How I Fuel my Mornings
Let’s cut to the chase here, these morning routine posts are usually long and drawn out. Those Morning Routines of Highly Successful People articles just aren’t it, at least in my opinion. There’s no recipe for success. We’re all our own people, and we all have different needs to be fulfilled. I will tell you straight up, I don’t see the purpose of making my bed every morning, and I find it hard to avoid my phone right when I wake up — but I have found several habits that help maximize my mornings. And what matters most in life is finding things that fuel yourself. So here I am to enlighten you on my morning habits that help me start my day right.
Take a moment of gratitude
Time and time again, I bring up gratitude. Whether it’s meditating, or journaling (which I prefer), starting mornings off with a clear mind and a full heart helps set me up for success. Even if I find myself waking up on the wrong side of the bed, I try to take a step back to see the greater picture of life. As mentioned in previous posts, I love The Five Minute Journal. I’ve had several gratitude journals previously, but this one is so simple and quick, I can make time for it even when I’m in a rush. Not only is the journal set up for when you start your day, but it also has prompts for 5 minutes to end of your day as well.
Taking a moment to be grateful for even the littlest things can make the biggest and most impactful difference for your day, or night, ahead.
Get your blood flowing
Building up the energy to get up and get your blood flowing is likely one of the hardest things to do right when you get out of bed in the morning, but I think it’s also the most rewarding. I know some people prefer to get their body pumping in the evening, but for me personally, starting my days off with a good workout helps wake me up physically, and also gets my mind centered for the day.
If you know me, you know I started boxing recently. My workout plan right now involves boxing twice a week, those workouts are intense. For my days in between, I’ll run or take a RumbleTV class. When my body isn’t feeling the greatest, I’ll go on a short walk down a couple of blocks to soak up the views of SF. Getting your blood flowing doesn’t necessarily mean breaking a sweat, but just doing anything that’s out of your ordinary routine to help get you energized and ready to tackle the day.
nourish your body
Breakfast is indeed the most important meal of the day! Especially if you started your day with a workout, you need food to keep your body running. Depending on how I’m feeling or what workout I did in the morning, I tend to go for either avocado toast + eggs, oatmeal + fruits, or an açai berry protein smoothie. I used to be someone who never ate breakfast, but after starting to, I realized it made a difference in my energy levels throughout the day. It also helped me normalize my meal times. When I skipped breakfast, I found myself snacking past 10 pm pretty often, definitely not good!
Some of us, AKA me — I’m us, need caffeine to top it all off. I LOVE Philz. An iced Tesora/Jacobs sweet and creamy is my go-to! When I just need a slight kick of caffeine, rather than a bombardment from a cup of Philz, I’ll go for an iced Matcha Latte from a local cafe, or lately I’ve been loving the iced Chai Tea Latte + brown sugar syrup from Starbucks (as much as I hate Starbucks, ugh).