We continue to share all kinds of information to help you to focus on your self-care. We’re having a pandemic. Work is a challenge. And even if everything is great around us – it’s hard to work in a library some days.

We want to help you in your self-care practice, and to keep reminding you that this is important. Keep remembering to take care of yourself, and to keep doing the best you can. We’re here for you.

Let’s look at your morning routine.

This is an easy one to just ignore. A lot of people either groan and bang their alarms when they go off, or get up when kids start screaming. Either way: this is not a great way to start a productive, happy day.

So, let’s start from the idea that you aren’t going to get this one every day. Some days you will sleep in, some days the screaming/alarms will get you. It’s fine. It doesn’t matter.

Make a plan. Execute it when you can. Don’t worry about it when you can’t get it done. Maybe try to sneak in piece of it as you go through your morning, just to honor your commitment to your self-care.

I used to be more of a morning person. I’d pop up nice and early, get things done, and was irked that the stores around me didn’t open until 8a because it would be so convenient for me to go earlier. Then I got a head injury, and now I’m a sleeping-in person. It’s nice too! I like sleeping in – except that I have to go to work. So getting up on time, and ready to go, is important.

Whether this is something you struggle with, or if you just pop out of bed and are fresh as a daisy, you need a morning routine.

Think about what your perfect morning would look like. Then write down what you want to include in your routine. It can be complex or just a few minutes. Be realistic. If your schedule starts including “get up an hour early each day” know in your heart that isn’t going to happen. (And probably shouldn’t! Sleep is important!)

Here are a few things you might include in a morning routine. (I do some of these, and I pretty much keep each of them to one or two minutes because I need to get moving!)

• Drink a big cup of water. Just leave it next to your bed the night before, and gulp it down before you think about it. Hydration is self-care. Throw in a couple of drops of lemon, orange, lime or other flavorings if you want to jazz it up a little bit.
• Meditation. Again: be long-form with this and spend 30 minutes, or turn on your app and do one that is two minutes. Plan for something you will actually do. Meditation can reset your brain to a calm place, and give you the start for the day.
• Stretch. Do it in bed, if you want; or get up and plop down on the floor. Don’t more quickly with this, but do at least some brief stretching of all your body parts.
• Listen to upbeat music. Find something with a beat that moves you, and it will move you into your clothes, brushing your teeth, and out the door. Click on your favorite music app, and tell it to play a random, bouncy, cheerful playlist; or you can make a morning playlist of your own.
• Write down two goals. If you are a morning journaler, you might do this as part of your routine from last week. If not, just whip open your journal or your email or whatever, and jot down two things you really want to get done today. Big things, small things, stuff you hate, stuff that will be easy – that’s all up to you. Two things you will do today is the only rule.
• Be grateful to yourself that existed the night before. That person had the kindness to lay out the clothes you need today, and to set next to the door all the things you will need as you rush outside today. Whew! Thankfully, you don’t have to start your day by making decisions – everything is ready for you.
• Exercise. This one is definitely an optional one to add in your daily routine, because some people do better with this later in the day. But even a few minutes of some morning cardio can start pumping happy chemicals into your brain, and give you a good start to your day. (Try The Body Coach! He’s always so nice and bouncy – and you can do it with kids!)
• Make your bed. Everyone says this, and there seems to be merit to it. There is some serenity in coming home to a tidy room later.
• Do a very small amount of cleaning. If you have a few things on the floor, get them tossed wherever they should be. Wipe a cleaning towel over the bathroom counter. Put a dish into the dishwasher, or get them transferred to the sink for later processing. Run the vacuum in a small room. Get shoes all collected at the door. Something quick is fine. You can tell yourself you have already achieved something, and your home will be cleaner!
• Have set time for “out of bed” or “out of the shower” or “out the door” or all of these things. You may not make it every day, but knowing what specific time you are aiming for can give you some structure.

And most of all: just try to relax. Take a deep breath or two – even if you are doing something else at the same time. You have a whole new day ahead. No need to borrow trouble and get anxious about potential problems; right now you are just doing “morning routine” and that’s all you need.

If you have done other things that make your day start off in a better way, let us know! A positive start to the morning may not save the whole day, but it’s never a bad idea.