Hello friends,
My name is Alanna Deutrom and I’m going to share the easiest way for you to stick to, and love your morning routine.
At times it can feel like creating, and sticking to a routine is just as difficult as sticking to a diet. Just like a diet you start with good intentions on a Monday only to find that by Friday you are back in the swing of your old ways…
I have tried and tested all of the fads and over the last two years I have worked out what I was missing. I now am religious with my morning routine and since building a routine that sticks I have felt happier, healthier and much more productive.
So how can you feel the same?
INTENTION IS EVERYTHING
From intense workouts, to lemon water, making your bed, you name it – I’ll give it a go. But what I have found is that without the right intention we can’t stick to anything.
So I challenge you to ask yourself… What do you want the most out of your morning? What will help you feel the most in alignment with yourself before you embark on your day?
My morning intentions are awe, peace, learning, quality time and movement. I am my best self when I have first created stillness, learnt something new to expand my mind, moved, admired the beauty around me in some form (usually mother nature) and spent quality time with my partner.
Before you lose interest because my list is lengthy, hear me out. I have a hack to get you flowing. I call it…
LAYERING
Layering is exactly what it sounds like… You layer your routine until you feel complete.
I started with a walk, every morning I would wake up and my non-negotiable is a walk ** SUPER TIP ** Having a dog helps.
Once a walk became automatic for me… I added yoga. So I go for a walk, I get home, I do a 30min yoga class online and I’m complete. Another super tip * DON’T ADD LAYERS TOO QUICKLY. Never add a new layer until you are automatically doing the one before it.
The other beauty about layering is that you give yourself space to know if you like something or not. It’s about trial and error, adding and subtracting until you have the perfect equation. We are each so different so it's important to feel your way through this process, we want to look forward to our morning so it's your call on what makes you feel alive. Remember we are always pursuing aliveness (check out my video on purpose to dive deeper into this)
You probably already have automatic habits you do each morning. Try noting them down. For example you might wake up, check your phone, go to the bathroom, have breakfast, brush your teeth and then go to work.
A layering action could be to not look at your phone first thing and instead grab a book you are reading and finish off a few chapters before bathroom, breakfast, teeth and work.
Once replacing phone time with reading your book becomes automatic then you might try waking up 15 mins earlier than usual. So you go to bed 15 mins earlier in the evening and slowly create a new habit. The reward for your 15min nudge is a new layer in the morning to enjoy like a 15 minute meditation.
The TWO DAY RULE
Rules are really important when we are trying to make a change and I have one really important rule that you MUST follow.
NEVER MISS TWO DAYS IN A ROW.
No one is perfect, yes I love my morning routine but some days I don’t have time to complete everything on my list OR other days I’m exhausted and I just need to sleep in, I am human. But my one rule is… Never miss two days in a row. So If I miss Saturday, I must not miss Sunday. This rule helps because it gives me freedom to restart.
SO if your layer is making your bed but this morning you didn’t.. Thats ok. Restart tomorrow but don’t miss a second day!! Ever…
These are my tips on building a morning routine:
- Set your intention, how do you want to feel and why?
- Layer your habits one at a time to build your dream morning
- Next miss two days in a row
This is NOT a diet, this is a lifestyle and you must give yourself time. It won't happen overnight but it will happen, and once you have layered to your heart's content you will look back and be so glad you started.
I look forward to hearing your feedback in the comments
