Blueprint for an Intentional Morning
The One Question You Need to Answer to Create a Meaningful Morning Routine
Every morning when I wake up, I read 4 books cover-to-cover, solve a Rubik’s Cube blindfolded (obviously), run a brisk 17 miles backwards to my local farmer’s market where I pick up 5 oranges that I then hand-squeeze into a delightful morning gut-health tonic for myself —all before brushing my teeth.
I do this because… well, I guess I’m just amazing.
And if you believe that, you probably also buy into the fact that the most successful people in the world, do about 45 million ultra-productive things before the sun is even up. But I’m calling bullshit.
Here’s the truth:
It’s time to swap out early alarms for meaningful morning rituals.
I’m so tired of reading what we are supposed to do every day based on Bill Gates or Beyoncé or insert-whoever-is-the-hot-new-wunderkind-here does. Because somehow, these people have somehow gotten access to a secret wormhole in the time-space continuum that allows them to do an impossible number of activities well before breakfast. And–to be successful–you should do those things too.
So, in other words, if you don’t do the same, you are failing.
Now, full disclosure–I am a big fan of using habits and stacking those habits to create structure to your day. I talk about that quite a bit on the podcast this week (and I share some pretty weird celebrity habits as well). But if you aren’t careful it’s easy to feel like you’re living in your own version of Groundhog Day repeating the same things day-after-day and not finding any real joy in it. Let’s not make life a habit.
How to Stop Living on Autopilot
The problem I have with some of the popular morning routines that make the TikTok circuit, is that they are incredibly rigid. And you know, I never like when productivity feels too constraining–that’s how we end up feeling like we’ve failed simply because we didn’t do the right task in whatever specialized order the productivity guru insists they must be done.
I know for me, if I have too many things crammed into my morning routine, I’m not going to feel like I’m ready to slay the day – I’m going to be grumpy and irritated… and probably rushed because I was trying to do too many things… none of which really makes me happy.
We think that if we create the right cocktail of morning tasks, we will somehow catch the success these other people have
This is when life begins to feel a little too routine.
We’re simply going through the motions, doing the things we think we are supposed to do based on what everyone else is doing.
Here’s what I want to encourage you to do: upgrade your routines and make them into rituals.
And, to be honest, it’s really simple to do. You simply need to ask yourself one easy question. I want you to throw all of those fancy step-by-step routines because you need to do what feels important to you. So, what it all comes down to is:
How do I want to feel?
Yes, that one simple question. By infusing your routine with emotions, you immediately elevate it to a ritual.
Let’s blow that question out just a bit:
When I'm going through this morning ritual, how do I want it to feel?
Honestly, if you have 75 things you need to do in your morning routine, I can tell you how you're gonna feel. You're gonna feel stressed…., you're gonna feel strapped for time…you're gonna feel worn out, and you're gonna feel like you haven't done enough.
Because, quite frankly, you're not gonna have time to get it all done. So, let's zoom in instead and say, How do I want to feel?
There’s lots of ways you can answer this question– you could say productive or calm or invigorated or optimistic.
Once you decide HOW you want to feel, it’s easier to decide WHAT you want to do. Isn’t it? Because if I want to feel calm or relaxed, I’m not going to go for a vigorous run while blasting 80s hairband music. I might opt for yoga or pilates, I might choose to meditate.
See how understanding the emotion helps direct everything else?
I’ve got a quick download that will help you turn your morning into a meaningful start to your day. When you start the day with intention–and it feels curated to what brings you joy–doesn’t the rest of the day feel easier?
And (surprise, surprise) it all starts with that one question. Then it walks you through creating your own intentional morning routine.
This download should take you no more than 10 minutes to create your own morning ritual - one that’s designed the way you want it to feel. It’s so simple, you’ll be able to start implementing your new morning ritual tomorrow!
Routines are actions. Rituals are actions with meaning.
Ask yourself that one simple question and I promise you, your mornings will feel meaningful. Use the download to help - it doesn’t need to be difficult. After all, it’s Not Rocket Science, right?
