The Best Stress Relief? A Morning Routine!

Do you know what makes us feel stressed out? Things we can not control, things we don’t have, and negative things that happened in our past. If we focus on those three things, or at least on one of them, we start to feel under pressure. Now, what’s the best stress relief? The right morning routine.

Morning routine, if set up correctly, will teach us how to focus on things we do have, things we can control, and things from our present or compelling future. And that’s exactly what the right morning routine does for us. Let me show you 10 tips for setting it up. You can download the free pdf here.

Morning Routine TIP #1: Make some preparations at least the night before

Decision and Commitment

This might not sound very sexy, but it is a very first step to setting up your successful morning routine. Make a decision. And commit keeping the morning ritual for at least 21 days, including the weekends. You might postpone the wake-up time during the weekends but do keep the structure of the morning ritual.

Set Up Your Alarm Clock

The best morning rituals start before everybody else in the household gets up. However, the wake-up time is up to you. Give yourself at least 30–60 minutes to have undisturbed time just for yourself.

Prepare The Morning Routine’s Proprieties

This might include:

• MP3 player or your phone if you are using the MP3 track as for example Raw Energy Secrets Morning Ritual.
• Meditation music if a part of your ritual is a meditation.
• Journal and a pen
• Running shoes and clothes if part of your ritual is running.
• Exercising clothes or a mat if part of your routine is yoga or any other exercise

Set Your Phone On „AEROPLANE MODE“

This might be something you already do or something you do not believe in at all.

The truth is that smartphone technologies are so very new that nobody can assume the impact they would have on our brain and body in 20 years. We are near the phone all day long. Give yourself a break at least during the night and make it a habit to push the „aeroplane mode“ button whenever you go to sleep.

It will turn off your smartphone connection to all wireless networks, including cellular and Wi-Fi. It also turns off Bluetooth, GPS, and other related services. Keep this function on during the night as well as during the entire ritual.

Morning Routine TIP #2: Set It Up

If you will use a pre-designed morning ritual, this part will be easy for you. You will just listen to the instructions and follow them.

However, if you do not have any product which will walk you through the process, you have to design it yourself.

It is important to make the structure of your ideal morning ritual in advance and write it down in a few steps and bullet points. What might help you is to follow your own morning routine. It will also help you to keep the routine same every day so that it will actually become a ritual.

I would suggest this structure:

1. Breathing or Meditation

2. Gratitude

3. Goal Setting

4. Journaling

5. Exercising, Dancing, Walking, Painting, Listening To Motivational Speeches, Listening To Music (Optional)

Morning Routine TIP #3: Stop Snoozing

According to https://www.news.com.au deciding to snooze tells your brain to signal for hormones to be released which would usually send you into a deep sleep … when all you’re actually getting is a five-minute nap, according to experts at Sleep Clinic Services.

The result?

“Sleep inertia” — that groggy feeling you often get when you’ve slept in for hours.

“The start of the sleep cycle is not a good time for being jolted awake by your alarm again,” experts at the Sleep Clinic Services said.

“In fact, you’ll end up feeling like you’ve had a really bad night’s sleep, even though you slept like a baby.

“Not only that but when you hit the snooze button your body and brain get confused.

“After being jolted awake, you’re now telling them that it’s time to go back to sleep.

“And, if this goes on for two or more snooze button hits, that confusion increases.”

Morning Routine TIP #4: Make the Morning Routine The First Thing In The Morning

This might sound weird or even ridiculous but still worthy to be reminded. Do not switch your phone or any other source of news on in the morning, do not drink your coffee, do not open your emails. You might drink lemon water or a glass of standard water before you start your morning ritual but a coffee, breakfast and news must wait AFTER the morning ritual. The goal is to have your mind fresh and not to be distracted by any virtual or physical stimulus.

Morning Routine TIP #5: Breathing

There are many ways how to change your biochemistry via the breathing. Those of you, who meditate on a regular basis, who used their breath to manage the births of their children or who have tried the power of hypnosis, know, that breathing is a very effective tool. It is up to you which method you chose. I will walk you through 4 of my favourite ones:

Breathing to your belly

Sit down. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Breath into your belly. You might place your hands on your stomach to see your belly rise with every breath in and to go down with every breath out. Just focus all your attention on your breathing. Approx. 3 minutes.

