(This is not the view from my office window! It was taken on our last holiday in Ibiza)
It’s been a week since I decided to create a morning routine.
To be honest, I didn’t/haven’t got anything specific I want to achieve by getting out of bed at least half an hour earlier than I normally do.
It is a ‘suck it and see‘ experiment that will hopefully lead to a healthier, more productive and organised day.
So I just went with it for the first week (week days only).
Here’s a break down of how my mornings went:
Monday
- Up at 06.15
- Light warm up/stretch
- 25 min jog outside
- Large glass of water
- Teeth, shower, dressed
- Large glass of water
- Breakfast, coffee
Tuesday
- Up at 0555 (ouch!) – had to be at work early
- Didn’t complete any morning activities/tasks
Wednesday
- Up at 0545
- Another early morning run – this time with Susan (the wife) on a run around the block. 25-30 mins
- Teeth, Shower, Dressed
- 20 push-ups
- Large glass of water
- Healthy Breakfast – Greek yoghurt and prunes, black coffee
- 10 mins writing in online journal
- Prepped food for lunch
- Ready to start working day by 0730
Thursday
- Up at 0600
- Teeth, shower, shave, dressed
- Large glass of water
- Breakfast, black coffee
- Write in online journal
- No form of exercise this morning – had to be out of the house early for a job interview
Friday
- Up at 0630 – was awake at 0600 though
- Teeth, shower, dressed
- Warm up /stretch – 30 push-ups
- Large glass water
- Breakfast
- Black coffee
- Write in online journals
Success!
Despite not achieving much, other than getting out of bed earlier on a couple mornings, the other 3 days were successful.
I went for a morning run on two days (I never do that normally) and have got into the habit of writing in my online journals after breakfast. I do that on my phone using the App that comes with Penzu.
Takeaways
It’s only been 5 days, but it’s really surprising how quickly your body adapts to a new waking pattern.
On Friday I was awake at 6am and could have quite easily got up and started my day.
I have been conscious of going to bed earlier. I’m normally tucked up by 1030pm now!
I’ve added two new activities to my ‘normal’ working day. (I say normal because being an on-call fire fighter and medical first-responder, I’m often called out at silly o’clock, which often fecks my morning routine right up!)
I digress..
- I’ve incorporated a light stretch/warm-up after I’ve showered.
I simply take a deep breath, squat down and hold for a second, rise up and stretch my arms straight above my head. Then very slowly bring my arms down to my side whilst exhaling.
Repeat 5 times.
It’s not a vigorous movement by any means. I just want to get some oxygen into my system and get my blood circulating after a nights sleep.
2. I now spend 10 minutes writing in my online journals. I have one fitness journal and one morning routine journal. Being able to do this on an App, using my phone, is great.
What Next?
I’m going to stick with the 0630 starts – even though I was up before that time, most days last week.
I’m also going to keep the online journalling going.
Lastly I want to incorporate a little yoga, stretch/warm-up routine, in-place of the ‘unscientific’ one I’m currently doing.
By doing just a few minutes of a yoga routine, it might inspire me to take it further. Being as flexible as a dry twig is a big issue for me, and yoga might be the answer.
Peter
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