Waking up at 5 am every day for two hours of jogging, yoga, workout, mediation and visualisation?

No, thank you.

That’s how many busy people react to the words “morning routine”.

While getting up early and focusing on your self-care is a great way to start a day, you don’t need to invest all your time and energy to create an effective ritual.

It can be as simple as drinking a glass of water and as short as two minutes. It’s not about the amount of time, but what you do and how you do it.

So, why is it so important to have a morning routine? How can it set you up for a more productive day?

1. It can improve your focus

Starting your day from a physical activity, mindful breathing or meditation can help you maintain stronger focus during the day. And that’s usually the key requirement for a productive work.

One research proves that meditating or practicing mindfulness influences our brain activity. When you meditate, your brain stays steady not only during your practice, but also during other activities. That means it’s easier to keep your focus on the task at hand and be more in control.

Other morning rituals can boost your concentration as well. When you start your morning from a self-care ritual, your mind and body can slowly prepare for the day ahead, without jumping straight to the “fight or flight mode”. This gives you more room to connect to what really matters to you and saves more resources for other tasks later during the day.

2. It can help you stay sane

No matter what’s going on around, you need something that will help you keep sane. A morning routine can give you safety and calm, regardless of what happened a day before or what is about to happen in the next few hours. And this peace of mind will help you go through any stormy events.

Whether it’s meditation, visualisation, journaling, physical activity or a few moments to express your gratitude—your routine is always with you, prone to weather condition, viruses, global warming, political turbulences or other unexpected and unpleasant issues. It’s a constant part of your day that will help you reconnect to your self and prepare for the events ahead.

3. It can reduce your stress

A healthy morning ritual will help you start your day on the right note. When you start off slowly and mindfully, you feel more grounded and more in control.

This in turn will help you release stress and keep your mind sharp. There are countless studies proving that routines such as deep breathing or yoga stimulate the nervous system, dilate the blood vessels, increase the absorption of nutrients, and transport more oxygen to your brain. As a result, your energy level increases and your stress level drops, giving you the tools to stay calm also when you finish your practice.

With increased concentration, calm mind and connection to what really matters, you can go through your day in a smother, more productive way. A morning routine that shapes your mind and body is a perfect start of a new chapter, no matter how busy your schedule is.

Over to you

So, how do you start your mornings? Do you have a steady ritual or does it vary from day to day?

Dorota Pawlak

Dorota helps digital brands infuse their content with a local touch. She is a localization consultant, translator specialized in IT, prompt engineer, and a book author. Dorota teaches online courses on localization, writes for her blog and a Medium publication. She also runs a Small Biz AI, a Substack newsletter for freelancers and small business owners ready to discover handy AI tools.