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This one-hour morning routine is the perfect mix of productivity and relaxation. Short and sweet, this hour-long morning routine helps me start my day balanced, focused, happy, and ready for the day ahead.
Having a solid morning routine is a key part of being a successful individual. Regardless of what your day looks like, your morning is a valuable time to connect with yourself.
When your first wake up, you are incredibly powerful. The first few moments of your morning can help lay the foundation for the rest of your day.
If you start rushed and stressed, you are more likely to carry that stress through the rest of your day.
On the other hand, if you start your day with good, mindful, and intentional habits, you take charge of your day.
According to professionals at VeryWellMind, the simple act of developing a morning routine can lead to drastic changes in your productivity, goals, organization, and confidence.
With my recent shift from student to full-time work-from-home employee, I’ve had to adjust my morning routine a bit. After months of trial and error, this is the one-hour morning routine that has stuck.
By following these habits, this hour-long morning routine wakes me up, gets me ready, and ignites my motivation and drive for the day ahead. It’s balanced – leaving me feeling relaxed, yet productive. It is just perfect for me.
Let’s jump into the exact one-hour morning routine I’ve been loving.
One-Hour Morning Routine Overview
To give you a brief rundown of my morning routine, here are the key steps that I do every morning.
- Wake Slowly
- Handle Business
- Start the Coffee
- Drink a Glass of Water
- Mindfulness
- Wash Face and Brush Teeth
- Drink Coffee
- Plan the Day
- Get Ready
- Get to Work
So, as you can see, this is a very vague and brief overview of my one-hour morning routine. Some days it’s a bit more elaborate and other days it’s a bit more rushed.
That said, no matter what, these are the 10 steps I try to fit into my one-hour morning routine before I jump into a day of work!
If you’d like to hear a bit more about these steps, let me explain…
My Balanced One-Hour Morning Routine
Let’s take a closer look at each of the 10 steps that go into my everyday morning routine.
1. Wake Slowly
(~ 5 Minutes)
This is a highly controversial topic. So many people suggest jumping (literally) out of bed the second your alarm goes off. That personally doesn’t work well for me.
I spent years feeling guilty for not being a jump-out-of-bed person, but now I just do what makes me feel best.
Waking up slowly means I allow myself 5-7 minutes of cuddle time with my puppy. I might stretch, take some deep breaths, or even have a moment of gratitude.
A slow wakeup allows me to start my morning from a place of calmness and mindfulness, which feels better to me than starting in a hurry.
Of course, test out both ways and see what feels best to you!
2. Handle Business
(~ 7 Minutes)
You know the drill. When I wake up, I gotta pee! And so does my pup.
This is the mandatory first step of my one-hour morning routine. It’s not the most exciting, but it’s real life.
During this time, I will also do small mindless tasks such as:
- unplug my phone/laptop and move them to my living space
- open my blinds
- make my bed
- feed my dog
- etc.
You get the idea… all the mundane morning things.
3. Start the Coffee
(~ 1 Minute)
My coffee maker is one that freshly grinds beans each time it brews a pot… it’s amazing. I am totally obsessed with my coffee maker – LOL!
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If you have an instant coffee maker (such as a Nespresso, Keurig, or even an Espresso Machine), you won’t have the gap that I do in between starting coffee and drinking coffee.
Since it takes about 20 minutes for my coffee maker to brew a full pot (and it keeps it warm for 2+ hours after), I start it pretty much right away in the morning and will do some other things while it brews!
4. Drink a Glass of Water
(~ 3 Minutes)
This one is simple and self-explanatory. Drinking a glass of water in the morning is important to rehydrate your body after hours of sleep.
Lately, I’ve been obsessed with using my 40 oz Reduce water tumbler. I’ll fill it up first thing in the morning and sip my water all day. (I love that it’s 40 oz because it’s really easy for me to remember to drink two a day for my daily water intake!)
