How To Create Aesthetic Morning Routine For A More Productive Day
A morning routine is an essential part of a productive day. Creating a morning routine that works for you can be a challenge, but it's worth it! In this blog post, we'll give you some tips on how to create an aesthetic morning routine that will help boost your productivity and mood. Keep reading to learn more!
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I'm sure you've seen the countless Reels pop up -- the one that features a seemingly perfect aesthetic of a morning routine.
You might already know what I'm talking about – the videos with a bunch of micro-short clips all put together of healthy food, green juice, workouts, journaling, reading, etc., all before completing a week's worth of to-do lists before 9 am.
Aesthetic Morning Routine always has the perfect meals, the perfect cute workout outfits, and is just super aspirational on every level.
I'm guilty of saying that that is me. I'm that girl. But not just because of some trend, but because this has been my morning routine for many years now.
I took a deeper dive into many of these videos of 'that girl' or aesthetic morning routine to see what they all have in common and what each of us can take away from it to level up our mornings and live a healthier life. This trend shows that if you start the day out on the right foot, even if it's just applying one new habit in the morning, you're setting yourself up for healthier habits.
We all know that a morning routine is essential for a successful day. The first thing that people do in the morning sets the tone for the rest of their day. Sometimes, we don't have time to develop a routine or simply forget what our routine was. I'm sharing how to create an aesthetic morning routine for a more productive day and hopefully inspire you to develop your own personal morning routine.
Why is a morning routine important?
Morning routines are critical since they typically set the tone for the rest of the day. Have you ever noticed that if you wake up late and spend your morning scrolling through Instagram, it's usually much more difficult to turn things around and accomplish anything? However, when you get an excellent start to your day, you're far more motivated to finish the rest of it!
What time should you wake up?
According to scientific studies, ideally, people should go to bed earlier and wake up in the early morning hours. This pattern matches our biological tendencies to adapt our sleep pattern with that of the sun. You might find that you're naturally sleepier after sundown.
For me, waking up early is really beneficial because it makes me feel like I have so much more time in a day. I'm an early riser, and if you follow me on Instagram, you'll see my first Story post go up somewhere between 5:30-6am with the datestamp. That being said, you don't have to wake up at 5 am if that's not something you prefer.
The exact time of when you wake up depends on the amount of sleep you need per night. As long as you get enough restful sleep, you shouldn't worry about the best time to wake up. Whenever you wake up will already be the best time to start your day. But if you want to get an early start to your day, that means you'll need to start unwinding for bed a bit earlier.
My best advice is to go to bed before midnight and then make sure you get about eight hours of sleep, so you're feeling your best the next day.
LEVEL UP GUIDE
How To Create Aesthetic Morning Routine For A More Productive Day
Go To Bed Earlier and Wake Up Earlier
I've always been an early riser, but for a while, I was getting to bed very late and waking up late, which would result in getting a very slow and sluggish start to my day.
If you're having difficulty with this, consider that many individuals deal with it, too. You'll have to make consistent decisions like putting your phone away early, reading a book, or journaling.
Adjust the times you go to bed and get up by about 15 minutes each day until you reach a point where you're going to sleep at a decent hour and wake up early and ready to slay your day. Nighttime routines are equally as important, but we'll touch on that in another article in another post.
Get Sunlight and Fresh Air
When you first get up, open your windows and get some fresh air -- if the weather permits -- as well as brighten up your area with natural light. This is really beneficial in boosting alertness and getting ready for the day.
In winter months, or if you don't get much sunlight in your apartment, getting an alarm clock that imitates sunlight also helps. It's very realistic and creates the most beautiful morning light in any space, putting you in a good mood right when you get up in the morning!
Hydrate First Thing In The Morning
I'm sure you hear this literally everywhere, but it's only because it's really that important! Whether you're reaching for a glass of hot water with lemon, or just plain water with ice, drinking water whenever and wherever possible helps you feel more alert and awake.
There are a ton of other benefits of drinking water throughout the day as well. I always personally try to drink half my weight in ounces of water per day. Drinking water is an important part of a productive morning routine, but also to keep your body hydrated and functioning properly.
Ease Into The Morning
Life can get hectic, so if you are trying to create a productive morning routine, you should factor in 10-15 minutes per day every morning of just sitting in silence, with no phone, and doing 5 minutes of meditation or journaling. Simply ease into the morning, and this practice will help you stay grounded and focused on the day ahead and the tasks you need to get done.
For me, I struggle with mindlessly scrolling on my phone sometimes and just wasting so much valuable time in the morning. I make it a point to implement this practice, and I keep my phone on 'Do Not Disturb' until 8am. During this time, I'll write in my gratitude journal, meditate for 5 minutes, and either walk on the treadmill for 30 -minutes or practice yoga.
