A morning routine is something I've wanted to integrate into my life for a very long time. It’s taken a lot of trial and error and I don’t know how many times I’ve quit after just a day or two, but I feel like I have built a solid base where I can keep modifying it as time passes.

My sleeping habits have been terrible for some time; consequently, my mornings consisted of setting 5-6 alarms and hitting snooze countless times until finally I’d get up, groggy and grumpy from the poor sleep and horrible sensation caused by dozing off and being woken up by an alarm every couple of minutes for about an hour. By now I would be rushing, chugging caffeine, and my anxiety would be through the roof. Doing things this way meant that I wouldn’t be productive and at my best till sometime between 11am-1pm.

I’ve had a lot of the external “disciplinary” habits established for some time. These are the things that keep my body fueled and feeling good. I take care of my nutrition and exercise regularly. My job keeps me busy and happy and facilitates professional growth. I have side hustles, hobbies and interests. None of those things really take care of the mind, my thoughts and emotions are a constant source of frustration and anxiety. My mind would race at 1,000 mph with zero regulation of ways to filter out what is useful and what isn’t. Rather than allow time to dive into thought and into my mind, I would find distractions to simply keep me busy and distract me.

These last few months I have been dealing with a lot of emotions and am learning to regulate them. I finally picked up journaling after years of attempting. This allowed for some of the chatter in my mind to quiet down. I began to see patterns in the things I was writing and my thoughts became more clear. I was also able to determine which thoughts actually were valid and which weren’t, and therefore prepare myself to act accordingly. By coincidence I would most often journal in the morning as I drank my coffee, on the days I actually woke up in time. Making sure I woke up with time to do things became more and more important if I was going to accomplish anything during the day. I began leaving my curtains open so that I am able to wake up with the sun rather than an alarm screaming at me. I am very good at sleeping, I can roll over and sleep with the sun in my face, so instead of giving myself the option I just bounce out of bed, put on some gym shorts, a hat, hit the start button on the coffee make and walk out the door. I know sunshine and movement first thing are extremely beneficial and this way I get both, but I also interrupt my lazy behavior and am forcing myself to move. The walk I take takes about 25 minutes, so when I leave, I am practically still asleep, but when I get back home, I am wide awake. Also the coffee is ready. A quick shower then I can journal and drink my coffee.

By now, I have walked and showered and am dressed and ready, where in the past I would have still been hitting that snooze button. So far - the walk and shower and journaling take about 40 minutes all together. It actually frees up a lot of time which allows me to fill my morning with a few more things that don’t take long. I have a small altar and burn sage and meditate for about ten minutes, spend some time in gratitude, affirmations and manifestation, throw in some breath work and an oracle deck and there's my morning. What this does for me is that it grounds me, it puts me in the present moment and the ritualistic aspect of it gives me comfort and slows me down. This whole thing, from the time I open my eyes takes me about 1 hr.

Each of these actions on their own have a meaningful impact on my mind, but putting them together back-to-back has been very powerful for me. It's about intentionally looking inward and quieting the world around you, to actually take the time to listen to, not silence, the voice within. It’s best for me to do this in the morning because there are too many variables throughout the day and I am more likely to skip out on things if I tried to commit to doing them at a different time, but doing them in the morning really prepares me to be at my best the remainder of the day. It allows me to feel more in control of myself and more at peace with what I can’t control.

Time was a huge concern for me, thinking that it would take me hours to get my morning ritual done. I imagined waking up at 4 am and having it take me 3 hours. In reality, one thing led to another and it actually gave me MORE time in the morning where I am able to actually make the best use of my time. Figuring out a way to wake up quickly and efficiently was the biggest game changer for me, after that it became about implementing other things I have learned along the way that have helped me one way or another. If I had a home gym, or a cold plunge, I would add that to my routine, but until that happens, what I am doing now works for me. Another thing that may seem overwhelming would be to do all of these things from the start, I definitely didn’t. I added things as I found the time and desire for them. It's all trial and error and will be a constantly evolving thing depending on your own needs. You gotta find what works for you.

-ANTAR MAURICIO