A morning routine doesn’t mean you need to wake up at 5:00am and hit the gym hard. That’s for some, but not for everyone. It shouldn’t feel like a hard resistance. It should feel like a resistance you’re excited for. If you’re looking for ideas, here is insight on what my typical yet simple morning looks like:
Morning routine
5:45AM Wake Up
Make a French press of coffee
Gratitude journal practice (five things I am grateful for in the last 24 hours plus a mantra of the day)
If its a non office day, 30-45 minutes of Pilates
Find a podcast to listen to while I get ready
Skin Care routine (lately I’ve been using tallow as a moisturizer and it has worked wonders) + Ice rolling
Hair & Makeup
Shot of Turmeric/Ginger OR Turmeric Ginger smoothie. See link in “Recipes” for ingredients and benefits
One Brazilian nut per day
Supplements: I am a huge fan of Heart & Soil to my anemia and to also supplement hair, skin and nails. In addition, I take b12, zinc, magnesium and vitamin D.
Boys are usually awake by 7:30 and we then will start their routine
Extra: Because I shower at night, I end my showers with cold water for the last 60 seconds.
The goal to creating any kind of routine is to fill a space with purpose. Something that is meaningful to you and makes you feel proud of yourself for pivoting your habits. A couple weeks ago I listened to a Rachel Hollis episode and her guest said something that just hit me. It made complete sense and hopefully it pulls at you too. To sum up the context, he said: most of us struggle to get out of bed because most of our lives we were forced to get out of bed to instantly go to school and go to work. Snoozing 5 times, lights abruptly turned on, blankets ripped off, curtains drawn open. If someone did that to me today, I would be less than thrilled. Due to this lasting memory our bodies have retained, we often find it challenging to get out of bed. This reluctance stems from associating early mornings with tasks or situations that don't bring us joy.
What he followed this up with is that we have to change this narrative and find something that makes us excited to jump out of bed. Most of us have no problem waking up at 3AM to catch a flight, right? That’s because we are actually excited to do something. Instead of sleeping in until you have an hour until you need to be to work, carve an extra hour out before then to do something you ACTUALLY enjoy.
I hope you found this post some what tangible and inspiring to kick start a morning routine that you love, not one you feel obliged because of old habits or what everyone else is doing.
With love always,
Brooke
