When you get up in the morning, knowing what you got to do, knowing how you want to spend your day, and giving yourself ample me-time to nourish yourself and to do the things that matter, you take your power back. Yes, having a morning routine is what helps us take our power back.
My life started to improve drastically ever since I became a morning person. Before that, I used to wake up feeling exhausted already and oh! so directionless.
Ever since I decided to become a morning person and created a morning routine for myself, I realize how life-transforming it is. But you will never know if you never give it a try and experience it yourself.
Now I can’t imagine myself just waking up with no intentions, with nothing to do, and not giving that me-time to myself in the morning.
So today I want to share with you my morning routine before 8 am: Things I do before 8 am. These 8 things I believe are what everybody should at least try to do in the morning.
My morning routine before 8 am
Table of Contents
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Get up at 5 am
I wake up at 5 am. I have my alarm set but I naturally get up before the alarm even rings. When you start waking up at one fixed time for some days till you build a habit, your body knows automatically.
Related post: How to become a morning person
Tidy up
So I get up at 5 am and go to brush my teeth. After freshening up, I put on my moisturizer early morning, tie my hair and make myself feel tidy. Even what clothes you wear at home is important.
This making yourself feel tidy is very important. It automatically charges me up and makes me feel good and ready to start my day in a clean state of mind.
So before I sit down to actually the start of my morning routine, I tidy myself up. This takes around 10-15 minutes and it is 5:15 am.
Hydrate myself
The first thing I do is hydrate myself. I have my big bottle in front of me which I will finish slowly by 8 am but for my first glass of water, I allow myself to just drink the warm water and do nothing else.
I try to bring awareness as I drink my first glass of water and just try to be with the water as I take mindful sips.
This is till 5:30 am.
P.S. If you are ready to give a try at working on yourself and changing your life, I have recently created a Special challenge/Guide for you to Change your Life in 7 days.
I think you’ll love it if you give it a try for 7 days and see what’s possible for you.
Read
Then I give 30 minutes to reading. This is how I give time to read everyday. This is how I cultivated my reading habit.
In the morning- I must read. In the morning- as a matter of fact, everybody should read. It is the most powerful habit you must add to your morning routine.
If not anything else- read in the morning. Even 10 minutes is great.
The kind of book you read in the morning is also very important. I try to read only self-improvement, encouraging or spiritual books for my morning read. I keep the novels for my evening. I don’t like reading novels in the morning.
Currently, I am reading ‘The 80/20 Principle‘ Before this, I was reading ‘The Power of Now’ by Eckhart Tolle’
Other good books I would suggest for morning read are:
- Atomic Habits
- Power of Subconscious mind
- The Dalai Lama’s Cat
- You are a badass at making money
- Like the flowing river
- The miracle of mindfulness
I finish my reading session at 6 am.
Exercise
After reading, I get up and put on my exercise clothes which I keep ready and in front of me so I don’t have to keep on searching for them every morning.
I put out my yoga mat. Open soothing flute music on Spotify and begin exercising.
I stretch for 5 minutes and exercise for 30 minutes. I usually use the app called ‘Daily Workouts’ but these days I am currently doing the 21-day abs challenge which I found on Youtube.
This is the one. I am currently on day 15.
I finish my exercise latest my 6:40 am.
Prayer
Then I sit down for prayer for 30 minutes. My prayer consists of chanting ‘Nam Myoho Renge Kyo’ so it is different from meditation.
Prayer is another important part of my morning routine where in my prayer I set my intentions for the day and pray for the strength to complete it.
I pray for attention, pray for a good relationship, pray for my mother’s good health and for my father, and everyone who has passed away.
I give thankfulness and pray for strength and it recharges me and connects me to my true self.
I finish my prayer my 7:10 am.
Related post: Why I pray and how to pray
Meditate
After prayer, I sit down for meditation till 7:30 am. This I have added to my morning routine after a long time. I had stopped for a long time, but after reading the book ‘The Power of now’ I have come back to meditating again.
