My Plan to Conquer My “Morning Routine” Resolution

First and foremost, when did “resolution” become a bad word? I’ve seen a lot of people avoiding it lately and it’s got me confused. I get the idea of not wanting to set expectations just to let yourself down, but I really think it’s all about how you see it. I’m a self-improve-a-holic so even if I get down on myself for not accomplishing something, I dust myself and find a road map to how I’m going to get there.

So far in 2018 — I’ve felt good vibes from all the people around me, and good vibes on the interwebs. It seems like I’m not the only one who can already see that 2018 is going to be better than 2017. A few weeks ago I shared my 5 easy resolutions with you guys, and so far I’ve been taking steps towards every resolution…except for one. (I know the title already gave it away), but keep reading to find out why sticking to a morning routine has been so hard for me…

Ah, the morning routine.

Most of you know I worked in the corporate world for 5 years and this forced me to have a morning routine. At one job I got to the office at 6:30AM which meant I was up and at em and in the office before the sun came up. At another job, I had a later start which meant a later day in the office. This meant working out at night was out of the question unless I wanted to tack on some extra hours in traffic, so I worked out in the morning. (I was actually SO much better about working out when I had a desk job, but I digress.)

Ever since going self-employed, I have really really struggled to have a strict morning routine. Part of me wonders if there’s some sort of psychology to it — like I was forced to be somewhere at a certain time for so many years that deep down I’m afraid of being conformed like that again. Part of it could also very well be that I’m just not a morning person. Jesse knows he shouldn’t talk to me until I have some sort of food and coffee in the morning… (I’m a cranky one). I’m extremely productive at night and get this extra burst of inspiration and motivation. Example: It’s now 8:03PM as I write this blog post.

The problem with working so late is that Jesse and I lose out on a lot of evening time together as I’m tied to a computer. Over the holidays we really enjoyed our evenings together and had a little night routine of watching a different Netflix series every night. I’d love for that to be a regular thing, and I’d love to disconnect from electronics and work earlier.

I’ve worked out a plan to get this ish done, and now that I’m writing it publicly for the world to see, you guys can hold me accountable as well!

Here’s My Plan:

1. Go To Bed at a Set Time

This is going to be the hardest one to follow, BUT I think it’s one of the most important. I’m making my exact bedtime 11:30PM so that if I wake up at 7:30AM I will have a full 8 hours of sleep — which is essential for me. There’s even a nifty feature on the iPhone clock app where you can set a bedtime and wake time – it will remind you before bedtime to go to sleep!

2. Prep Breakfast Ahead of Time

I’m notorious for grabbing a cliff bar before my morning workout and being done with it, but in my dream world, I’d start every morning with a green smoothie. So I’ve stocked up on frozen fruits, protein powder, and almond milk, and plan on making a smoothie for breakfasts instead. If I’m not feeling a smoothie, I’ll do overnight oats with either berries or peanut butter and banana. Overnight oats will take a little bit of prep at night but they are super easy to make and healthy too!

3. Disconnect from electronics by 10:30PM.

Another hard one, but I think part of what keeps me awake so late is staring at a bright screen like a laptop or phone. I’m trying to read more books so I’m going to use this time to do my skincare routine and read.

4. Map out outfits the night before.

I find when I lay out my workout outfit the night before, I’m 90% more likely to work out. It saves me time in the morning, and I don’t have to think about anything or make any decisions before my morning coffee. I’m thinking I’ll do this for outfits too. I’ll confess, working from home makes it very tempting to stay in pajamas or sweats all day, but I find that it sets a mentality that’s not productive.

5. Sign up for my workouts ahead of time.

I usually just walk in 10 minutes before my PureBarre class and hope there is space, but signing up for them ahead of time will really hold me accountable. If you sign up for a class and then miss it, you pay a small fee. If I get my workout done in the morning, I’m usually way more productive during the day. It gets me energized, motivated, and honestly just wakes me up.

What do you think? Is a morning routine necessary? Do you have one?

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Photos: Laurel Creative