The morning is arguably the most valuable part of our day.
It is the morning that leverages your entire day; how you spend your morning can often decide the trajectory of the rest of your day. So we want to optimize our mornings as much as we can, and this starts with avoiding looking at your phone. This is one of the first steps toward making a routine that optimizes your wellbeing; both your health and happiness will benefit from protecting the first hour of your day.
Here are the 5 practices that I believe are incredibly valuable and will set your day on a trajectory to success and meaning that you can engage in instead of using your phone.
1. Breathe
Taking even just a few minutes in the morning to focus on the breath is incredibly powerful. Before the day starts, before your thoughts come rushing in, pause. Breathe. Listen. Notice.
This is a great way to start the day with clarity and and a sense of calm, and to emerge into the day on your own terms. A few breaths is all you need. Pay attention to how your breath feels. Pay attention to how your body is feeling. Pay attention to where your thoughts are. Don’t label anything as good or bad, don’t cling to anything. Just notice and let go.
I often combine breathing with movement, in the form of yoga. I find the awareness of my body and breath is enhanced through gentle moving and stretching and so have found it to be more valuable than sitting down to breathe. But this is always evolving. I listen to my body and use whatever tools or tactics will be most beneficial in the moment.
“Sitting is not the only way to meditate nor is it the pinnacle of spiritual discipline. On the contrary. In Zen Buddhism, it’s labor — doing things — that illuminates. The classic path to liberation involves action and alchemy, channeling philosophical understanding into the practice of a craft…. Early Zen focused on active meditation. Spirituality was channeled through labor — arts, crafts, daily tasks.” — Ephrat Livni
2. Move
Moving in the morning is one of the best things you can do for your health, and it also has so many benefits for your mind and productivity. My morning movement has become a powerful anchor for me, grounding me in the new day and allowing me to start the day with a clear mind and invigorated body.
Morning movement doesn’t need to be long nor strenuous. As little as a few minutes of moving is enough to reap the following benefits:
Resets the circadian rhythm
Movement is one of the most powerful cues for our circadian rhythm. Exercising in the morning signals to your body that it is time to be awake, thereby resetting your internal clock and optimizing all the functions that this clock is responsible for.
Optimizing your circadian rhythm is important for every aspect of your health. Not only does it improve sleep quality, but it also supports metabolism, hormone regulation, gene expression, and brain function.
Improves cognition
Movement can improve cognition. Movement releases cortisol and endorphins as well as increasing your core temperature and circulation, all of which are going to make you feel more alert, full of energy, and ready to focus. Morning exercise has been found to increase cognitive abilities as effectively as a cup of coffee.
Small victory
Morning movement gives you a personal success ritual to start your day with a sense of accomplishment. Waking up and completing something first thing is a great way of setting yourself up for a productive day, and makes it more likely that you’ll maintain this productivity throughout the day.
For some ideas for morning movement, check out this article:
A 5 Minute Exercise Routine to Start Your Day
3. Drink Coffee
Or tea, or whatever is your drink of choice. Sit down and enjoy this time. Having these sacred spaces of time always helps me to stay mindful throughout the day. They bring me back to the present moment and help keep me on track for the rest of the day. Taking the time to regularly slow down and just be, is incredibly powerful.
I highly recommend listening to some coffee and tea meditations. You won’t have to listen to these every time you have a cup of coffee, but the foundations they will teach you can be implemented every time you have a cup.
They will teach you to start with some intentional breaths, to feel your feet on the floor, to notice the sounds around you. Then you will start paying attention to the coffee — the warmth of the cup, the shape of the bubbles on top, the steam rising, the smell, and finally, the taste. This process can take anywhere from 30 seconds to 15 minutes. It doesn’t have to be a long time, but it’s so powerful.
I love how Sir John Kirwan, former New Zealand All Black rugby player and mental health advocate, speaks about his morning coffee:
“I drink my coffee without my telephone, I sip my coffee and I really, really enjoy it.”
“For me, having a coffee — sipping it slowly, really tasting it — is one of the things I love. It’s a little thing that anchors me in the moment, and I create a moment to consciously enjoy.”
“I make myself a mocha and really sit down and enjoy that. It’s about stopping. I stop 10 times during the day. Mindfulness is staying in the present. The most important thing for your mental health is when you are doing something: stop and do it.”
His morning coffee became an anchor that helped him through depression.
Your morning coffee is time for you. Cherish this time. Enjoy every second of it. This is such a simple but powerful practice to include in your day. It can be as long or as short as you want, but having some time for you is a great start to the day. It allows you to start slowly and calmly, and to fill your mind with positivity before venturing out into the day.
Drinking coffee is also incredibly beneficial for your health, with benefits for longevity, preventing Alzheimer’s, and even preventing depression.
4. Journal — Output
Journaling is a great practice to include in your mornings and can take on many forms. For me, my journalling practice usually revolves around planning my day. I also do some free-form writing based on a prompt from The Daily Stoic book.
The stillness of the morning is the perfect time to reflect on your purpose, to consider your path, and to create a plan for the day. Sitting in solitude is also an excellent way to become aware of your thoughts — something that our busy lifestyles don’t afford much time for otherwise.
Use your journal for whichever purpose you feel you need it for. This will likely change with time. I used to do a lot of free-form journaling, whereas now it tends to be mostly logistical. You may also find it beneficial to set an intention for the day ahead. Having this output before any input is a hugely beneficial practice.
For a more detailed guide on how to plan your day, check out this article:
How to Plan Your Day Like a Stoic
5. Have Positive Input
The morning is the perfect time for positive input. This can be anything that resonates with you — a guided meditation, a podcast, a book, poems, scripture reading, even just practicing gratitude. The idea is to introduce some positive input before immersing yourself in the input you’ll be in for the rest of the day.
I try to avoid science, health, and other complex non-fiction right away, and usually opt for philosophy or other gentle reads. The morning is when I get a good daily dose of spirituality. You can read this article for more information:
Spiritual Practices for the Nonreligious
The morning is also a great time to bring to mind all that you are grateful for and to think of the joyful moments in your life. Think about the house you slept in, your friends and family that support you, and the fact that you woke up at all.
We must always remind ourselves of the privilege of being alive, and be grateful for all that we have been given. Remind yourself of this when you wake up. Marcus Aurelius said,
“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive — to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.”
If we view each day as a bonus day — to live, to love, to do the things we love to do — we can’t help but experience gratitude. Viewing each day in this way will ensure that you live your day mindfully.
There are so many things we can do in the morning to benefits our lives, and looking at our phones is not one of them. As tempting as they are, as easy as it is to roll over in bed and grab your phone and start scrolling, we must avoid this temptation. Both our happiness and productivity are on the line.
I have outlined 5 things you can do before you look at your phone. Play around with these practices, add your own, find what works for you. But having some practices that anchor you will provide so much clarity and calm in your day.