Start Gratitude Journalling
This is a habit that can genuinely change your life for the better if you do it regularly. Writing out all of the things that you're grateful to have in your life will transform your mindset in a way that you're actively seeking out and paying closer attention to more of the good things that each and every day has to offer!
It doesn't have to be too much work, but I personally like to sit down every morning and write out two or three things that I'm appreciative of in my life. This is a great thing to do if you're trying to figure out how to create a productive morning routine and become that girl!
It really puts things into perspective and helps you realize how many good things there are in your life, and as a result, motivates you to create more good.
The Five Minute Journal: A Happier You In 5 Minutes A Day
Ease Into The Morning
Life can get hectic, so if you are trying to create a productive morning routine, you should factor in 10-15 minutes daily every morning of just sitting in silence, with no phone, and doing 5 minutes of meditation or journaling. Ease into the morning, and this practice will help you stay grounded and focused on the day ahead and the tasks you need to get done.
I struggle with mindlessly scrolling on my phone sometimes and wasting so much valuable time in the morning. I make it a point to implement this practice, and I keep my phone on 'Do Not Disturb' until 8 am. During this time, I'll write in my gratitude journal, meditate for 5 minutes, and either walk on the treadmill for 30 -minutes or practice yoga.
30 minutes of movement
One great way to start your morning routine is by getting your body moving. That girl always does a workout first thing every morning to get herself energized and pumped up for the day ahead. It's definitely challenging to start at first if you're not used to morning workouts, but once you get into the groove of doing it, you will never go back.
A quick workout or some light stretching can do wonders for waking you up and getting your blood flowing. I typically will practice yoga in the morning walk for 30 minutes. After this session, I'll do a strength workout. I love the Alexia Clark program and those offered on ALO Moves.
It's also the best way to boost serotonin immediately in the morning and improve your mood and overall outlook.
Meditation Tips For Beginners
Keep Your Space Tidy
Having an organized and clutter-free workspace is paramount if you want to learn how to create a productive morning routine and become "that girl." If you have a clean apartment, you'll have more mental and physical space to work on your objectives and achieve great things.
Clutter in your life can be a major source of stress; therefore, attempt to de-clutter on a regular basis and keep up with everything.
Eat A Plant-Based Breakfast
Eating a clean plant-based meal for breakfast that is filled with fruits, veg, and whole grains will not only fuel you for the morning ahead, but it will also motivate you to keep being "that girl" for the rest of the day and eat healthy meals for lunch and dinner too.
This is one of the most essential tips on creating a productive morning routine that I can even think of. Have a balanced smoothie after your morning workout if you aren't a breakfast person.
Examples would be a chia seed pudding bowl topped with fruit and nut butter, a smoothie bowl, a plant-based yogurt bowl filled with fruit and granola toppings, or avocado toast with a green smoothie.
How To Make A Basic Green Smoothie
Do Some Reading
It's no secret that the most successful people are constantly reading and learning new things. One secret on how to create a productive morning routine is to get some reading done early on in the day. This could be just 15-20 minutes each morning, or as long as you want it to be. The key is to commit yourself to read an entire book every month.
I highly recommend reading this book on forming habits, which definitely goes hand in hand with learning how to create a productive morning routine. It'll help you build habits that actually stick, so once you've developed your new morning routine, you'll be more conditioned to do it consistently after reading this.
Review or write to-do list
Take 5-10 minutes to plan out your day. Write out your to-do list, goals, and objectives for the day. This will help you stay organized and on track throughout the day. When you plan out your day, instead of creating a long list of to-do’s break down your weekly to-list into small actionable goals throughout the week.
You can take it one step further or perhaps if you need a tool to help you along. I highly recommend The Productivity Planner. The Productivity Planner helps you learn how to make the most of every minute of every day, using the Focus Time technique and achieving more than you ever thought possible.
Another thing that I like to include in planning out my day is that helps set the tone and truly decide what I want every single day to be. Ask yourself these two questions each morning:
What mood am I going to be in?
What are you going to show up and do today?
Final Thoughts
So there you have it, the steps it takes to be that girl for a more productive aesthetic morning routine. I hope that these tips on how to have a productive morning routine help you improve your productivity and idealize your life.
Remember to listen to your body and do what feels best for you. Your morning routine should work for you and your lifestyle. If you're just not feeling it one day, forgetting to set your alarm, or taking a day off when you need it are both forms of self-improvement. That's completely fine! Even just implementing one of these things in the morning will help level up your morning.
This article was first published March 2022 and updated June 2022.