I have found that the way I start my morning can affect how the rest of my day can continue. If I wake up late, rushing to get ready for work and get out of the door on time, I find the rest of my morning continues to be frantic and that I am a little scattered. As great as sleeping in can be, I find that when I wake up earlier and allow myself plenty of time to get everything done in the morning, I feel more productive and organized throughout my day.

I came across a very interesting audio-book a couple months ago that I really loved and was full of some great advice.  It’s titled “What the most successful people do before breakfast” by Laura Vanderkam. The book goes through the stories of very successful individuals all across the business world and how they each start their mornings. All have a common theme, waking up early enough and not being rushed in the morning before heading to work. Whether it is journaling, meditating, getting a workout in, creating a list of goals for that day, etc. There are so many ways to start the morning with peace and avoid being rushed to your tasks for the day.

My perfect morning consists of starting with a delicious cup of warm coffee and sitting down to read, journal, or simply plan out my day. I usually never wake up early enough to get a full workout in because I prefer to lift weights and do cardio in the afternoon. However, I do love to start my mornings with some yoga and stretching to get my body awake and energized for the day. I have an office job where I am sitting for a large portion of the day, so starting the morning with some form of exercise really helps. Every morning definitely isn’t perfect and there are days where I do wake up too late and don’t allow myself the tranquility of getting ready on my own slow time without constantly checking the clock. I hope to continue the practices of waking up early as the benefits always seem to outweigh the cost of getting to sleep in an extra 15-30 minutes.

Setting my goals at night for the next day inspire to rise and shine and to embrace every minute I have that day.

XOXO BB