How to Perfect Your Morning Routine Before Work
By Bruntwood
Although you might be pressed for time before work, establishing a productive morning routine can have a huge impact on your entire day.
From reducing the chances of being late to your 9am meeting, to giving you more time to get those pre-work endorphins flowing with a workout - having a regular schedule has a number of benefits. But why is a healthy morning routine important and what’s the best way to get into one?
What is a Morning Routine?
Just like any kind of routine, a morning routine is a set of tasks you carry out in a similar order every single day.
Your morning routine can consist of as many or as little steps as you like - getting out of bed, brushing your teeth and getting dressed all make up a small part of it. However, adding extra steps such as a quick workout, nutritious breakfast or meditation can help you to set healthy habits that can improve your wellbeing in the long-term.
Why is a Healthy Morning Routine Important?
Your morning routine sets up your entire day. In fact, a study by the Harvard Business Review found that highly productive people are more likely to have a morning routine. Without one, you may find yourself forgetting things, running late and, ultimately, raising your cortisol levels.
In fact, from the moment you open your eyes in the morning, your body starts to produce the stress hormone, cortisol, which peaks after around an hour of waking. Although this is intended to get you up and primed for the day, raising it further with a chaotic morning schedule could really affect the way your day shapes up.
However, a good morning routine has been linked to reduced stress levels and boosted mood and energy throughout the day. Once you’ve got a solid routine in place, you can almost carry out your morning tasks on autopilot, meaning you don’t even have to think about what your next step is going to be.
Additionally, morning schedules can help to reduce conflicts in the household. For example, if you shower at the same time each morning, the other people in your household can come to expect that, helping them to plan their morning routine a little better too.
So whether you keep your morning routine to just a few simple tasks, or meticulously plan out your precious time in the morning before work, you’re sure to notice a difference in your day.
Morning Routine Ideas for a Work Day
Work day mornings can feel a little hectic. Whether you’re trying to fit a workout into your day and want to get to that 6am gym class, need to do the pre-work school run, or your morning skincare routine has a few more steps than you’d like to admit - the few hours before work can feel stressful and rushed.
However, our tips can help you to manage your time a little better, set good habits and establish a really productive morning routine.
Morning Routine Checklist
If you’re trying to establish a good morning routine, you’ve got to think about all of the steps it takes to get you ready for the day and create a morning routine checklist. This might include:
Bathroom routine/getting ready (cleaning teeth, skincare, showering)
Housekeeping (making the bed, emptying the dishwasher)
Morning coffee
Eating a nutritious breakfast
Exercise
Care duties (children, animals)
Reading
Meditation
Writing a to-do list for the day
Planning your commute
However, it’s not just the steps you include in your routine that can make a difference - there are some things that can make your morning less productive and get those cortisol levels rising, including:
Snoozing your alarm
Checking your phone first-thing
Not preparing the night before
Skipping breakfast
Not having a set wake-up time
Responding to work emails
Although a productive routine will look different for everyone, it’s important to follow one that keeps your cortisol levels down, energises you and sets you up for a great day ahead.
Morning Gym Routine Before Work
According to a 2021 study by Cinch, 32% of those surveyed stated that exercising was the most important part of their morning schedule. If you fall into this category, your morning gym routine may require a little bit of planning.
The best way to make sure you actually make it to that early gym class is to start preparing the night before. According to Cinch, many of the 44% of people who prepared the night before reported lower levels of stress.
So, if you’re looking to get organised, the first thing to think about is packing your gym bag and making a plan of action. For example, are you making use of your office gym facilities and will be heading straight to your desk after your workout? In that case, you’ll need to make sure you’ve packed everything you need for your working day - including a change of clothes.
Alternatively, if you’re working out from home, do you need to prep your breakfast the night before to give you a little bit of extra time to get ready? No matter what kind of exercise you plan on doing, having a seamless routine can help you to fit a lot more into your morning schedule, without adding any stress.
Morning Routine with a Dog Before Work
If you’ve got a dog to fit into your pre-work morning routine, then you’re going to want to be organised in order to ensure you get in a walk, feeding and anything that might crop up unexpectedly!
For most dog owners, their pet actually acts as their alarm clock, so you don’t need to worry about snoozing your alarm when you simply can’t face those early winter walks. However, a structured routine is really important when you’re a pet owner, not just for your sake, but for theirs too.
According to Dogs Trust, canines thrive on routine and could become anxious if anything changes, so yourschedule is as important for keeping your cortisol levels in check as it is for theirs!
If you’ve returned to the office full-time, then it should be fairly easy to establish a morning routine with your pooch, however, hybrid workers may struggle, as their daily plan may differ slightly on the days working from home. Additionally, those who take their dog with them to the office risk upsetting their schedule further.
That’s why it’s so important to stick to a consistent regime - if you can keep those first few hours as familiar as possible every single day, both you and your dog will know exactly what to expect.
So, whether you swap your social media scrolling for ten minutes of reading, get those endorphins pumping with an early workout, or simply enjoy a slow, relaxed morning with a tasty, nutritious breakfast, establishing a routine can really help to set up your day.
From on-site gyms and changing facilities, to bike storage for your two-wheeled commute, we can help to make your pre-work schedule a little easier here at Bruntwood. Explore our spaces today to see how we could help you.