At 34 years old, I’ve had more morning routines than I could even count.

Exercise, meditation, journaling, reading, etc.

It feels like I’ve tried it all.

And while I love morning routines, I’ve also discovered that I love variety.

Currently, instead of having one tried and true routine that I follow, I have found that I can have multiple routines, and I pick one based on the day, month, or season of life I’m in.

The most important piece is that I start it as soon as I wake up and make it last for about an hour. No excuses.

Otherwise, the lure of email or puttering around the apartment just seems to overtake me and before I know it, that first hour of the day is gone and I can’t get it back.

Why is this so important?

It might sound overly dramatic but in my own experience, how I start my morning seems to have a tremendous impact on how the rest of the day unfolds.

Being intentional about your first hour of the day shows that you have autonomy and are prioritizing whatever you need physically, mentally, or emotionally, at this time.

As Wellness Expert Adrienne Herbert shares in Harpers Bazaar,

“By having my Power Hour, I am consciously putting myself first, even if it’s just for that one hour. It’s not self-indulgent, it’s necessary to say, ‘I choose me, we do this first, and then get into the rest of it’, because the rest of the day, our time and attention and energy is going to be taken. So if you don’t reclaim some of it, you’ll never have you’ll never any for yourself, and that will wear you down.”

Here are a few of my personal favorite morning routines that I’ve tried over the past few years to start off the first hour of my day with intention.

Go on a walk and learn a language at the same time

I live in Florida and while 70% of the year the weather is a dream, summers are hot and brutal.

Until a few weeks ago, I upheld my routine of jumping right into work in the morning and taking a walk in the afternoon.

Now that it’s summer, that’s not the best idea.

Instead, now I’m walking at around 6:15 in the morning, and the weather is perfect.

While I’m walking, I listen to a 30-minute Pimsleur audio for learning Chinese.

If you want to learn a language whether it’s Spanish, Arabic, Korean, etc. doing it first thing in the morning is great because you do it before other priorities or resistance sets in.

Work on writing and brainstorming

Whether you write full-time or part-time, I find that the more I push off my writing until later in the day, the more difficult it becomes.

In general, I’m not a procrastinator but once in a while, I’ll put off writing an article either for myself or a client until the end of the week.

Maybe I’m not sure what to write or just feel like I have too many other things to do.

Then, when I actually get to writing the article, I’ll finish and remind myself that just doing it was much easier than I had built it up to be in my head.

As soon as you get up in the morning, and before you have time to think of excuses, sit down and write.

Fuel your mind with the right messaging

Do you find that more often than not you wake up on the wrong side of the bed and feel defeated before you’ve even started?

In the mornings or during seasons of life like this, try making your mind your number one priority in the morning.

Last year was the hardest year of my life.

Everything felt like a struggle and it was only when I made my mental health the focal point that things started to change.

Here is what my previous morning routine looked like:

• Meditation — Using the Headspace app for 15–20 minutes
• Affirmations — Writing two pages of positive affirmations
• Tapping — Doing a short 5–10 minute tapping video on YouTube
• Reading — Reading a few pages in a personal development book
• Journaling — Writing out my thoughts for about 5 minutes or less

On some days I did all of the above activities and on other days I just picked a couple to focus on.

Jump into your most important work projects

At other times in my life, I’ve enjoyed jumping into my work immediately.

Then, by the time most other people are starting work for the day, I can take a nice break to meditate, read, etc. and feel like I’ve already accomplished so much.

This is a good strategy for times in your life when you’re really excited about your work and want to keep the momentum going.

Or, this can also work well for procrastinators.

If you use this strategy, try setting a timer for an hour or two and plan a specific reward like a cup of coffee, a nice walk, a shower, etc.

A few final tips:

Remember that how you start your morning often sets the tone for the rest of the day, good or bad.

Be intentional about where you’re putting your energy and time during that first hour when you wake up.

Now, if you want to try this, there are two important things to consider.

First, how could I spend the first hour of my day that would feel both productive and enjoyable?

Both are important because feeling productive gives you energy and motivation while doing something enjoyable makes it easier to keep doing over the long term.

You want to find something that serves both.

So, choose one of the routines above and try it out for a week. If it doesn’t go well, decide if it’s worth giving it another week or see if you should try another one!

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