How you start your morning sets the tone for your entire day. Creating intentional morning rituals can help you feel more grounded, focused, and connected before the world pulls you in every direction. Whether you’re craving a bit of calm, clarity, or purpose, these simple morning habits are designed to bring mindfulness into your routine—so you can move through your day with intention and ease.
Mornings can be hard. I am a self-proclaimed ‘snooze button addict.’ In fact, I have been known to set my alarm for almost an hour early so I can hit snooze approximately 11 times. No joke- 11 times.
But, the problem wasn’t exactly with my snooze addiction, the bigger problem was how it would set the tone for my day. My snooze-button-pressing would send me into a tailspin of all kinds of other things- rushing to get ready, leaving the house frazzled, running late…By the time I walked into work I was already stressed, anxious, and out of patience AND I hadn’t even turned on my computer yet.
I am guessing many of you can relate to my morning routine. Maybe not the snooze button addiction but the stressed out, frazzled, anxiety-ridden morning.
This is NOT the way to start the day!
Especially since there is plenty of research that shows that the way you start your day greatly impacts your entire day.
It all starts with how you wake up.
Most of us wake up and jump right into our days…checking our phones, looking at emails, maybe a quick scroll through social media.
Wham, Bam full-swing into our stress-filled days before we even step out of bed.
Here are five simple rituals to help you start your day with intention and mindfulness —all in less than five minutes
1. GRATITUDE
Before you step out of bed, in fact before you even fully open your eyes, GIVE GRATITUDE. Give thanks for a new day, new opportunities, your health, your family, your dog, your cup of coffee waiting for you, the sun, the snooze button, whatever.
You can write this down or just say it in your head. If you want to make sure you stay on time, set a timer for 2 minutes. 2 minutes seems too long? Then just list off a few things. It’s not really about the quantity, it’s the quality that matters!
Spend the first few minutes (or seconds) of each new day feeling fully grateful for your life.
2. UNPLUG
This one has 2 parts but both are equally important!
Unplug From the PHONE: For many of us, the very first thing we do in the morning is open our eyes, roll over, aaannnd… check our phones. But, by picking up that phone and immediately checking messages or work emails, you are starting your day with a reactive mindset. From the second you wake up your brain switches into ‘problem-solving mode.’ It is on high alert, ready and waiting for problems AND releasing large amounts of cortisol (your body’s main stress hormone.) So, by checking your phone first thing in the morning you are already starting your day with an increased amount of stress hormones (and, we all make enough of those already, so we really don’t need any extra ones!)
Unplug from the NEWS: Many of us start our day catching up with local and world news. Maybe you flick it on as you are getting ready or maybe you listen to an ‘all news’ radio station. And, as we all know- all news is bad news. There isn’t a whole lot of good that is being reported on TV because, well you know, bad news sells.
But, did you know that the simple habit of watching the news first thing in the morning could be sabotaging your mood for the whole day?!
According to research done by Shawn Anchor (Happiness Advantage)”Individuals who watched just three minutes of negative news in the morning had a whopping 27% greater likelihood of reporting their day as unhappy six to eight hours later compared to the positive condition.”
3 minutes of news = unhappiness 6-8 hours later!
This doesn’t mean you can’t ever watch the news or check your phone…but don’t start your day this way!
3. MOVE YOUR BODY:
Now, I know this is just a quick morning routine and not everyone has time to go for a long walk or take a yoga class first thing in the morning. But, everyone has time to MOVE.
Doing just 2 to 10 minutes of stretching right away in the morning will increase your energy, release those endorphins, center your mind, and (obviously) stretch out your achy muscles that have been lying idle for the past 5-9 hours!
Stretching be as simple as standing up straight, putting your arms up high above your head and leaning from side to side. Or, bending over and touching your toes (I know this one isn’t so simple for everyone!) Twists are also great to do in the morning too. Sit on a chair (or the ground) and twist your torso to each side.
There are no rules to moving your body- do what feels good and what you have time for. The goal is to get your body moving, your energy up, and your happy hormones flowing!!
4. Meditation
Meditation does not mean sitting cross-legged and chanting ‘Om’ repeatedly, but it does mean giving full attention to your current thoughts and your breath.
There are numerous benefits to mindfulness (meditation) including reduced stress, alleviating symptoms of anxiety and depression, increased focus, decreased attention issues, an increase in positive emotions, and even improving the brain and age-related memory loss. The benefits of meditation are pretty much endless.
And, THE BEST part is that research has shown that these benefits can happen in as few as 2-5 minutes of meditation per day! That’s it! 2-5 minutes!!
Set a timer for 2 minutes ( you can use your phone but ONLY for the timer) and focus on your breathing.
Breathe in for the count of 4 (or 5, or 6..there are no rules)
Hold for a count of 4
Release for a count of 6 (or 4 or 5 or 10…it doesn’t matter!)
Repeat this for 2 minutes. You will notice that when you count your breaths or focus on your breathing, try not to think about anything else! Not the kids fighting, or what you have to do today, or anything. All you have to do is focus on your breath for 2 minutes.
So easy, yet so hard!!
5. SELF VALUE
Self Love. Self Value. Self Worth. When you wake up in the morning, spend some time thinking about what you value about yourself. You can think it, write it down, or say it out loud. It doesn’t matter how you do it.
WHAT DO YOU VALUE ABOUT YOURSELF?? NOT what you do, NOT how you look, or how much money you have, or goals you have achieved. But rather YOU. What YOU LOVE about yourself. What YOU VALUE about yourself. Why YOU are WORTHY
Because I promise you, my friend- YOU ARE ENOUGH. YOU ARE WORTHY
Morning rituals don’t have to be difficult, complicated, or time-consuming—and they certainly aren’t limited to just these five tips. Create a morning ritual that feels right for you, and you might be surprised at how it doesn’t just transform your mornings but your entire day!
I challenge you to incorporate these into your life for the next 5 days and see for yourself if you notice a difference!