Even 10-15 minutes feels empowering. I release and try to surrender everything and come back to the present focusing on my breath and keep on focusing on my breath.
The difference between prayer and meditation I think is this, through prayer God listens to you and through meditation, you listen to God.
And God here just means your truth, the universe, your heart, whatever you name.
M.I.T (Most Important Task)
After two hours of me-time, at 7:30 I sit down for my M.I.T which is my Most Important Task for the day till 9:30 am (my breakfast time)
Getting your MIT done early in the morning, you are already productive and you don’t have anything major important left on your to-do list.
This M.I.T is different for different days for me. Some days it is learning something, some days it is preparing for my class, working on my blog, and some days it is writing my blog post like it is for today.
By getting my MIT done early morning, my evenings are free and I spend reading, playing, painting, journaling, or just relaxing and using my phone.
At 9:30 I get up to make my breakfast and get ready for work which I am really thankful starts at 11am.
End note
So this is my morning routine. It’s not always this ideal, but this is more or less how I spend my mornings on most days.
This is something I intentionally started engaging in once I decided to change my life.
If you are curious to see how it feels to start a morning routine and start working on yourself too, you can take my ‘You Can Change Your Life in 7 days‘ challenge where you’ll receive daily guidance+ tasks and actionable things to work on yourself for the next 7 days.
I love this morning routine and how it sets a good tone for the rest of my day.
I know many of you say you don’t have the privilege like me to have 2-3 hrs time in the morning. I know it sucks.
But what matters is you give at least how much ever time you can in the morning that is possible for you.
Even if it is just half an hour of waking up slowly, mindfully and reading a few pages, moving your body for few minutes or journaling 1-2 pages.
No matter what and how little time you give to each, make sure to add at least 2-3 things from these 5 sacred ingredients for a powerful morning routine.
I can engage in the good habits that I have cultivated only because I deliberately make time for it in the morning by waking up at 5 am.
Start waking up a bit early so that you have time for yourself before you give time to others.
If you don’t have this much time to give, check out my Doable One hour Morning routine post.
Depending on your own list of things to do- I highly suggest that you too create a morning routine if you haven’t and give at least the first hour to yourself each day. You will notice the difference soon.
That is how you will take your power back.
Wish you a wonderful day ahead!
- P.S 3 Little known Tricks behind building Self Discipline
- Why Focus on Quantity Instead of Quality
- Why you should be Okay with wasting time if you want to grow
- 12 Major Things to do at the Beginning of Every month for Success
- How to Simplify life- 20 ways I simplified my Life
- 27 Years of my Life so Far
So practical and applicable to everyone
Thank you, so glad that you found it helpful!
Hi. Yes I agree you need to have a morning routine to start your day.
I walk my dog right after waking, brushing my teeth. A brisk walk, come back and prepare my breakfast.
Thank you for your perspective on power and God. I work full time and have two grown children. Have a morning exercise mediation routine, with surface clean up every night and deep cleaning on Sundays. Have you read Neville Goddard? Tolle’s Power of Now is on my TBR. Great post!
Hi, you’re welcome. I haven’t read Neville Goddard but I have heard of him. I’ve read the Power of Now and the book has personally helped me so much in bringing mindfulness, awareness and compassion. Most recommended.
What a lovely morning routine. I would love to indulge in something similar, but I’d have to cut back the time a bit since my job starts at 8am and I need to leave home by 7:20am to reach work in a timely fashion. I will definitely check out your 1 hour routine post too. Thanks for sharing.
Very helpful.
Thank you for this wonderful post!!
Thank you so
Much for all of these tips! I have taken some great notes and will start using these as I am beginning some new goals and a new you attitude for this year!
Wow! That’s great.. my best wishes to you 🙂 Have a great year ahead !
