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5 Minutes in the Morning Make You 5x Happier – A Successful Morning Routine
There’s a reason that the terms ‘morning routine of successful people’ or ‘successful morning routine’ are trending right now. Because even just 5 minutes in the morning can make you 5 times happier- shaping your entire day for success and productivity, but even more so, setting yourself up for a happier, more positive life. This article will show you how just five minutes in the morning will make you five times happier.
I’m sure you’ve heard this MANY times. You’ve seen it on tv- on mid-morning talk shows like Oprah and Ellen, Dr Phil and Dr Oz, or maybe even on Good Morning America.
There are dozens of articles on Forbes, Inc, Money Magazine, MindBodyGreen, and the list goes on- and on and on.
There are even inspirational videos on YouTube about the successful morning routine of rich and famous entrepreneurs and what sets their mornings apart from everyone else lagging behind them like us boring, ordinary people tend to do.
How you spend your morning shapes your life.
But what you don’t hear- and what I’m sure (if you’re like me, anyway) you THINK in your head- is that these routines require WAY too much work! And an unrealistic amount of sleep sacrifice.
Nobody actually wants to get up at 4 am so they can have an hour of morning meditation before reading the newspaper in solitude.
Nobody WANTS to burn 1000 calories before dragging cranky children out of beds, prepping for a busy workday, or practicing for a presentation.
Look at me, for example:
But I have five kids, including TWO toddlers. Both toddlers wake up during the night on most days, so my sleep is usually less than stellar quality.
I’m an entrepreneur who often works after the kids go to bed so I can be as productive as possible without sacrificing family time.
So I’m TIRED in the morning.
I’m undercaffeinated.
And, usually, I’d rather hit that snooze button for an extra 10 (or 20) minutes of sleep than do ANYTHING else, even if I KNOW there are a million benefits to getting up the first time.
In fact, I struggled for YEARS with trying to force myself into a better morning routine. Into NOT hitting that snooze button. Into being that ‘perfect’ morning person I felt like I should be.
And I have failed in a million spectacular ways.Â
What I realized throughout all of this, however, is that there’s a workaround that can fit into almost ANY busy person’s morning.
It’s not going to 100% change your entire life immediately (sorry), but it is a powerful start and it WILL make you happier during your day. And as an added bonus, it will eventually get you more excited to stop hitting that snooze button.
So I’m offering a compromise. A sneaky kind of deal, if you will: I’m going to show you how just 5 minutes in the morning will make you happier.
*gasp*
Sounds too good to be true, right?
But what if, instead of these crazy, complicated, early morning routines, you could start improving yours using only 5 minutes? What if you spent 5 very specific minutes setting your ENTIRE day up for positivity and happiness? Could you do it?
There’s TONS of data out there that supports all of the crazy ‘entrepreneur morning routine’ activities that will drastically improve your mood, your general well-being and your life. Most of these successful morning routines include some combination of the following:
- Waking up early (like before sunshine exists, early)
- Meditating or praying
- Exercising or doing yoga (or for some people, both)
- Reading something inspirational (like a self-help book or bible study)
- Spending a few quiet minutes in solitude
- Planning your day before it starts
- (and several more things could be added here)
But these all require two things that many people just don’t have enough of in the morning- time and energy.
So let’s cut to the chase here. We’ve got ONLY 5 MINUTES to make this morning work. To set ourselves up for maximum success in minimum time. What can we actually do?!
1. We start small.
2. And we start with what we love.
So, let’s break this down a bit:
1. We start small.
Because we only have five short minutes, we know we’re not sacrificing much sleep to get it done.
We’re honestly not sacrificing much of anything, because once we hit that snooze button, a lot of times we end up laying there TRYING to get back to sleep anyways.
So technically, we’re just going to get up 5 minutes earlier than usual INSTEAD of lying there for 5 minutes feeling frustratedly tired in our beds.
Why is this important? Because it’s a mindset switch. Instead of laying there wishing we could sleep more, we’re making a DELIBERATE choice to get up only 5 minutes earlier.
Your basic thought process becomes this:
It’s only 5 minutes, right?! And it will make me happier, right?! So WHY NOT do it?
We’re exchanging a positive thought for our usual negative thought (feeling exhausted or needing just a few more minutes of sleep, for example)- and we’re grabbing this positive thought right out of bed. That in itself is super powerful because it sets the tone for our entire day.
Pro tip: This positive mindset won’t feel natural at first. You’ve got to ACTUALLY tell yourself these things the first few days you get up. Just repeat these words (or better yet, write them down and tape them somewhere you’ll see from your bed!):
I’m giving myself 5 minutes, and they will make my day happier and easier. I’ve got this!!
Your mindset switch will come when you realize that you start thinking these things automatically without actually telling yourself anymore. It WILL happen, but it usually takes some time to become a natural habit.
So step one gets us out of the negative space of our first few moments and into a positive one instead.
(cue infomercial voice)
*But, WAIT! There’s more!* Let’s go to step two…
2. We start with what we love.
What’s your FAVORITE part of the morning? For me, I love sipping coffee by myself, scrolling through my Instagram feed.
It’s interesting, actually, because you typically want to AVOID news and social media because of all the drama and negativity brewing there.
