Setting yourself up with a consistent morning routine, every day, will change your life. It becomes your blueprint for productivity.
Because, people who practice a consistent morning routine have been shown to get more done, have better focus and step into their day with more purpose and commitment to the rest of their day.
I’ll bet you also want to know the secret to how consistent morning routines relates to daily habits.
Are they connected? I know they are.
How can you better set up purposeful, effective and consistent morning routines
Let’s start with the why.
No one every conquered their day without first conquering the first minute of their day
There’s a part of your brain at work which is great for getting routine things done. But it’s not so great when you unconsciously end up doing the same thing over and over again. I’m talking about those habits that you’d like to stop or change, like:
- eating when you’re stressed
- reaching for ice-cream or chocolate after dinner
- pouring a wine as soon as you walk in the door after work
- scrolling through social media rather than getting your work done
A routine (or habit) is what you repeat on a day to day basis. Something you don’t think about.
You just do it.
Practically the same thing every day.
Like getting up, having a shower, eating breakfast, going to work.
Boring or beneficial?
Some people think routines are boring. I know that routines are a necessary part of life. They are so beneficial. So necessary that our brains deal with routines in a particular way. A way that you hardly need to think about what you’re doing.
And, that frees up your brain for all the fabulous things you want to achieve during your day.
You see, your brain has two thinking parts. The conscious mind and the automatic mind.
The Conscious Mind
The conscious mind is is at work when learning something new and making decisions based on information. It does this milli-second by milli-second. You’re very present and very aware of what’s going on around you while you take in new information. You’re reading signs, discovering new experiences.
The Automatic Mind
The automatic mind is the part that handles all the decisions and activities that you’ve already assessed in the past. Things you’ve done before a few times. Your brain shuttles that task to the automatic mind so that it can take over the work without the conscious mind having to check in again.
The automatic mind is at work when you’re doing things like tying your shoelaces, brushing your teeth, typing, handwriting, driving to work the same old way.
Have you ever had that experience where you arrive home from work and can’t quite remember the journey? That’s the automatic mind at work.
The automatic mind is where habits and unconscious behaviours (including repetitive thoughts) live. The automatic mind is a habit making machine! In fact, one of the things that your brain loves to do the most is to make habits. And, it’s exceptionally good at it. Why?
It’s all about energy conservation
You see, our conscious mind burns up a whole of energy. Think about how tired and hungry you feel when you learn a new skill, take an exam, concentrate on work. That’s because your conscious mind is engaged and it requires a great deal of energy to run. For example, an average adult’s brain in a resting state when not focussed and engaged, uses about 20% of the body’s energy. More when your conscious brain is engaged and active.
The automatic mind on the other hand runs on very little energy. An energy conservationist! This is because it’s highly efficient, repeating tasks on auto-pilot.
Your brain is always interested in conserving as much energy as possible so you can use your energy for important things like survival. So, your brain is constantly in search of repeated activities and thoughts to create habits so it can move them on over to energy saving mode.
In conclusion, your automatic mind is a great asset. It’s absolutely necessary for you to function efficiently. But, as you can see, it does control your habits and thoughts.
What’s next?
Think about your current morning routine. What do you always do? You can make any morning routine more meaningful just by being mindful. And thinking about the process. Make it mean something to you.
A simple journal practice is my morning routine. Don’t make it complicated. Make it easy.
For a simple 5 step daily morning routine check out The Rebuild Your Life Journal by clicking here.
As a Certified Consistency Coach, I can help you to:
- create a purposeful and meaningful morning routine
- form better habits
- get the changes you want
- and help you to stick to them
Click here to make a time for a free chat. I’d love to help because I want to make it easy for you.
With your health in mind,
Catherine x
