Morning rituals can increase your productivity. Do you feel stuck? Is your life on autopilot? Are you busy but not productive?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you might need to develop morning rituals to break you out of your rut and make you more productive.  We all have morning routines—go to the bathroom, brush our teeth, shower, grab a cup of tea or coffee, drive to work, etc.  But routines are different from rituals.

Routine versus Rituals

While a routine is an action that you do out of habit, a ritual is an intentional, purposeful, and consistent action or practice to help you achieve a goal.  It is not what you do so much as how and why you do it.

Mornings are the best part of the day; morning rituals set the tone and declare your intentions for the rest of the day.  Additionally, they can improve the quality of your day and the quality of your life, deepen your spiritual and emotional connections, reduce your stress, and make you more productive.

10 Morning Rituals

These 10 morning rituals will focus your warrior spirit and get you off to a great start. If you are new to morning rituals, try two of these and then gradually add a few more every week.

One: Don’t Snooze the Alarm

When the alarm goes off, get out of bed immediately.  Snoozing is bad for your body because you don’t have enough time for a full sleep cycle, and you get out of bed feeling groggy. 

Snoozing also tells your body that you’re not ready to face the day yet.  Winners wake up ready.  So, go to bed early and wake up with more energy.

Two: Make Your Bed

Making your bed may seem like a small thing, but it is a morning ritual that gives a sense of accomplishment. It is one of the first wins of the day. Making the bed will also prompt you to keep the rest of the room tidy.

Three: Drink a Glass of Water

Drink a glass of water before you reach for that coffee cup. Your body is dehydrated when you wake up because you haven’t had any water for seven to eight hours. So, drinking water rehydrates your cells and organs, including your brain when you wake up.

Four: Deep Breathe with Hand Over Heart

Sit quietly for a few minutes. Close your eyes and breathe deeply. Inhale to the count of 4, hold your breath to the count of 5, and breathe out slowly to the count of 6.  Repeat five times.

Place your hands over your heart.  Breathe normally.  Breathe a sense of love, joy, peace, and goodness into your heart.

Five: Read

Feed your mind with something positive as part of your morning ritual—affirmations, Holy readings, poems, etc.  This means not checking your social media first thing in the morning.  Yes, there might be some inspirational things on Facebook, but you must wade through the negativity and toxicity to find them.

It also means not checking your phone for messages or sending texts first thing in the morning.  There will be enough time in the day to do so.  Likewise, there will be enough time to check the weather and read the news. However, if you read on your phone or tablet, this may be challenging for you. 

I read primarily on my iPad (Bible, Kindle, newspapers, etc.), but I’ve disciplined myself to stay focused.  I also have all the notifications turned off. If possible, read out loud to stay focused. 

Six: Pray, Meditate

Regular prayer and meditation will discipline your mind and connect you to God or your Higher Power. Prayer opens our minds and hearts and transports us to the presence of God, the Spirit, and source of every good and perfect gift.

In the presence of God, we lay our weapons down and come as children to a loving parent who wants only what is best for us.  We lay ourselves bare, confess our weaknesses and failures, and express our needs, wants, and dreams.  And we leave comforted and at peace, knowing that everything will happen according to the Divine order.  

Seven: Write in a Gratitude Journal

Get out the pen and paper and let your creativity flow. In a world where we type everything, writing for a few minutes every day slows us down and does something special to the brain. For example, writing by hand increases brain activity in a similar way that meditation does.  Additionally, it unleashes our creativity and activates the brain’s parts responsible for thinking, language, healing, and working memory.

So, what should you write about? I recommend that you start with 5-10 things that you are grateful for. Write down the small things, big things, unexpected things, and miraculous things.  Similarly, you can write your to-do list for the day.  Lastly, you can write your goals, hopes, and dreams and release them to the universe.  The practice of writing will mold them into your subconscious mind. Eventually, they will consume your inner world and motivate you to achieve them.

Eight: Stretch and Exercise

Do a few simple stretches as part of your morning ritual.  Stretching warms your muscles, alleviates stiffness in your joints, and kick-starts your energy level.  You can follow the stretching routine that I outlined in my blog post, Ow,Ow, Ow. . .You Need to Stretch that Body, or do a yoga routine.

I also recommend that you do your regular exercise workout in the mornings.  Working out gives you an energy boost and increases your mental clarity. Furthermore, the benefits last for several hours after you’ve exercised.

Nine: Drink a Warm Beverage

In most cultures, people drink a warm beverage as one of their morning rituals. Coffee is the most popular beverage in the world.  In the U.S., the per capita consumption of coffee is 88.8 gallons per year compared to tea at 34 gallons and bottled water at 33.5 gallons. 

This is not the space to have the coffee versus tea debate.  If you like coffee, drink coffee.  Likewise, if you like tea then drink tea.  The point is that drinking a warm beverage is nurturing and soothing, and it connects us to our cultural roots. additionally, if it has caffeine, it will temporarily keep you alert and focused.

Many people bypass tea and coffee in the morning for warm water.  Drinking warm water increases the tightening of the intestines, which helps with digestion and prevents constipation.  I like to drink hot lemon water. Add a slice of lemon or a squirt of lemon juice to the warm water for a vitamin C boost and to balance the body’s pH level. 

Ten: Listen to Uplifting Music

Music uplifts the soul and gets your heart pumping.  So, tune to your favorite radio station or get that playlist jamming on your phone as one of your morning rituals. Turn your morning commute into a concert. Sing at the top of your lungs and play the air guitar at the stoplights. It will make you a less aggressive driver, and you may be nice enough to let some other drivers get in front of you!

Now, It’s Your Turn

Although you may not be a “morning person,” these morning rituals will help you to be more productive.  Your morning rituals should look something like this: waking up early; welcoming the new day with a positive spirit; feeding your mind and soul with spiritual food; exercising to energize your body, and having a “go get it” attitude to meet some awesome people and excel in your career.  I think you will enjoy the blog post on the benefits of drinking hot lemon water and evening reflection questions to increase your productivity.

1. Which of these ten things do you currently do? How can you take what you do from being a routine to being a ritual?
2. Which of these rituals is new to you?  How easily will it be for you to incorporate them? 

Please share your experience in the comment section of this blog. Or you can join the conversation on the Keep It Tight Sisters Facebook Page.

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Eat. Move. Breathe.