For a while now I’ve been fascinated with the mirage of advice and sharing on what the best morning routine is, whether you’re out working a job or working from home.
Today while I was getting ready for the start of my day, I was reflecting on how does a morning routine really affect whether we have a productive, happy day or not?
I wanted to do some research into this trend on talking about our morning routine and see if there is any truth to the benefits of having one.
You see the majority of us have a morning routine whether we like it or not.
We all get up to start our day, shower (well some do), brush our teeth, hair and get dressed before heading to the kitchen to either eat breakfast or start our day off with our favourite beverage either coffee, tea, smoothy or whatever takes our fancy. Most of this is done all before heading out the door or to our desk to start our working day.
But I want to find out more about the “morning routine” that I hear the high achievers do at the beginning of their day.
First, let me share with you the common one that I’ve read time and time again and it goes something like this….
Plan out your morning the night before.
Set your alarm to wake up earlier.
Drink a glass of water upon waking
Move and exercise your body first thing when you get up.
Stay off tech and your devices for the first hour upon waking.
Before heading to work or your desk – spend time journalling and writing down your intentions for the day / week.
This is the usual take on what a morning routine looks like according to experts.
Continuing on with my research these are the top 5 searches on google that people are asking on this very subject:
What should my morning routine be?
What you should do every morning?
What should be your daily routine?
What is the first thing you do every morning?
What is the miracle morning routine?
Why are we so fascinated with ensuring we have ourselves a top notch morning routine?
Well, what I found out in reading loads of articles and researching the various books available on Amazon it’s really very simple.
It’s all about being organised to the point that you know what your major objective or project is that you want to achieve for the day and week ahead.
And it’s all about making the time without delay and interruptions to completing the designated tasks or projects.
Because at the end of the day we all want to feel like we’ve achieved and completed what we’ve set out to do.
This sounds great, but that’s easier said than done.
Something gets in the way of us achieving what we want to do and that is procrastination.
Procrastination is one of the biggest self sabotages in our life. People often procrastinate because they’re afraid of failing at the tasks that they need to complete.
This fear of failure can promote procrastination in various ways, such as by causing people to avoid finishing or even starting the task in the first place.
So one way to combat this is to plan the night before what you want to achieve for the next day.
This already sets out the intention on what you are going to do once you’re ready to start your day and saves valuable time, when you get to your desk or work place.
I believe that this is one area that when I plan out exactly what I’m going to do the night before, I just get in without delay and waste no time at all getting on with what I’ve set out to do for the day.
I also find that at the beginning of the week I already know what I can expect to achieve for the rest of that week.
What I have noticed that the times I haven’t done this I’ve wasted many a good day and week achieving “bugger all”, which is super frustrating and annoying especially when you have an expectation of getting things done on your list.
Next what I find is that when I adopt a healthy attitude towards food and moving my body I achieve way more in my day.
I’m not talking about heading to the gym for an hour long session here I’m talking about being aware that your body needs to stretch first thing in the morning to wake it up and I’m talking about being aware of what you put in your mouth all day long.
Because I don’t know about you, but what I’ve found is that when I eat healthier and make healthy food choices, I feel better mentally and physically.
Now as for writing down in a journal your intentions and gratitude for the day.
I have mixed feelings about this.
Firstly, sometimes I forget to write in my journal first thing in the morning because I have so many other things to get sorted being a working Mum.
So for me, what I find more valuable is writing in my journal at night.
I generally grab my journal and write down the kind of day I’ve had whether good or bad and I also write down how I’m feeling.
What I find by doing it a night I allow myself to get out of my head some of the things that may have been bothering me. It also allows me to write down what I’ve thankful and grateful for.
So do I agree with what the experts say you should do upon waking – yep most of it but I feel we all need to adopt what works for us in the morning and whether that’s getting up early, stretching or writing in a journal that’s completely up to you.
I do feel that deciding what you want to do or achieve the following day is best to do that the night before as it not only saves time but gives you a clear direction on how to start your day.
At the end of the day just do what works for you and makes you feel good.
So whether you adopt some of the rituals that I’ve shared above or come up with your own morning routine and habits, either way it’s about just getting on with the job at hand and making sure you have a good day.
If you’d like more support and help to achieve more in your day then why not head over to my MONTHLY COACHING program where you will feel supported and loved during your financial and emotional journey.
Look forward to seeing you there.
In the meantime, here’s to your health, wealth and happiness.
We took this at 1am after cleaning up from his party ? on Saturday night remembering we didn’t get one photo of the 3 of us. Too late for our daughter to get into the photo as she was fast asleep ? by then.
Reaching 50 or any milestone in your life is worth celebrating ?.
It’s important to celebrate the milestones along the way whether it be birthdays, paying off debt, work achievements or whatever joy and happiness has come in at that time.
When we celebrate the special milestones in our life it triggers a change in habit to our brain ? and this enables more of the good stuff to come in.
Celebrating even the fact you’re still here is a major milestone today as I’m sure we’ve all had special people in our life that are not here and had their time cut short.