5. Mindfulness
(~ 7-10 minutes)
One of the best daily habits I’ve started has been the simple act of practicing more mindfulness in my everyday life. For me, my morning mindfulness takes one of four forms.
- Meditation – This is a great way to be still and set intentions for the day. I’ll often do a manifestation or gratitude guided meditation with the Insight Timer app or a YouTube video.
- Yoga – Lately, I’ve been getting more and more into yoga in the mornings. I love gentle movement and yoga is a great way to exercise my mind and body in the morning. I’ve been using Alo Moves for my guided yoga (and meditation) in the morning.
- Tarot Cards – I got this deck of tarot cards for Christmas and I have been loving learning and exploring the world of tarot. I’m definitely a beginner and have lots more to learn but I love practicing reading my tarot cards on mornings I’m feeling a bit more connected to my spirituality.
- Journaling – Good old journaling. It’s my go-to to this day. Sitting down and either brain-dumping or following a guided journal prompt is one of my favorite ways to add some mindfulness into my one-hour morning routine.
I’ve found that taking just 5-10 minutes to be still and reconnect my mind, body, and soul has been a game-changer in helping me start my day in a calm and centered state.
6. Wash Face & Brush Teeth
(~ 10 Minutes)
More mundane morning things… you know the drill.
My current morning skincare favorites:
Lately, I’ve been using either my gua sha or my ice roller to depuff and refresh my face in the mornings. (I wake up SO puffy sometimes!) Then, I wash my face with my Elemis skincare products and moisturize.
Another recent change for me is brushing my teeth before coffee! I just learned that brushing your teeth before coffee may make them less likely to be stained by the coffee. Who knew I had been doing it wrong all these years?!
7. Drink Coffee
(~ 10 Minutes)
Ahhh! The moment I’ve been waiting for since I opened my eyes (not even exaggerating).
COFFEE!
I love to use my morning coffee routine as a way to romanticize my life. By choosing a cute mug and sipping slowly, I really enjoy this moment of solitude in the morning. This might just be my favorite part of my one-hour morning routine.
8. Plan the Day
(~ 5 Minutes)
I’m usually still sipping on my coffee as I bust out my planner and start looking at what’s on my agenda for the day. I’ve gotten in the habit of planning my day the night before to make my mornings easier.
In the mornings, I refresh my mind on what’s on my agenda and add anything new that’s come up. If you’ve read my blog before, you know I LOVE planning. Every morning has a few minutes set aside for some quality time between me and my planner.
9. Get Ready for the Day
(~ 10 Minutes)
Even though I’m working from home these days, I find that getting ready for the day as if I had to go into the office is helpful for my productivity.
Putting on some mascara, changing out of my PJs, and taking my hair out of the sleepy topknot signals to my brain that it’s time to shift from lazy mode to work mode.
If you’re struggling with this mindset shift while working from home, try getting yourself ready in the morning – even if that means you change from PJ sweats to a pair of leggings. Small, simple things like that can actually increase productivity and motivation.
10. Get to Work
(Done!)
Here’s where the one-hour morning routine comes to an end. It’s time to start my day and get to work!
By this time, I feel like I’ve already accomplished a lot without stressing myself out. Because of this, I’m in a really good headspace to begin my workday.
At this time, I’ll pour myself a second cup of coffee and crack open my laptop. It’s time to work.
There’s my one-hour morning routine!
It’s simple, balanced, and productive. I love the blend of relaxation (mindfulness, coffee time, etc.) and productivity (planning, getting ready, etc.). Like most things in life, balance is key.
A balanced morning is a happy morning.
For me, this one-hour morning routine has been perfect. It’s taken me months of testing morning routines to come up with one that has stuck. Over time, this will shift and change as my needs change. But, as of now, this simple one-hour morning routine is perfect for me.
What’s Your Morning Routine Look Like?
Do we have similar habits? Is your morning routine one-hour-long too? I’d love to hear. Leave me a comment below!
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