Mindfulness Challenge Day 5: Switch Up Your Morning Routine

[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ next_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.19.2″]

It’s day five of the 31 Days of Mindfulness Challenge and today’s task is to switch up your usual morning routine.

Day 5: Switch Up Your Morning Routine

“If you win the morning, you win the day.”
— Tim Ferriss

I am a creature of extreme habit. Since I’m not too big on change, when I find something I like, I stick to it. For example, there was a breakfast (spinach and eggs with Trader Joe’s dairy free cheese melted on top over two pieces of toast) that I had nearly every morning for YEARS. Embarrassingly predictable? Absolutely. But, it worked, it was relatively healthy and I liked it. 

After leaving the traditional 9-5, one of my major concerns was accountability. Since I didn’t have a ‘Boss’ to answer to anymore or a place that I HAD to go to, I was a little nervous of falling off the work wagon and becoming a lazy schlep who didn’t want to do anything. In an effort to keep some normalcy and schedule, I stuck to my usual morning routine: wake up ridiculously early, workout, start the coffee, feed the dogs, shower and settle down for work. 

The past few months have brought some variation to this habitual experience – I now journal in the morning for five or ten minutes, I work out every other day (sometimes waiting until the afternoon) and I get started on work a little earlier because I know it’s when I’m most focused. 

Part of living a mindful life is cutting the overwhelm and staying in the present moment. Removing overwhelm from your life may look a lot different than it does for me. For example, the thought of having a set routine might sound like complete torture to you but for me, it’s absolute heaven. 

That being said, sometimes it’s nice to switch things up. When we throw a curveball into the traditional routine, we’re forcing ourselves to be present. 

So, what does that look like? Of course it’s going to be different for everyone, but for me, I’m stealing an idea from day two and starting my morning with one hour of reading. It felt absolutely foreign to me three days ago and I’m sure it’s going to have the same effect today. BUT it was nice ease into the day with a good book.

If you’re joining in, let us know how you’re switching up your morning routine in the comments! 

All our best,

---

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”3.19.2″ show_divider=”off” /][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”3.19.2″ show_divider=”off” /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off” prev_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.19.2″]

Miss a day? Catch them all here: 

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_blog _builder_version=”3.19.2″ posts_number=”31″ include_categories=”997″ show_author=”off” show_date=”off” show_categories=”off” show_pagination=”off” custom_css_title=”display: none;” custom_css_content=”display: none;” fullwidth=”off” border_width_all=”0″ border_color_all=”#ffffff” /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]