10 great ways to start your day

I never used to be a morning person. In fact I was the child that would be sobbing about having to get up and go to school, because I just wanted to sleep. When I was in university and writing my master’s thesis, I discovered something that would change the way I approached and looked at the early bird. The truth is I spent most of the summer of my second year of graduate school waking up at 6am, even though I didn’t need to, because when I sat down in the early morning I would begin to write and the words just naturally came, ideas were generating, I was making sense of it, feeling like a novelist who was trying to tell the story, sentence by sentence, of what I had realized and found, desperate to get it all on paper. You can probably guess that this is where my love for writing really began and if it’s not obvious yet, most of my blog posts are written in the early morning (or very late in the evening) because this is the time I feel inspired and creative.

How do you start your day? Is it rushing to get to where you need to be, or taking the time to savour a cup of tea? Is it being in to-do mode from the moment you get your head up, or is starting with something that will get you energized like a good run or a nutrient-rich breakfast? Part of creating a good day starts from the beginning and our intention and frame of mind when we begin again. Here are 10 great ways to start off your day with a bit of clarity, inspiration and a power boost:

-A morning walk or run: Getting outdoors is a great way to begin your day. Now anything is possible as long as it’s not a freeze bite warning and you’re properly dressed. Watch a sunrise, take a little stroll and notice the trees. Or get that heart racing with a great run.

-A nutritious breakfast: Is milk and cereal feeling a little dull? There are so many great recipes out there for vibrant, wholesome breakfasts like smoothie bowls, chia seed puddings, fancy toast (think smashed avocado with spices or some goat cheese with blackberries), an array of seasonal fruit, or overnight oats.

-Reading daily affirmations or inspiring quotes: I am definitely one who loves quotes. It’s interesting how some can feel like profound lessons about life and our expectations.

-A short meditation: This is probably one of my favorite ways to start off the morning. Now I certainly don’t get to doing it every morning, but when I do, I feel like I can take on anything.

-Setting realistic work goals for the day: Writing a to-do list can keep you on track but the problem I used to experience is looking at it and trying to tackle everything on it, as fast as possible. Now I find that by choosing a realistic number of tasks and breaking it into small parts, only focusing on a few things at a time and doing them right, I’m not as overwhelmed.

-Creating a reflective list and setting a goal around self-care: On the topic of lists, I recently started using a new journal called the 52 list project journal (http://www.moorea-seal.com/p/52-lists.html) which invites those who journal to reflect each week on questions such as their dreams for the year ahead or what the soundtrack would be for their life so far. For those who love making lists, this one is a reflective list project. Before I forget, another great way to start the day is to set another goal for yourself, to ask yourself “what is one thing I will do today for myself?”

-Art, crafting, do-it-yourself decoration projects: For me, it’s making photo collages and finding inspirational photography. I have some great do-it-yourself spring projects in mind. It’s great to start off your day getting creative, even if it’s just ten minutes of working on something, it gets you in a creative state of mind for the workday ahead.

-A cuddle with pets and those you love: This one kind of speaks for itself. What is better than waking up with a morning cuddle?

-A good book: We all welcome that great escape into a book that you can’t put down.

-Little joys – I remember having a conversation with someone once who really valued sitting on her back porch in the morning with her spouse, in the middle of the country, having that warm cup of tea. I don’t really know what a better way would be to spend the early morning by creating routines such as this one.