Routine

"Every day, think as you wake up, today i am fortunate to be alive, i have a precious human life. i am not going to waste it!"

Dalai Lama

Why is routine so important to the rest of your day?

Humans function more productively with a routine in place, that guides and focuses their attention. Nothing changes in life without consistency, which is why routine breeds success and change.

A routine that will fundamentally change your day and is worth implementing, is rising a little earlier to start your day calmly, with a practice of self care and enjoyment.

This can take shape in many forms from meditation to exercise, to reading, journaling, or being in nature.

When you wake up rushing to start your day, you will feel stressed and unsettled this sets a tone for the rest of the day and puts you on the back foot.

Early to Rise

Waking up early will lead to a more productive day. The most successful people in the world rise early. Richard Branson is up at 5.45 am, Michelle Obama rises at 4.30 am and the Apple CEO, Tim Cook, is up at 3.45 am. The time they rise is irrelevant but the reason why this aids to their success is because they use the first few hours of their day setting the tone for the rest of the day, through meditation, exercise and other positive and motivational practices.

There is no need to wake this early and the trick is to slowly increase the time you have at the beginning of the day.

Don't try and make the change too enormous!

Start by rising 15 minutes earlier to either journal with gratitude, or do a breathe or body scan meditation or read motivational quotes or a chapter from a book that will inspire you. You can then increase this slowly adding an additional 15 minutes every week or so adding in habits, practices that will enhance your health, well being, mood and enjoyment of your day. If you give yourself this time at the beginning of the day you won't spend the day trying to fit in 'YOU TIME', chasing your tail and failing only to say to yourself "i will do it tomorrow".

If you work nights, have young children or if there is another reason why your day starts at a different time this doesn't matter. The time of day is irrelevant but its when you start your day that matters, this can be at 5.00 pm or 1.00 am but its about starting your day right!

Don't sacrifice your sleep in order to find the time to give yourself 30 minutes - 1 hour upon awakening. Ensure you go to sleep earlier than before to balance rising early and still get 7-8 hours sleep, to ensure you keep your body and mind functioning optimally.

Its about gradually changing your routine to allow for self care and ensure you have a productive, focused, happy day ahead of you.