Life is busy. Yours sometimes feels particularly so. Trying to balance your roles at work and home, without sacrificing in either place, can feel overwhelming. After all, you aren’t satisfied with mediocrity – you always strive for more, to be more.
With that mindset, it often feels like you’re being pulled in a million directions. You need to be the successful attorney, the perfect parent, and the supportive spouse. It seems like from the moment you wake up, you’re rushing around. You haven’t even stepped foot outside of your home, and yet, you already have a day’s (sometimes weeks’) worth of stress weighing on you. It can affect your patience, your energy, and your overall well-being.
But even you, the overachiever, realize you’ve taken on a lot – maybe too much. You feel the toll it takes – on your physical and mental well-being and on your relationships – trying to be everything to everyone isn’t sustainable. So what can you do?
Find the calm in the chaos
A morning routine can make a meaningful impact – perhaps more so than you may imagine. Starting your day off the same way, every day (no matter what’s going on), helps create a sense of calm control.
Initially, the idea of adding more to your day may seem contradictory to your goals. But establishing a morning routine helps you ultimately set the tone and steer your day in the right direction. You’ve certainly heard many anecdotes highlighting the habits of highly successful people. They almost always show that productivity is improved by having a morning ritual – one that you control, rather than the morning controlling you.
If you give yourself one hour each morning – before the kids are up, before work needs you, before the distractions get in the way – the results can be powerful. You’ll likely notice the difference in every facet of your life.
And we promise – it’s not as overwhelming as it seems.
Set your alarm for the same time every day
Getting your body into a routine can make the act of getting up every day a little bit easier. We know your next question: Does that mean weekends, too? Ideally, yes. But easing into it on the weekdays is a great place to start.
Drink water first – and add some lemon
If coffee is your morning go-to, this tip may seem particularly unfathomable. Fear not – we aren’t suggesting you skip your cup of java entirely. Just postpone it.
Drinking water first thing in the morning is a crucial step in rehydrating after a night of sleep. Because that groggy, foggy feeling many of us experience upon first waking – that’s dehydration. The key thing here is to hydrate.
Now enter the lemon. By squeezing just half a lemon into your water, you are aiding digestion, adding vitamin C and potassium, and preventing oxidation – just to name a few benefits.
Back to your morning coffee. Feel free to enjoy the caffeinated beverage of your choice, just hydrate first and let your body and brain fully wake up before you down a cup … or two.
Find your peaceful place
Maybe you already meditate. Maybe you’re interested in starting a meditation practice. Maybe you’ve tried it, and it didn’t stick. Or maybe you just have no interest in it at all. But finding a way to calm your thoughts and mind is key to a successful morning routine.
Meditating or practicing mindfulness is one way to get there. But there are other options. It could be journaling for 20 minutes. Reading a motivating book. Yoga. Whatever it is, find a way that works for you to clear your mind and make space for the day ahead.
Get sweaty
You’ve heard it a million times and you know the science behind it. But it’s worth reiterating: exercising in the morning is an excellent way to start your day. It helps with mood, metabolism, and muscle (and those are just the benefits that start with the letter “M”!).
Some people swear by doing push-ups and sit-ups, while others prefer the fresh air that comes with a morning run. Whatever form of movement you chose to get your heart rate up, just 15-30 minutes of exercise each morning can change the trajectory of your day.
Just get up
For some, the most challenging aspect of incorporating these elements into a morning routine isn’t the physical act of doing any of them. It’s having the motivation to get out of bed and get going. Instead of viewing your morning routine as an optional hour of your day – because let’s face it, when given the choice, sleep will always be the victor – think of it as your most important meeting of the day.
Invest in yourself and see how this one single hour focused on you (and only you) can lead to a more positive and productive day.
This post was created in response to the COVID-19 virus and its impact on law firms. For more information to help support you and your business, visit our COVID-19 resource center.