I’d really love to get a set routine going for myself – with kids and things changing everyday it definitely seems like an impossible task but I know it’s not. Tomorrow is a new day and a new week – maybe I will give it another go to really try.
Oh great! I hope its going good 🙂 all the best to you! Keep going
But when do you have coffee??! Lol
I don’t have coffee! I just drink warm water in the morning 🙂
You had mentioned that you pray for those who have passed away? Why ?
Why not? If she believes the prayers will reach them or help them then that’s her religion or spiritual belief, even if someone doesn’t believe in religion it atleast helps us remember our loved ones in a beautiful manner pay our respects and also it can humble us as well remembering death and how short life can really be. Hope this helps as an answer
Yes, thank you—exactly my thoughts on why I pray <3
Having a solid morning routine is like setting the tone for your entire day – it’s like the opening act of a blockbuster movie!
From personal experience, I’ve found that starting your day with intention and structure can truly make a world of difference.
yes! it truly does indeed.
What time you go to sleep in the evening?
By 10:30 pm
O the joys of being young. These are great tips for anyone. However, these luxuries of time are not afforded by most adults. Enjoy your youth.
Absolutelly. For us who work, have kids, pets…… nice utopia
I have work, I have pets, I do my own household work and work on my blog- and yet it’s not a utopia if you really decide to make time. I wake up at 4:30-5 for this.
While I admire your 3 hour routine, I have a12 hour work day and a 2 hour drive in addition to taking a grad class. I get up at 5 at the latest to go to work and get home at 8 almost every night. This isn’t even physically possible for someone like me
I’m sure you could tailor a plan to suit your schedule, it may have to be broken into a morning session and evening session. This young woman outlines what works for her in the season she’s in and notes at the bottom that her life currently affords her the time. Not all of us (especially those of us with kids and a 7:30am outside-of-the home job) will be able to follow the same way, but at least have a perspective on what others do and can figure out what our needs are.
Thank you for this. Exactly what I’d have to say. Anything is doable by making our own tweaks. 🙂
I landed on your blogs recently and I am in love with the content and your communication style.
Thankyou for all the efforts you put to make lives better🤍
Thank you so much for your kind comment <3 wish you a wonderful day ahead 🙂
When I was a single parent with two kids I managed to have a routine that included some of these ideas but of course it was structured different and I did a lot of pre prep the night before. For example laying out our clothes and placing back packs/work bags at the door the night before helped. Kids showered before bed instead of the morning. So I had time to shower, pray, stretch and read in the morning. I used my lunch hour to take walks and journaled using my cell phone while walking. Tweak to fit your time. Don’t be hard on yourself if you can’t do it all, do what you can.
I loved the tips- I might have to cut out a few things (have to be at work earlier) but the general concept is great! Thank you!
I have also a morning routine. Usually first shower, then coffee while I sit in the bed with my coffee and put on relaxation music video with nature scenes. I then read the news, communicate with my family through text, and read messages and etc. on Instagram. I read my email and etc. I then usually go for a walk or to the gym, then have breakfast after I return. I have been doing this for many years with my coffee in the bed routine. I have never been one to race against the clock, it will stress me out tremendously. Some people like to get the last second of sleep but then they rush, not me.
So, you are 28 years old living at home. Your mother feeds you and I imagine she undertakes the majority of the housekeeping, (or do you have a fairy that cleans the toilets, takes out the trash washes your sheets, pays the bills and most likely doesn’t have time for herself).
You are able to take 3 hours in the mornings. I am sure your life as a professor is challenging but you must TAs that do all your grunt work.
Speaking of grunt work, appreciate your mother and all that she does. Don’t take her for granted. See what she does for you. Do you see if she does for herself?
Life is short and those in our lives are there to be appreciated.