But I have carefully crafted my Instagram feed to only have stuff from positive and inspiring people, so it works for me. (Literally, I have followed and liked, or hidden and deleted so many things to make sure it’s an uplifting and motivating place.)
Anyway, you want to figure out what YOU love to do during the morning.
Maybe you feel good after you meditate or pray. Five minutes is actually a perfect amount of time to do some quick, uplifting meditation.
Or maybe you love watching the world start its day outside your kitchen window.
Or maybe you’ve been trying to find time to squeeze in a few pages of that book you never have time to read- BINGO now you have five extra reading minutes!
Whatever it is, DO IT EXCLUSIVELY for five minutes.
This doesn’t have to be the first five minutes of the day. I generally go to the bathroom, wash my face, and down a jug of water right out of bed.
Then I have to brew the coffee before I can actually drink the coffee, but the important thing is this:
When you’re spending that FIVE MINUTES doing your favorite morning activity, make sure to REMIND yourself that this is an activity you enjoy, and that’s it’s wonderful to get a little extra time to spend doing it.
(This is the important part- you’ve got to be sure to appreciate the activity for the activity to help you.)
See? Another mindset switch. Boom!
Okay, so that’s it! Simple, right? I mean, you’re probably thinking it’s stupid, because it is really, actually SO simple.
But that’s the thing- sometimes it’s the simple things.
That’s what they say, right? It’s the little things in life that mean the most.
So gift yourself this one little thing: just five minutes each morning.
It’s easy, and it’s stupid simple. LOL! You’ve just got to actually do it, right?
Then, in a couple of weeks, wake up five minutes EARLIER, so then you have TEN minutes instead of five.
See? Baby steps!
Once you nail this five minutes of amazing morning time, you can keep moving your wake-up time forward by five minutes at a time, slowly creating the morning routine of your dreams!
And by only sacrificing five minutes of sleep each time, it feels easier and more natural.
You just changed your entire morning routine with only a quick, five minute switch.
Amazing, right?!
So remember: You are always only five minutes away from the best morning routine of your life! So make sure to seize it… and then enjoy. <3
_______
Hey, friend! Thanks for reading!Â
Got a question? Comment below! I’d love to help! 🙂
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I love listening to 5 minute mindset meditation. I know it’s only 5 minutes so my brain isn’t thinking of other things. It helps set my day and intention.
Yes! It’s amazing how much of a difference 5 minutes can make! 🙂 Thank you for reading!
Very good article. I shall certainly consider adapting a morning routine.
I’m glad you liked it! Thanks for reading 🙂
Very wise steps to take in the mornings, especially if we are not morning people to begin with. lol
My morning routine lasts more than 5 minutes, but it works for me. I have my coffee, relax, collect my thoughts, reflect and write down my to-do list and journal. These are some great suggestions.
Thanks! My morning routine now is about 30 minutes, not counting my workout, but it was easier to get started when I only had to worry about getting up 5 minutes earlier. I hated getting out of bed! LOL!
Very good article, I’ll keep these advice on mind!
I really believe that the first five minutes of your day is the most important. It can make or break your day.
I need this kind of motivation to save my day now I have an idea thanks to this!
I am not a morning person. But I am trying to change and develop some of these routines so my day becomes better.
That was super inspiring. Your morning routine is making me try the same for a week at least, and if a week it is then there’s no stopping.
I’m so glad you liked the post! I hope your mornings this next week go amazingly well! 🙂
It’s interesting how 5 minutes a difference can make. I think everyone can spare 5 minutes and start their day great!
I’m not much of a morning person but I know people who start their day at 5:30am. I wish I can be like this and live a more healthy life.
I still can’t get up that early, but I started by slowly inching my wakeup time to be 10-15 mins earlier every week or two. I get up at 6am now, which is about an hour and a half before everyone else, since Spanish schools start around 9am. 🙂 Every little bit helps!
Wow! These tips for great. I know that starting my morning off with a great routine can help improve my day. However, it’s actually getting into the routine that’s my struggle.
absolutely love your tips as am an early person & love to get productive from the morning onwards 😀
cheers, siennylovesdrawing
I need to start implementing this in my morning routine because I am NOT a morning person lol
I was definitely not a morning person either. It took me a couple of weeks to really get the hang of it, and now it makes such a big difference. LOL!
Thanks for all of these tips! My mornings have a much better start when I pause to do my routine.
Me too! 🙂 Thank you for reading!
Thanks for the information. I’m trying to get more productive on my mornings routines but is very difficult because I have a toddler so morning routine varies from day to day but thanks anyways.
I completely get where you’re coming from, our youngest are 3 and 4, so one of them often wakes up shortly after me and interrupt my morning routine. I just go with the flow and adjust as needed. 🙂
I totally agree. I like to claim my mornings before my mornings claim me.
Me, too! I never thought I would be a morning person but now I really love those few minutes in the morning to myself! 🙂
Yeah right. If mornings are good, day is also good.
Definitely! 🙂 It’s all about the right mindset. Thanks for reading!
This is very helpful, I need to tart my morning routine 🙂
Glad you enjoyed the article, thank you for reading! 🙂
Oh, this is nice! I start off by doing what I love too, but sometimes I start off with something I don’t like to just get it out of the way and not procrastinate on it.
Great stuff! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for reading, glad you liked it! 🙂
I’ve recently adapted a morning routine that puts me through so much ease during the day !