8 Self-Care Tricks to Make Your Mornings Better

Dress: Verge Girl (similar here and here); Shoes: Zara (similar here and here)

Ever since I was little, I remember my dad waking up at the crack of dawn. All throughout my teenage years, I heard him obsess over how much he loved the mornings – the time he had to himself before diving into the chaos of everyday life. I rolled my eyes. As someone who rose closer to noon at any given opportunity, I never understood the whole morning person concept. I held on strongly to this belief all throughout my university days. If a class started before noon, I refused to take it.

Then, a few years ago, something shifted. Somehow, I began to look forward to the mornings. It actually crept up on me. I realized that it was because I’d inadvertently started creating a morning routine. What started as a happy mistake, soon became an obsession. I’m not one bit ashamed to admit that I’m obsessive about my mornings. I have my routine down to a tee, and continue to improve it and add to it. The two pillars of my morning routine are self-care and efficiency.

The moral of the story is that parents, more often than not, know a thing or two. Obnoxious, I know. But that’s not why I’m writing this post. Today, I wanted to share my morning routine with you guys in hopes that it’ll inspire you to create your own. Self-care is so important, and doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. My morning routine (on days I don’t work out), is a total of 45 minutes to an hour, but if you can’t spare that, don’t sweat it! Start with 15 minutes.

If you don’t believe me, listen to Tony Robbins who’s a big proponent of morning routines. In fact, any successful person I’ve heard of has one. Point is, invest in yourself in the mornings. If nothing else, it’ll make Mondays less painful.

1. Develop Consistency
Science has shown that sleeping and waking up at the same time every day reduces that feeling of exhaustion that tempts you to hit snooze. If you want to start waking up earlier in the morning, don’t suddenly set your alarm for 6am when you’re used to waking up at 8. Instead, work in 15 minute increments. So, for example, go to bed 15 minutes earlier than you normally would, so that you can wake up 15 minutes earlier too. This will give your body time to get used to it.

The great thing about this is that you’ll no longer have to hit snooze and wake up with a lot more energy. The snooze button is the death of healthy morning routines – it allows you to procrastinate when you physically get out of bed, resulting in mayhem and rush to get out the door. You want to start your morning off on the right foot!

2. Avoid Social Media
As a rule of thumb, I try to avoid checking social media for 30 minutes after waking up. The reason for this is that if social media is the very first thing I consume upon waking, it leaves little room for my own creativity to blossom. Your morning is a sacred time which you should take for yourself. There’s no reason for your waking thoughts to be centred around someone else’s vacation or work out. Focus on you.

3. Practice Mindfulness
I recently incorporated 10 minutes of meditation into my morning routine and it’s made a world of a difference. It truly helps ground me and start my day off on the right foot. My favourite meditation app is Calm. But, mindfulness doesn’t necessarily have to be just meditation. I also write in my Five Minute Journal, and finish my morning pages (3 pages of stream of consciousness writing, check out The Artist’s Way for more details). Point is, take some time to ground yourself and honour your thoughts and feelings.

4. Hydrate
I cannot stress the importance of hydration in the morning. I have hot water with lemon and apple cider vinegar every morning. Lemons are high in antioxidants and give your immune system a boost, while apple cider vinegar is anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and is a powerful alkalizing agent.

If you’re a coffee drinker (I most definitely am), make sure you hydrate before you have your morning brew.

5. Get Moving
Umm endorphins anyone? Try to get your workout in first thing in the morning – it’s a major mood booster. Also, if you tend to get lazy about working out later on in the day, getting it out of the way first thing in the morning is the best solution. On days that you can’t work out, just move. That could mean anything from stretching to a brisk walk.

6. Listen to Inspirational Words
Upon wrapping up my workout, I love listening to a podcast, audiobook or Youtube video as a motivator for the rest of my day. If you’re short on time, you can do this while getting dressed, putting on your makeup, or during your skincare routine. Which brings me to…

7. Perfect Your Skincare Routine
Okay so you already know that skincare is my favourite thing. It’s one of those things that yields immediate results, and who doesn’t want that? Get to know your skin type and develop a skincare routine that doesn’t make it feel like work. Use the right products and just put in the time to take care of yourself. Not only will your skin thank you (hello, natural glow), it’s also a simple way to pamper yourself.

8. Nourish Your Body
Last step – a nutritious breakfast. I’m not saying you have to prepare a gourmet meal for yourself, quite the opposite, in fact. I’m saying that you can whip up a delicious and healthy smoothie in about 5 minutes. This way, you start your day off right, allowing you to make better food choices during the day. Plus, think about how gross you feel if you start your day by eating something that’s bad for you.