Do you have a morning routine working from home that you love?

COVID-19 and the ensuing lockdowns changed how and where we work. 1 in 4 Americans now work remotely (and another estimated 36.2 million Americans will go remote by 2025!).

Building strong morning routines working from home is now critical to millions of people.

What’s interesting is that study participants told researchers they were already more productive and engaged when working from home.

Not to mention, commuting time has been reduced by 62.4 million hours per day with a total time savings of over 9 billion hours (!!), calculated from March 2020 to September 2020.

And you’re not alone if you’ve struggled here.

Cultivating rituals and habits that help you start your day with a bang, versus winging it — which is your style?

Most importantly…

Did you know one of those options could drive you to greater success than the other? 💡

I’ll give you two guesses for which one it is. (Hint: The answer to anything, my friends, is seldom “winging it.”)

A healthy morning routine can change your life. But what does a great morning routine working from home look like?

You DON’T have to:

• Get out of bed at 5 a.m. every day
• Make your bed every morning
• Do an insanely intense, athlete-caliber workout
• Zoom with a Gandhi-like coach to go over your goals

Your ultimate morning work-from-home routine can be SO much simpler.

Put your passion, your joy, and your health first, then work hard, and good things will come. (Healthy habits ARE millionaire habits.)

Here’s how. Let’s talk about how to build your own morning routine working from home.

Today, I’m inviting you into my morning space with a personal video on how I’ve built a morning routine that I love (and have committed to for two years now!).

My Morning Routine Working from Home (Video)

I’ve been following a morning routine for two years, and the results have helped me to start my day happier, healthier, and more motivated than ever to achieve my goals.

Check out this video documenting my morning rituals and habits, from the moment I wake up to the minute I sit down to work:

9 Tips to Master Your Morning Routine Working from Home

Don’t just wake up and plunge straight into your workday. That’s a recipe for a bad day.

Instead, carve out time to ease into your day gently.

When you practice the ritual of a morning routine, you prime your mind to do its best work, to be proactive instead of reactive. The difference:

• Proactive – You’re ready for any challenge that arises. You’re centered and grounded.
• Reactive – You’re stressed and on edge. When issues come up, you throw up your hands and give up.

A morning routine can give you a giant edge toward approaching your workday with a proactive mindset. Here are my best tips for cultivating your own work-from-home morning routine.

1. Wake Up at the Same Time Every Day

This tip in itself can be life-changing.

When you work from home, the freedom and flexibility to work whenever you want may… well.. backfire.

You may find yourself getting up whenever, starting work whenever, and, as a result, your productivity plummeting.

The truth is, your body is a clock. ⏰

Your body wants to adhere to a schedule.

Leaning into its rhythms will actually make you healthier — think stronger immunity and better digestion — not to mention improved concentration and productivity.

So, start setting your alarm for a specific time. It doesn’t have to be super early. It should just make sense for you. Get up at that time, every day, without fail.

You may find, as you progress in this routine, your sleep quality and even your mood might change for the better. It’s like magic!

2. Get Out of Bed When the Alarm Goes Off

Sounds simple, right?

I get it. Some days, this can require a Herculean effort. The first few days you wake up at your predetermined rise-and-shine time, you may feel downright horrible and exhausted.

I urge you to push through it.

Just get out of bed. Don’t roll over. Don’t hit “snooze.” Don’t reach for your phone for a quick scroll of your email or social media.

Just get out of bed. That’s all.

It does get easier, and your mornings (and days!) will improve because of this one small step.

If it’s really tough, and your rise time is after sunrise, try getting out of bed, going straight to a window, opening up your curtains/blinds, and getting a faceful of sunlight.

The light signals your brain’s “master clock” that it’s time to be alert. (#science 🔬)

3. Get Ready for Your Morning Routine Working from Home

Another great hack to optimize your alertness in your morning routine:

Take a few steps to get ready after you wake up.

For me, it’s washing my face, brushing my hair, and getting dressed.

Some people like to step straight into the shower after they rise for a nice pick-me-up. Others will go the whole nine yards (shower, hair, makeup, outfit, etc.) so they feel fresh and ready to go.

However you approach this tip, it helps to get your productivity moving in the right direction.

Let’s face it: Staying in your pajamas all day sounds great in theory but is kind of terrible in practice for your mental state.

(Needing to get on a quick, impromptu Zoom call when you haven’t showered or changed yet is, in a word, stressful.)

If, on the other hand, you get a ton done and feel great without changing out of your pajamas, more power to you! Most of us feel better if we take steps away from sleep mode, including our clothing — even if we just change from pajamas to a comfy sweatshirt or sweatpants. 😉

4. Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate

Drink your water, people!

I cannot stress this enough.

Adequate hydration can stave off so many problems that can plague your mornings, particularly fatigue, poor concentration, and headaches.

For me, the goal is to drink 64 ounces (1.9 liters) of water in the first three hours after I wake up. My trusty water bottle is always in my hand or next to me as I carry on with my morning.

5. Get Some Fresh Air

Nothing wakes you up and brings a feeling of peace more than spending time in nature in the morning.