Hi Katie! This was an old blog post written during the pandemic when I was at home. I am now living alone and managing all on my own from going to get the groceries, cooking, washing the dishes, going to work.. and yes also cleaning the toilet and maintaining a home.. along with blogging. And I still can take out 3 hours of time in the morning. Otherwise, none of this could work smoothly. You can check out my blog post, ‘things I learned since living alone’. And speaking of my mother, she follows the same morning routine as me as well without any feeling of burden and she is already retired early and living her best life because I look after all her needs.
Thank you Vishaka, I am relieved to know you are doing so well and that you have taken the responsibility to do your own. So many of the influencers are riding the coat tails of others and truly have no idea how real life works. Your more recent blogs are great. Mindfullness and gratitude are essential in our crazy up and down days. Centering oneself is not only good for the individual but has that lovely effect as pond ripples that radiates goodness to others. May 2023 be a wonderful year for you and Stella. Send your mom random thoughtful sweet notes in the mail. We all love good stuff in the mail.
Thank you! Wish you a wonderful year ahead too
it’s totally opposite of mine
This is really an informative piece of writing. I enjoyed reading this. I am a person who always plan for such a productive and effective morning routing but still not tried any. Now I feel like from this moment, I should not waste my time anymore.
Thank you Vishaka.
Yes, you should really try it. It makes a lot of difference. Best wishes 🙂
Inspiring ideas, gentle start – thank you. Tomorrow I’m going to set my alarm that little bit earlier and get up.
Oh! That’s so wonderful.. All the best to you 🙂
I loved the expression: me team. and in fact we leave ourselves aside every day. Your text was very inspiring for me to start taking care of myself.
I as well am a 5 am person. I have put a small table and coffee pot in my room by my super comfy chair and fireplace and I pull the covers of the bed back for airing , turn on the pot, wash and moisturize my face, take am meds, then cocoon with my coffee /chair. I then dress, go down to the kitchen and do my computer work, have some fruit, walk my dogs after checking my calendar/times for the day. My morning work out follows, shower, change to street clothes for the rest of my day with all of this before noon.
I already feel good reading your morning routine. It has a calming effect. Thanks for the great tips. Feels like doing it tomorrow!
Hehe.. thank you for your comment. You should definitely get started with it 🙂 it really is calming!
I would like to read about your 5am routine when you have 2 small kids and one of them is 4:45am riser and other one wakes up a few times at night. Enjoy what you doing, as it sounds lovely and some of the habits might transfer to the motherhood, but I’m sure your routine would be very different.
Yes, I am sure it will. We can always tweak here and there and atleast give some time to ourselves in the morning for our own nourishment. That’s all.
Whether it’s 30 minutes of mindful waking, reading a few pages, a brief movement session, or jotting down a couple of journal pages, these small steps can. Whether it’s 30 minutes of mindful waking, reading a few pages, a brief movement session, or jotting down a couple of journal pages, these small steps can set a positive tone for the rest of your day set a positive tone for the rest of your day
I was never a morning person and just believed I was a night owl. The problem was a that I was completely surrounded by toxic people (my family) but was blind to that because of people constantly telling me how you need to depend on family. I was never happy to greet the day because my parents were always in a bad mood ready to take it out on anyone nearby. That bled over into my adulthood with my dad insisting that he required my assistance in managing his life and psychologically controlling me. He had to die before I could be a complete person. I wish I had killed him, but cancer got him first. Now I’m frequently up at 5am because I know the entire day belongs to ME.
This is so sad to hear. I wish you a good life ahead.
Must be lovely to only have to worry about yourself. Unfortunately I have a family that requires my attention.
That’s not unfortunate at all if you have a family to look after. It’s something to be so thankful for. I’m sad to be away living alone without my loved ones, but I have to because my work is in a different place. If you look at it that way, you will always feel angry. You need to give little bits of time to yourself how much ever is possible. We get angry when we don’t take care of ourselves better and it seeps into our relationships. If you are able to do give a little time for yourself, please give. You can if you want to. We always can squeeze in time. Once you do so, you will do things much joyfully for others and it will be so fortunate.