Gratitude and appreciating all that you have in life – whether you don’t feel like being grateful because of certain circumstances that have occurred in your life – is the key to receiving more.
Now I’m not going to bang on here about gratitude and appreciation, as I feel there is plenty of that out there for you to tap into in other’s messages.
What I do want to share and highlight is to truly appreciate all what you have today whether it be a little or a lot and be thankful that you’re here.
So enjoy every milestone and moment in your life and live with love and gratitude ❤️
p.s. check out that rogue strand of hair sticking out lol – I was too tired to take another photo but love that we finally got one of the two of us before the night was out. Important to document special occasions even with unruly hair 🙂
Most of us desire happiness and balance but very few of us know how to get it in their life.
This is a tough subject because there are so many factors that inhibit us from truly being happy.
The obvious one that appears a lot is the lack of money and the other is we’re too busy being busy that we’re not stopping to see what’s going on around us and then making the changes we need to bring more happiness and joy in our life.
I was reflecting this morning how for the first time in weeks how I have really enjoyed the start of the school day with my daughter and how it felt when I wasn’t rushing her to get ready for school, with packing her bag, brushing her teeth and brushing her hair ready for me to tie up.
Ruby loves to dance in front of the mirror and often comes up with dance moves. Typical pre-teen. She’s got some good dance moves even though she doesn’t want to do dancing lessons. She often breaks out in dance moves when I feel we don’t have the time.
However, this particular day I just allowed and it was such a special moment. I caught myself really smiling just not a smirk to humour her and I was caught up in her moment. It reminded me of what life was like when I was a kid many moons ago. The freedom to do whatever I wanted without worry, without the hassle of all the things it takes to be an adult today with the many responsibilities.
So why today, what was so special about today…what was different about it. Why did I stop and be in the moment and be present in my daughter’s usual shenanigans?
It hit me about an hour later after I dropped her at school.
The ahhha moment at that time was,….take pressure off yourself – things will get done when they’re meant to get done. You can’t rush life.
Now some of you listening may be thinking that this is not the most motivating conversation for but for me, it was and made so much sense.
It was about knowing what’s really important and why we are working – not just to earn an income and pay our bills. For most of us we’re working – so we can build a life that we want to enjoy. It’s about creating a life we truly desire and makes us happy.
So many people strive for balance but most don’t actually get there. We’re too busy working, shuffling kids to sports, birthday parties and other things that we do when we have a family and taking care of our loved ones or whatever fills our busy adult days.
Life is precious.
Going back to my moment this morning something also hit me….
Last year my Dad’s 3 eldest brothers past away plus his best childhood friend all in the same year.
It was a reality call that highlighted again to me that I can’t take life for granted and I have to make each moment count.
I’ve heard that saying before but never really took much notice of it until reflecting at the end of last year.
Make each moment count as you just don’t know when our time on earth is up – none of us know when we will take our last breath.
Choose to spend time with the people that count. I’m choosing spend my time with the family and friends who make me happy and bring joy into my life and not because I have to see them.
Spend time with people who make you laugh, people who don’t judge, aren’t jealous or envious of you but love you for who you are warts and all.
Choose to declutter and detox not only things in and around your house, but people who don’t bring you happiness.
Choose to live life the way God intended us to – in peace, harmony and joy.
I challenge you here today to do more of what makes you happy. Reflect on all that is good in your life and clean out that which is not.
Don’t be afraid to offend people. Just do what you feel is right for you and your family.
It’s such a good feeling once you’ve done this – trust me!
This is one of the gifts I can give our daughter – teaching her to live her life with no regrets. Not worrying about what people think or say about her behind her back. To believe in herself and not listen to what other people say or think of her, but to listen to how she feels.
People will always have an opinion on who you are and how you should live your life. Choose not to let them get under your skin and choose your own special brand of happiness.
When you worry about what other people think it’s because you either have low self esteem and want to feel accepted or because in some truth there’s something about you that you possibly you need to change.
The people we are attract in our life often mirror something we like or don’t like about ourself.
Your reality is what you’re focussing on and thinking about is having a mirroring effect into what you’re attracting into your life whether it be a positive or negative experience.
It’s important to feed yourself and the next generation with positiveness, hope and the expectation we can achieve anything if we choose.
Choose to be happy and take the inspired action.
What are some of the ways you are choosing to be more happier and decluttering negativity out of your life? Let me know by leaving me your thoughts below.
Wow it’s been a while since I’ve recorded a podcast – my apologises.
I recently had someone ask hey where are your podcasts I’ve missed them. Actually I didn’t know anyone was listening as nobody seems to comment, which doesn’t surprise me but would be nice every now and then to know someone is listening.
Well I put on hold recording while I was finishing off writing some courses that I’ve released this year. So I’m back into recording and I hope you continue to enjoy.
In this episode podcast 003 I’ve decided to share my thoughts on happiness.
Why, because everybody wants to be happy – but very few people know how to achieve it in their life.
