The Best Wake Up Routine
Waking up in the morning is something that we all do. It’s an incredible blessing.
While I do not believe that there is one best way to wake up each morning, I do believe that there is a best way for each of us as individuals.
For me, with a lion chronotype, (find yours here) I desire to arise before 6:30 each morning.
But, I recognize that’s not for everyone.
To wake up before 6:30, I strive to sleep before 11:00 each night which doesn’t always happen. So, while this is the best way for me to wake up each day, I do sometimes have to adapt and modify my mornings depending on where I am and what I’m doing.
When I wake up there are a few things I do to direct my focus right away.
First I write down a few things I’m grateful for.
After that I begin the Bible devotional that starts my day. Usually this is fairly quick but focuses my mind — and heart — on what truly matters to me.
I follow that up with prayer time which I document in my prayer journal. I started keeping this so that I may continue to be aware of the way that God is working in my life. It also keeps me aware of patterns in my morning prayers. There is something I seek to always remember when praying:
“If all your prayers were answered would it change THE world or YOUR world?”
Once I complete my time with God in the morning I move directly into a goals journal I keep. I write down 5 personal goals that I have for myself to be accomplished in the next 3 years.
Those things are all things that I do to orient and focus myself on the upcoming day.
In closing, I add to my reflective journal. I think that it’s important to note that the first 2 are written journals and this one is typed so that I may print it out to add to my bookshelves in the future.
This reflective journal is simply a look back at the prior day with my thoughts and failures and successes.
I know that our mind has been proven to be most easily influenced in the immediate time after waking. As a result, I strive to always limit my phone time and look to not take in any content until my day is already directed according to my terms.
This usually takes anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour depending on the devotional I’m participating in, the length of my prayer, and the initial prep I require for my day.
The last thing I seek to do each and every morning is to get some exercise in. Ideally, I like to go to the gym and do some weightlifting and cardio but sometimes I will stick to some core workouts at home to shorten the time that I take.
Again, this won’t work for everyone and I would never expect it to. These are just the things that I do that work well for me.
I know that my mind is best after a morning workout and I know that my energy levels are the highest when I wake up early consistently.
What is something that you do that I don’t?