Breathing to your belly with counting

Sit down. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Breath into your belly counting till 4. Exhaling counting till 8. The inhaling part should be much shorter than the exhaling part. The pace is slow. The intention is to focus solely on breathing, to relax and calm down. Approx. 3 minutes.

Wim Hof’s Breathing

Lay down. You might find the exact method taught by Wim Hof himself on the internet. However, the way I like to practise is this. Divide your breathing in into 3 parts. The first part goes into your stomach. Secondly, the breath continues into your chest. Thirdly, it goes in your head and then you strongly exhale. Make it 30 times and then have a rest and just FEEL your body. Repeat 3 times.

Tony Robbins’ Breathing Technique

Sit down. Raise our hands up and as they come up, take a breath in. As your hands go down, take the breathe out. Exhale explosively, from your stomach through your nose. 30 times. Three sets of thirty. It should be dynamic, relatively fast. Pumping the breaths in and out.

Morning Routine TIP #6: Gratitude

Gratitude is a part of many morning rituals and as Tony Robbins is saying, when you are grateful, you are not angry. When you are grateful, you can not be scared. In my opinion, gratitude is a very special state where your soul touches your mind. It is a strong and powerful moment and I would highly recommend you to incorporate it into your morning ritual.

How to do that?

Think of 3–5 things you are grateful for. Some of them can be just small things, some of them might be significant moments or people in your life.

Some of the moments could happen in your childhood, some of them could happen just yesterday.

It is important to step in that particular moment and re-live it. Feel it as if you were there just NOW. Enjoy it and give thanks.

Morning Routine TIP #7: EATING THE FROG METHOD BY BRIAN TRACY

“If the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, then you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that that’s probably the worse thing that will happen all day.” -Mark Twain

I like the method „EAT THAT FROG“ by Brian Tracy. I think it can be nicely incorporated in setting up your morning routine. To simplify the method, let’s say the “frog” represents the biggest task of your day. To eat the frog means, that you do your most difficult task first.

How to do it?

Before you go to bed in the night, take your journal, write down the date and your most important tasks for the next day.

During the GOALS part of your morning ritual, open your journal and read what you have written the day before and incorporate it into the ritual. Do not read your goals during the breathing part or during the gratitude. Wait for the goals part.

In the evening, take your journal and write down the most important tasks for the next day.

Morning Routine TIP #8: Identify your goals and change them into achievements

Setting goals is an essential part of the morning routine. It is important to sequence it AFTER the GRATITUDE part. Your mind will be in a state where everything is possible after being deeply grateful.

Think of at least three goals. The BIG, long-term goals as FIRST. Think of the GOAL as if you have already achieved it. Imagine yourself already being where you want to be, having what you want to have, feeling what you want to feel. You need to FEEL it, BE there, LIVE it as if it is happening right NOW.

Go to the second goal and do the same. Live through your success in this very moment. Enjoy it! Be proud of yourself for achieving it.

Go to the third goal and repeat the process. If you feel you are a bit of a procrastinator, check this article about How To Make Things Happen.

Morning Routine TIP #9: Give It At Least 21 Days

Every ritual needs at least 21 days. The first week is rather difficult, the first three days being the most difficult ones. Keep it in mind and do not quit within the first week! It will get much easier after and at the end of the third week you will be looking forward every single morning! Plus the results you will experience along the way are priceless.

Morning Routine TIP #10: Journal your progress

At the end of your morning ritual, write down the date and the goals you have set during that ritual. If you like journaling, you might add the things you were grateful for and the mood. I prefer just bullet points with my goals. This will keep you focused mainly on long-term goals and to actually track how long it took you to achieve them. Do not skip this part since it is actually proven that written goals are more likely to be achieved.

CONCLUSION

A morning routine is an essential part of the stress relief program. In order to set up your own effective morning routine, include these steps in the routine creation:

1. Make Some Preparations The Night Before

2. Set It Up

3. Stop Hitting The Snooze Button

4. Make The Morning Routine The First Thing In The Morning

5. Include A Breathing Exercise

6. Gratitude Is A Must

7. Eating The Frog Method By Brian Tracy

8. Identify Your Goals And Change Them Into Achievements

9. Give It At Least 21 Days

10. Journal Your Progress