If you can, try to head outside for a few minutes to enjoy the day or catch part of the sunrise.

No yard? Try going for a quick walk around your neighborhood block, or opening a window and breathing in some fresh breezes.

Even if it’s freezing in the dead of winter, a quick step outside will get your heart pumping and your blood moving, which is awesome for waking up and feeling alert.

6. Take Some Quiet Time

One of the best parts of my morning routine, the one that leaves me feeling the most grounded, is the quiet time I take to read the Word, pray, and meditate.

Just a few minutes of this refreshes my mind and leaves me feeling thankful and peaceful.

Maybe a similar approach would work the same for you during a slice of your morning.

Or, you could just sit down with a good book (or an audiobook, a podcast, or music) and read for a few minutes to quiet your mind.

Even more simply, try closing your eyes and emptying your thoughts for a minute or two.

Breathe and listen.

Quieting your brain gives you space to relax and be — an essential part of any gentle morning routine.

7. Have Breakfast and Coffee (or Your Beverage of Choice)

Breakfast is so important for a healthy morning routine. You need to give your body the energy it depends on to dive into your workday…

And food is energy! A good breakfast will fuel you through your morning and help you avoid low mood, fatigue, and poor concentration.

You’ll also be giving your body what it craves — nourishment and nutrients.

Along with breakfast, I like to include coffee as part of my morning ritual. Preparing my morning cup is almost meditative, and that first sip is so satisfyingly delicious that I look forward to it.

8. Move Your Body

Exercise — any kind of exercise — is a great addition to your work-from-home morning routine.

For me, that means stretching and yoga. For you, that could mean a brisk walk or run outside, a ride on your bike, an online class, lifting some weights, or whatever you love to do that gets your body moving.

Exercise is a natural anti-depressant, too. Studies have shown it helps you sleep better at night, guards against all kinds of diseases, and even helps improve the function of your brain.

Get moving for at least a few minutes, and you’ll reap the rewards of a healthier morning.

9. Spend Time with Loved Ones

During my morning routine, I make a point to connect with my loved ones and enjoy a few minutes together.

My daughter and I chat as I help her get ready and off to school. My husband and I eat breakfast together and enjoy some quality time. These moments of connection center me before my workday.

Even if you just chat for a few minutes with your roommate or partner over breakfast or text someone you love to say “good morning”, these tiny moments add up to make your day’s beginning that much better.

Bonus: While you’re thinking about rituals and routines, also consider the environment. Is your office, workspace, or home equipped with what you need to make your mornings (and your workdays) the best they can be?

4 Ways to Further Optimize Your Work-from-Home Morning Routine

What if you’ve started a morning routine, but it’s a little shaky as you get into the groove? You might need to make a few tweaks before you hit that zone of zen. 🧘‍♀️

Here are my best tips:

1. Stay Away from Your Phone

Phones are little time-sucking devices that can steal a good morning away from you, right from under your nose.

You know the drill. You pick up your phone just to “check something.” Suddenly, 15 minutes have gone by, and you can’t remember how you got from Google to Instagram and how long you’ve been scrolling.

Time is precious in the morning. Don’t waste it behind a screen.

Leave your phone in a drawer for the morning, and see what happens.

Afraid you’ll miss something? Feeling the ultimate FOMO?

Relax. I promise — it can wait, and the quality of your morning is worth it.

2. Prioritize Good Sleep

How can you get out of bed at the same time every morning if you’re running on empty?

You can’t. That’s why sleeping well and enough is MEGA important to having great mornings.

Even if you want to stay up one more hour for another episode of your current show, or you just need one more hour of kid-free time, forget it. Sleep is more important!

Plus, you’ll make up for that time the next morning, in your amazing morning routine.

Sleep well, sleep enough, and your mornings will become next-level.

Young adults to older adults generally need 7-9 hours of rest per night. Source: Sleep Foundation

3. Prepare the Night Before

If you’re not a morning person, prepare the night before for your best morning ever.

• Lay out the clothes you’ll wear.
• Pre-make your breakfast (overnight oats are easy and delicious… and healthy).
• Set out what you’ll need for your workout or exercise.
• Fill up a bottle of water and put it on your nightstand.
• Program your coffee maker to automatically make a pot or a cup the next morning at a specific time.

These tasks are simple, but getting them done before you wake up can help you progress through your morning with less friction.

4. Pad Your Morning Routine with Extra Time (Get Up Earlier)

Not enough time in the morning to do all the rituals you’d love to do? Get up a little earlier.

Even 15-20 minutes can make a world of difference, especially if it lets you relax a little instead of rushing around trying to complete everything.

For example, an extra 15 minutes could give you time for a quick walk around the block after breakfast, or time to read a chapter of your book.

Last But Not Least: Don’t Put Pressure on Your Morning Work from Home Routine!

There’s no such thing as a “perfect morning routine.” Perfection doesn’t exist!

Even if you have a bad morning and your routine doesn’t go as planned, it’s no big deal.

Tomorrow is a new day to try again.

And that’s all that matters — you tried. You’ll try again.

Your day is what you make it, so make it great. 🌞

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