I have always been a morning person, so I was not too seriously inconvenienced, in my fifties, when I had to start over and create the mother-of-all morning routine to help me manifest the life I wanted to live, from then onwards.
A couple of years ago, I had already created a compact morning routine that nevertheless packed a punch, for my Walking the Camino de Santiago retreat guests, to ensure they get the most benefit out of every day of the retreat.
I took the 5 components of the Meraki Morning Routine and used them as the foundation for the morning routine I felt would help me to make a success of the small business I started.
I included the following activities:
- Gratitude Journalling: I start every day thinking about everything that made me happy the day before.
- Breathing Exercises: my favourite is square breathing, a great way to get oxygen to your brain.
- Intention setting: I set one intention for the day that aligns with my business objectives, my values and my daily priorities. It helps me to maintain my focus throughout the day.
- 2 large glasses of water and an espresso
- Walking in Nature, including a short walking meditation and ending with some stretching exercises
- Inspiration: podcast, YouTube video, article, book
- Education – online courses, mostly – and Research
- Creative writing: articles, blog posts, newsletters, pictures, reviewing or creating new courses or writing/rewriting a book
- Sharing my products and content on social media
- Review goals (short, medium and long term) and Visualisation/Mental Rehearsal/Self-hypnosis: Reviewing and visualising my goals keeps me focused on my long-term vision and allows me to track my progress in my journal, celebrate and reward success, and identify areas that need improvement.
- Spiritual practice
- Planning my day and prioritising urgent tasks: I outline the tasks I need to complete that day and allocate specific time blocks for each. I prioritise tasks that are high-impact and align with my business goals.
- Connection – reply to emails/comments on social media – and Networking. Winding down, I also reach out to friends and family – by text, email or telephone – to find out how they are doing. I usually have my second espresso while I do this.
If I have left anything out, please let me know!
How long does this take me? About three hours, starting at 06h00. Do I do everything on the list every day? Some days I do, other times life happens, the horses break through the fencing, the farrier arrives at 8h00, my brother rings at 7h00, or I want to attend a live Zoom class at 06h00. Do I follow this routine every day? Not every day, no, and I don’t follow my morning routine on Sundays at all. Don’t you have breakfast? No, I have been doing intermittent fasting, for nearly 5 years now. And I shower after I have worked the horses, which is usually next on the agenda.
Knowing your life purpose can significantly enhance your morning routine by providing inspiration, clear direction and lasting motivation. When you understand your purpose, you can tailor your morning activities to align with your long-term business or career goals, making your routine more intentional and effective. Engaging in purpose-driven actions each morning not only sets a positive tone for the day but also enhances your emotional well-being, as your daily efforts resonate perfectly with your values and aspirations.
If you are still trying to discover what your life purpose is, don’t despair. I have created an online course to help you, it’s called the Discover Your Life Purpose after a Life Crisis, Challenge or Change Course. It will help you gain the clarity, motivation and direction you need to easily create a morning routine of your own and manifest your next chapter – in both your personal and professional life. Get immediate access
Everyone’s morning routine is unique, reflecting their personal preferences, lifestyle, and plans. Some people may prioritise physical exercise to boost energy and fitness, while others may focus on mindfulness practices like journaling to enhance mental clarity and emotional well-being. The diversity in morning routines can be explained by various factors such as career demands, family responsibilities, or personal aspirations. What works for one person might not suit another, underscoring the importance of tailoring a routine that aligns with your own preferences and priorities. This ensures that your morning routine prepares you for a profitable and productive day.
To motivate you to create a morning routine of your own, I have listed some of the most inspiring morning routine quotes that I could find:
“If you’re changing the world, you’re working on important things. You’re excited to get up in the morning.” — Larry Page
“I never wake up in the morning and wonder why I am here. I wake up and wonder why I am not making here better.” — Jeffrey Fry
“Morning is an important time of day, because how you spend your morning can often tell you what kind of day you are going to have.”– Lemony Snicket
“Some people dream of success, while other people get up every morning and make it happen.”– Wayne Huizenga
“Lose an hour in the morning, and you will spend all day looking for it.”– Richard Whately
“I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning.”– J. B. Priestley
“You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.”– John C. Maxwell
“Waking up this morning, I smile. 24 brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment.”– Thich Nhat Hanh
“Success is to wake up each morning and consciously decide that today will be the best day of your life.”– Ken Poirot
“The first hour of the morning is the rudder of the day.”- Henry Ward Beecher
“An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.”– Henry David Thoreau
“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.”– Marcus Aurelius
“I’m always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up every morning.
Every day I find something creative to do with my life.” — Miles Davis
“Every morning is a reminder to let go the past and embrace the present.” — Tonmoy Acharjee
“For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.”– Steve Jobs
“Everyone has highs and lows that they have to learn from, but every morning I start off with a good head on my shoulders, saying to myself, ‘It’s going to be a good day!”– Lindsay Lohan
“The biggest task in the morning is to try to keep my headspace from being invaded by the outside world.”– Austin Kleon
“With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.”– Eleanor Roosevelt
“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”– Maria Robinson
If you wake up one morning, in no mood to do your morning routine, that’s okay, it happens to the most successful of us. Do as much as you feel up to, we all have good days and bad days, but always, always, no matter what, do the gratitude practice, even if it’s just 5 bullet points in your journal.
“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. The slogan ‘Press On’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” —Calvin Coolidge
So press on. Create the morning routine you know will make all your dreams come true and then stick to it.
In addition to the transformational retreats that I host at my little French farm near Bordeaux, I have also created a couple of online courses, ex. Break Free from Uncertainty and Get Going in a New Direction – each course is available with or without one-to-one coaching. To receive notification of last-minute and early-bird specials on all of the above, I invite you to subscribe to my Savoir Vivre Vignettes newsletter which gives immediate access to my free How to Survive a Life Quake e-course.