It's easy to wake up and just start running around the house like a crazy person making breakfast, checking email, putting dishes away, doing push-ups, rummaging through closet hangers for an outfit and getting the kids out of the house. Ambitiously, in the spirit of "getting it all done."
Most of us can relate to a morning like that. And how it starts is typically how it ends.
Our days begin to look colorless and feel monotonous, and we can't see the horizon because we've cluttered our view with tasks, obligations, chores and responsibilities. The weight of it all is debilitating.
We have only 24 hours in a day and sometimes that doesn't feel like enough because we're cramming too much in.
So much so that it's confused us, clouded our focus and crippled our peace. Our effort to get it all done is actually counterproductive.
But what if we started a little slower and a little more thoughtfully? How would a peaceful start change our day, its course and momentum? How would our morning affect our focus throughout the day? How would it improve the way we speak to others, what we put in our bodies, and how we feel by the time we return home at night?
How can we use our morning to put us on the good foot? To open us up to receive what comes and to welcome it with open arms, whatever it is? I have an idea how...
We declutter our mornings.
We simplify how we begin.
You've heard it before, I'm sure, that we should have a morning ritual or routine that sets us up for smooth day. That being the wise advice, what does your ritual consist of now?
Don't have one? Or not a consistent one?
If you knew you were going out into the world, likely to be faced with the barrage of clutter (e.g., chatter, confusion, chaos, cloudiness, comparisons, etc., etc.), how would you prepare for the onslaught? That's exactly what's happening. Every day we're faced with these symptoms of clutter, all of which zaps our clarity and depletes our energy.
So I recommend starting the day with clarity. Rid the clutter early. Start by clearing your mind of the junk that keeps you stuck and drowning in To Do lists, appointments, meetings, work, social events, dates, phone calls, text messages, Facebook...
Start by clearing your mind of overwhelm, overload and overcommitment.
From that place of surrender and release, I truly awaken.
I'm sharing with you my personal morning routine because it helps me get cool, calm and collected before engaging with other people and tackling my daily agenda. It gives me refueling time before I start giving of myself to others. Take some of these ideas and create your own morning ritual.
1. Meditate
Clutter cleared: chatter, confusion, chaos, cloudiness
2. Breathe
Clutter cleared: chatter, confusion, chaos, cloudiness
3. Journal
Clutter cleared: confusion, chaos, cloudiness
4. Say Thanks
Clutter cleared: comparisons
5. Hydrate
Clutter cleared: chaos, confusion, cloudiness
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Would you be able to adopt these five things into your morning as part of your morning ritual? Share with us in the comments below what you currently do when you wake up that helps you get going in the morning?
Tips above taken from "The Declutter Code: 10 Simple Steps to Clarity." See the book here.