This is a tough subject because there are so many factors that inhibit us from truly being happy. One that appears a lot is a lack of money and the other is we’re too busy being busy that we’re not stopping to see what’s going on around us and then making the changes we need to bring more happiness and joy in our life.
In this podcast, I’m going to share how the little things can bring more happiness if you allow them – so I hope you enjoy.
SUBSCRIBE to hear more tips and information on areas relating to financial and mindset and leave a comment on what areas of your life stresses you out the most.
Here are some resources to support you in your journey for happiness:
A little while ago someone said to me what’s this thing you keep talking about financial muscle – it doesn’t make any sense.That’s probably because I’ve coined the phase “building financial muscle”.So here’s snapshot of what it means to have financial muscle!
So financial muscle is about building strength in your finances and it’s also about building mental stamina, as well as, ensuring your money is working for you and not for some credit company or banking institutions benefit.
It means that in a time of emergency you can pull on money reserves to get you out of a bind.
Having financial muscle is about taking the worry out of unexpected things that can go wrong and often do.
Financial muscle is also about knowing you’ve got this covered – you’ve money behind you and that’s giving you greater peace of mind.
It means you can enjoy more out of life without any added financial stress and worry.
I believe we all want the same things out of life.
We all want prosperity & happiness.
We want to live a life free from stress.
And we want to live a full life – filled with many adventures and the freedom to do what we choose.
The problem I see it is that today people are being burdened down with a massive amount of stress in their life.
Some – if not a lot – of the stress is caused by financial issues.
If you take a look again at this diagram you’ll see that when you don’t have financial muscle – it means you don’t have money working to your advantage.
If this is the case then you’re probably struggling and feeling very overwhelmed.
When this occurs it usually means you’re either spending everything you earn with nothing much left over.
Your relationships are probably suffering and you’re stressed out and if you’re not careful your health will start to suffer.
If you’re not quite at the bottom but feeling like you’re just surviving – by managing to pay your bills.I’m guessing you’re frustrated and possibly feeling angry and annoyed, no doubt still stressed out that your money isn’t working the way you want it to be.
In a recent study done by the Australian Psychology Society’s stress and wellbeing survey – financial issues continue to be the number 1 stress for people.
Today, there is not just one income earner but two in most households.
Families in general have more money coming in today than previous generations –and on the surface, things look really great.
However, we know there are more divorces today than ever before and the average family is looking a lot different now than from a few years ago.
When did we decide that we would give up so much of our core values in order to have the material things that give us the appearance of living a happier fulfilled life but in reality are not!
People are now slowly starting to question things like is it worth really getting into so much debt and buying stuff to impress people that we don’t even like?The onset of this is causing them to suffer in the process.
People are looking for options and want the best out of life without sacrificing their core values and principles.
You see…
“It’s not how much money we earn. It’s our ability to manage our money that can make the difference”!
Regardless of where you might be right now – invest some time into obtaining more financial knowledge that will lead to you making better decisions about your money and life.
This is the first thing you can do to start learning how to build financial muscle.
The second way you can build financial muscle is investing in yourself.
Investing in your belief that you can do it, while earning how to pay yourself first.
You pay yourself first by putting away every pay day a minimum of 10% into an account that you can not touch or access easily with the swipe of an ATM card.
This account should be one that doesn’t have any ongoing monthly fees and gives you the ability to automatically transfer at payday the minimum 10% directly into this account.
Having this on autopilot means you don’t have the think about transferring money and it just gets done.
You’re not going to miss this amount and before you know it you will have built up a sizeable amount of money that can now be used for investing and growing you money further.
Stick to the minimum of 10% until all bad debts like credit cards etc are paid off.Once you’re in a position then look to increase this to 15%.
This is how you build financial muscle.
Did you know that 80% of people are managing their money out of sheer habit with no real understanding why their doing things a certain way.
So often following or listening to someone who is not that knowledgeable in financial matters.Or following “the crowd mentality and subscribing to clever marketing tactics by advertisers” both can be dangerous if you’re not sure what you’re doing.
Managing money requires know-how and understanding on whether its actually good for your own situation.You see we all have different comfort areas and risk tolerances.So check with your financial adviser before embarking on any new investment opportunities to see if they fit your personal investment style.
Research has shown that when people get a handle on their money they end up making making smarter, healthier financial decisions that enable them to live with less stress.
Making changes in this area can be difficult for some than others – and it does require courage and commitment.
But unless people decide to make some major changes, there will be a very difficult future that lies ahead for them.
Obtaining financial education is one thing – having an awesome mindset is another and both go hand in hand for you to achieve a stress free life.
When you start building financial muscle you will find yourself at the top of this diagram.Feeling happy and confident that you are on track to becoming debt free, maybe looking at investment options and overall designing your life the way you want it.
Building financial muscle is about understanding how money works to your advantage so that in the end you can live a financially stress free life.
I hope you now have a better understanding what “Building Financial Muscle” is all about so you can create a stress free life for you and your family.
Until next time…. here’s to you building financial muscle.
