Trapped in a stress cycle? Try this morning routine

How you spend the first couple of hours in your day either helps or hinders your happiness, progress and wellbeing. 

I used to wake up with just enough time to get ready and out the door. I would stop for a coffee on my way to work and drink it as I powered up my computer to check my emails. I would get through as many emails as I could, glance at my to do list, and make my way to the first meeting of the day. Most days I couldn’t actually remember whether I had finished my coffee or whether I had eaten anything before my stomach growled at around 1 pm and I realized I was due for some lunch. I would rush to the cafeteria, bring my lunch to my computer, and get through some work or more emails while I ate. Before I knew it, the day was over. 

When I reflect on those days, I recall thinking this was simply how things got done. The cost of being an executive in a large company. 

Today, with knowledge about how our brain works and uses energy and, how best to regulate our nervous systems for hyper creativity and flow, I would have gone through my day very differently. 

Why? 

Well, my nervous system was on high alert from the minute my feet touched the floor and stayed that way most of the day. I focused on getting through my to do list without any consideration for how my brain processes information or uses energy. I didn’t know that creativity and flow could be heightened with a few simple tricks. 

Today, I do things a little differently and my productivity, overall wellbeing and life satisfaction are drastically improved. It all started by changing how I start my day. 

I wake up around 5am to meditate, workout, journal and read. 

Sometimes I simply sit on my porch and watch the birds fly by, allowing my mind to wander and take in my surroundings. I almost always have a creative insight during this time. When you allow your brain to wander, you activate your Default Mode Network (a network of neurons that light up when you are not focused on a particular task). This network is beautifully creative, insightful and filled with new ideas. You experience it’s power when you have an AHA moment after a shower or run, or something pops into your head seemingly out of nowhere. This is your Default Mode Network and it needs space to do its magic. 

Next, I prioritize my day, bucket my work according to the type of work and creative power required, make sure I make space for breaks and allow for thinking and reflective time. 

Then, I put my schedule and phone away and concentrate on connection with my hubby and kids. I book this time into my calendar because I don’t want anything else to come between connection with my family. This is 30-60 minutes of us eating breakfast, talking about our day and anything we have on our minds. 

These few things allow me to start my day slowly, invest in myself, learn through reflection, enhance my emotional intelligence, build confidence and presence, ensure I make the most out of my working hours and align my days activities with the things that I know bring me joy and satisfaction. 

Incorporating these into my morning routine was hard at first, and after awhile it was hardwired into my brain and became a natural way of being. 

How do you start your day?