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Happy Labor Day Weekend! I hope everyone’s enjoying their weekend as much as I am.

To be quite honest, the best part about this weekend thus far is waking up to the sound of ZERO alarms. I mean, who could blame me? Like many others throughout the week, I’d moan and groan over my 4:50am – 5:10am alarms with a couple of snoozes in between.

Since it’s already so early, I really have no time to even figure out the logistics of the morning, so I came up with a routine to maximize use of my time in the a.m. Although I woke up at 7:30am this morning, I felt rejuvenated with the freedom to do as I please. I owe my morning happiness to these five mini-changes I made in my morning routine –

Learn to detach from your phone

I can’t emphasize this enough! Having your phone within such close proximity when you’re heading to bed/waking up is such a distraction. I know we all have that predilection for social media and “all things connected,” but if you try setting your phone somewhere other than your bedside, I can assure you that not only are you able to go to bed much earlier, you’ll wake up with less distractions to hinder your morning routine.

(Also, you won’t have much of a choice but to walk to the other side of the room when your alarm rings! Ding ding!) And you know what they say, the FIRST 59 minutes of your day is known to be a prescience to the rest of your day.

Prepare your clothes, accessories, and lunch the night before

This is undeniably one of the hardest things to do, in my perspective. After all, how was I to know what I wanted to wear the next day when I can’t even decide what I wanted to do NOW? I assure you, just having these ready truly strips at least 5-10 minutes of your usual routine! This gives you more time to focus on…

A light morning workout

It doesn’t have to be extreme rigorous; it could even be something as simple as stretching (think yoga!) or running a couple of laps, some jump squats, anything to keep your heart rate going. I’d turn on Spotify and listen to my usual morning playlists: “Have A Good Day” or “A Good Lift.” This usually helps me mentally prepare for the upcoming day ahead 🙂

Have your to-do list ready

THIS is my heart and soul. I know for many, this may not be your thing if you’re the spontaneous/”play it by ear” type of person; considering that I am all things planned & my planner is basically life, I enjoy progressing throughout my day and having those boxes checked off on my list.

I am a firm believer that these daily goals shape how my day is going to play out, so having this list ready in the morning (or even the night before!) allows me to expect a more structured and organized day, just the way I like it.

A good cup of coffee/tea/juice 

I try to mix it up every now and then. If I drink coffee, for instance, I stick to my “one cup a day” regimen. Other days, I’d opt for tea (earl grey, green tea, etc), and for some, I’d do my cup of OJ with pulp.

This one cup boosts my morning almost entirely, so I make it a habit to treat myself with one. It also wouldn’t hurt to have a nutrient-packed breakfast such as oatmeal to keep you going out that front door.

A good morning routine is essentially paramount to ensuring you’re ready for your “already action packed” day, so it’s rather useful to not only think of ways to switch up your routine every so often to amplify the rest of the day, but it helps with some self-growth and personal development if we take the time to take care of ourselves before diving into the day’s usual madness.

What are some of your morning routines? xo