Morning Routines
Establishing a morning routine has been instrumental in motivating me to be productive on a day to day basis.
After expressing my gratitude to the universe I take what I like to call "an internal shower." I have a liter of water by my bedside and chug the entirety of it before even getting out of bed. This rehydrates my body, gets my digestive system moving, and wakes me up.
Next I meditate. Some days my practice is as short as 2 minutes while other days I devote 15 minutes of my day to improving my mind and spirit. There are many types of meditation available to me but my primary practice is mindfulness. Mindfulness is focused on observing the breath and being in the present. Occasionally I'll dabble in transcendental, contemplative, & metta (loving-kindness) meditation as a way of keeping things interesting. At least once a week I utilize visualization techniques as a form of meditating on what I want from my future.
Following my meditation session, I make my bed. A simple task that translates into what ends up being a "win." It's such an easy objective to overlook that many of us choose to not take the short amount of time it takes to do it. But how can you ever hope to change the world if you can't even sustain the discipline to make your bed every morning? It's around this time that I put on some classical music. It varies from Beethoven, to Mozart, to Chopin, Bach, and others, but my personal favorite is Vivaldi's Four Seasons. And when I come home from work, I come home to a neat room with a made bed.
After that I spend some time stretching. Usually I do whatever feels good that morning. It doesn't have to be structured like an exercise routine does. Some days I do yoga, some days I focus on mobility, other days I get some dynamic stretching done. I never do purely static stretches without warming up first because doing so creates the risk of pulling a muscle. As a rule of thumb, I dedicate at least 3 minutes to getting my body moving first thing in the morning.
Next I make a light breakfast. I don't buy into the whole "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" notion and even practiced intermittent fasting for a period of time, but consistently getting some fuel in my body before beginning my day has been doing wonders for my energy levels. Recently my go-to has been Chobani Greek yogurt with Bear Naked granola and nuts mixed in. It's nutritious, quick, and simple. Occasionally I'll choose to opt for unflavored oatmeal with a banana and nuts or even an omelette with spinach and turkey. My goal is to prepare and eat my breakfast within 10 minutes. If I'm feeling particularly lethargic I'll compliment my meal with a cup of coffee. My hotel room comes with a Keurig and free coffee.
Immediately after breakfast is when I take my vitamins and supplements. My stack is pretty straightforward (compared to what it had been in the past): a generic multivitamin, high strength & purity fish oil, creatine monohydrate, tyrosine, theanine, and 200mg of caffeine. I find this combination of supplements to have a highly positive effect on my physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
After ingesting my supplements I get into the shower. Most people in the military opt into evening showers to get extra sleep but I find it necessary to do it in the morning. It's a refreshing way to start the day and makes grooming myself a much more simple task. It takes me half an hour to shower and fully groom myself but that's because I like to take my time with it. There's a strange satisfaction to be found in feeling the bristles of a brush rubbing against my scalp and the sharp edge of a blade trimming away the hair that made home on my face during my slumber.
Lastly I celebrate my dedication to being better than I was yesterday. It's easy to neglect a habit because I'm running low on time or because I just don't feel like doing it that day. That's why instead of putting myself down when I fail to accomplish every part of my routine, I celebrate myself when I get everything done. Success is not a destination but a series of appropriate decisions.
My routine is constantly evolving depending on my circumstances but as of right now it takes me about 90 minutes to get through it start to finish. I can do it in 60 though if the necessity arises. It has been a highly productive week for me and I'll be starting my first school on Monday. I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!
After expressing my gratitude to the universe I take what I like to call "an internal shower." I have a liter of water by my bedside and chug the entirety of it before even getting out of bed. This rehydrates my body, gets my digestive system moving, and wakes me up.
Next I meditate. Some days my practice is as short as 2 minutes while other days I devote 15 minutes of my day to improving my mind and spirit. There are many types of meditation available to me but my primary practice is mindfulness. Mindfulness is focused on observing the breath and being in the present. Occasionally I'll dabble in transcendental, contemplative, & metta (loving-kindness) meditation as a way of keeping things interesting. At least once a week I utilize visualization techniques as a form of meditating on what I want from my future.
Following my meditation session, I make my bed. A simple task that translates into what ends up being a "win." It's such an easy objective to overlook that many of us choose to not take the short amount of time it takes to do it. But how can you ever hope to change the world if you can't even sustain the discipline to make your bed every morning? It's around this time that I put on some classical music. It varies from Beethoven, to Mozart, to Chopin, Bach, and others, but my personal favorite is Vivaldi's Four Seasons. And when I come home from work, I come home to a neat room with a made bed.
After that I spend some time stretching. Usually I do whatever feels good that morning. It doesn't have to be structured like an exercise routine does. Some days I do yoga, some days I focus on mobility, other days I get some dynamic stretching done. I never do purely static stretches without warming up first because doing so creates the risk of pulling a muscle. As a rule of thumb, I dedicate at least 3 minutes to getting my body moving first thing in the morning.
Next I make a light breakfast. I don't buy into the whole "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" notion and even practiced intermittent fasting for a period of time, but consistently getting some fuel in my body before beginning my day has been doing wonders for my energy levels. Recently my go-to has been Chobani Greek yogurt with Bear Naked granola and nuts mixed in. It's nutritious, quick, and simple. Occasionally I'll choose to opt for unflavored oatmeal with a banana and nuts or even an omelette with spinach and turkey. My goal is to prepare and eat my breakfast within 10 minutes. If I'm feeling particularly lethargic I'll compliment my meal with a cup of coffee. My hotel room comes with a Keurig and free coffee.
Immediately after breakfast is when I take my vitamins and supplements. My stack is pretty straightforward (compared to what it had been in the past): a generic multivitamin, high strength & purity fish oil, creatine monohydrate, tyrosine, theanine, and 200mg of caffeine. I find this combination of supplements to have a highly positive effect on my physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
After ingesting my supplements I get into the shower. Most people in the military opt into evening showers to get extra sleep but I find it necessary to do it in the morning. It's a refreshing way to start the day and makes grooming myself a much more simple task. It takes me half an hour to shower and fully groom myself but that's because I like to take my time with it. There's a strange satisfaction to be found in feeling the bristles of a brush rubbing against my scalp and the sharp edge of a blade trimming away the hair that made home on my face during my slumber.
Lastly I celebrate my dedication to being better than I was yesterday. It's easy to neglect a habit because I'm running low on time or because I just don't feel like doing it that day. That's why instead of putting myself down when I fail to accomplish every part of my routine, I celebrate myself when I get everything done. Success is not a destination but a series of appropriate decisions.
My routine is constantly evolving depending on my circumstances but as of right now it takes me about 90 minutes to get through it start to finish. I can do it in 60 though if the necessity arises. It has been a highly productive week for me and I'll be starting my first school on Monday. I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!
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