Having a slow morning is the way to go! I love waking up and feeling as if I’m taking my time to make sure that I’m taking care of myself first. And just being able to enjoy the morning is such a blessing in itself. Now, you may be a busy bee and think that you can’t have a slow morning. You have business that needs to be taken care of! Well, think again.
There are little things that you can add into your morning routine that can help you become apart of the slow mornings club. Now, these are things that I have incorporated into my own routine, so I can testify personally that these are activities that I love to do. So, come along with me and learn how YOU can have a slow morning too. At least, your own version of a slow morning :).
Step 1 – QUIT LOOKING AT YOUR PHONE
I would remember waking up and immediately looking at my phone. And you know what I noticed? I noticed that I would look at my phone and would be affected by whatever I saw on my phone. If I saw something amazing, then I would be happy for the rest of the day. On the other hand, if I saw something aggravating, or even sad, I would be in a bit of a mood for the rest of the day.
And guess what? This is confirmed by science! There have been scientific studies that have shown that, when you first wake up, your mind is susceptible. You brain is in a state called “sleep inertia” where your brain is more receptive to both positive and negative aspects. This, in turn, makes it SO much easier to have your mindset or mood of the day be affected. Also, your subconscious mind is very active when you’re in this sleep inertia phase.
So, one of the ways that you can prevent putting yourself in a bad mood is to not look at your phone when you first wake up! For me, I set a timer for one hour on my phone from when I actually want to wake up. In that hour, I do my workout of the day (if it’s on the schedule) and do my whole routine. Usually, I have a bit more time left over, so I make myself some breakfast, journal, meditate, or just do some chores that I haven’t been able to complete yet.
It may sound shocking, but it feels really nice to have a moment to yourself and have the bit of silence, at least in my house, for that hour. Now, you yourself don’t have to do an hour of no phone. I do because it works for me. You may do a no-phone timer for 30 minutes. You may even do a no phone timer for 15 minutes. It all depends on you and your susceptibility to negativity in the morning.
If you can’t go cold turkey with no phone in the morning, then I suggest this instead: limit the amount of apps AND time that you put on your phone. Are you waiting for an important email? Well, go to the mail app and check. Don’t see it? Then continue with your routine and don’t loom over the email’s absence. Don’t check the social media apps or whatever was sent to you by your friend or sibling at 3:47 am.
Step 2 – Enjoy your breakfast, don’t shove it down your throat
We’ve all been there. We’ve been in a rush because we were running late, or about to run late, and you shoved as much breakfast as you could down. You saved the rest in a container and rushed off to your car, the bus, whatever to make it to your destination. Well, you know what promotes peace to your mind? Being able to enjoy your breakfast!
Usually, whenever I’m preparing breakfast, my no phone timer has gone off. So, I like to do a couple of things. I like to watch videos that I found intriguing. I also LOVE to listen to classical music. For me, I love to listen to Pierro Piccioni. For some reason, his music is so calming and so serene. I think it’s a lovely way to start off your morning. However, if you want to listen to something else, then I can respect it!
Either way, enjoy being able to make your breakfast, even if you’re just microwaving it. I like to have a mini gratitude session whenever I’m making my breakfast. That’s also a little bonus that you can do whenever you’re getting up in the morning. But if I’m making oatmeal, a smoothie, preparing my breakfast real quick, I make sure to take my time and enjoy these little moments to myself.
Even if I have to have my breakfast to go, I at the very least tell myself to take my time. The building isn’t going anywhere and I’ll make it on time. There’s no point in rushing myself to get there when I know the building isn’t leaving if I’m not there in the next 30 minutes. Taking my time and getting there safely while having a calm morning, in my opinion, is much more important than stressing myself out to death to get there 15 minutes earlier to calm myself down.
Step 3 – Journaling
This is something that I’ve started to pick up more. I used to journal every day. Then, it became every other day. Eventually, days had gone by and I realized it had been, in fact, months since my last entry. Now, you may wonder what the heck journaling will do for you in the morning. Well, of course, I have an answer for that!
For one, it can help organize your thoughts and your day. You can figure out what you need to prioritize for that day by just writing down your train of thought. I think that this can also boost your motivation to do all of the tasks at hand because you have a written down plan. I mean, at least that’s been super helpful for me! You could also release any emotions that have been building up from the previous day(s).
Sometimes it doesn’t have to be super deep. Sometimes, you can talk about how excited you are to do this small activity today. I know that I have written a couple of sentences about my general thoughts. But it’s nice to know that there’s an outlet that I can use to release my emotions. If I’m nervous about what’s to come in the following hours of the day, I know that I release by writing my own thoughts.
Because, let’s be honest, there are some topics that you’ll not want to talk about with even your closest friends. I know there are some topics that I DON’T want to talk about with my family, but I can with my friends and vice versa. Then, there’s topics that I like to keep to myself. It’s just nice to have an outlet of all of your emotions, and that’s even IF you have people who you can talk to! So, just try to do a sentence once a day. Then, expand more and more every week until you can feel comfortable.
Leave a Reply