New Year, New Me: The 30 Minute Morning Routine I'm Using to Tackle 2023.

Anyone who read my article 'One thing you MUST do when working from home', which I wrote at the start of Covid lockdown, would know that the morning routine is very important to me.

Although not for everyone (circumstances vary) I'm confident in saying that having a set morning routine would probably benefit the majority of people.

I've recently had a big change in my life, having moved my base from London to Curitiba, Brazil. Living in Brazil's 'best place to live' means that I've had to make some adjustments to my life, including my morning routine. The time difference with Europe means that I need to start my workday a bit earlier, but it means I can typically wind down a bit earlier too.

Since I shared my morning routine in March 2020 I've discovered some other beneficial activities to try, which I've incorporated into my new routine for the 2023. My morning routine is something that's ever evolving and I'm sure I'll continue tweaking throughout the future.

Here is my new morning routine for 2023

6:00 - 6:30am: Alarm goes off.

Previously this was 6am, but now thanks a clock which mimics the sunrise I wake up gradually as the room increases in light compared to waking up startled by an iPhone alarm. My exact wake up time varies, so for ease let's assume an average wake up time of 6:15am.

6:15am: Water and NO PHONE (5 minute)

The first thing I used to do before even getting out of bed was to check emails and the news. I've since decided to hold off on doing these, thanks to a podcast I listened to recently with Dr. Rangan Chatterjee on Steven Bartlett's Diary of a CEO. Dr. Rangan explained that checking emails and reading news can create micro stressors, which is not a good way to start the day. So instead the first thing I do is rehydrate by having a big drink of water and giving myself a moment to wake up properly.

6:20am: Make a cacao drink (2 minutes)

This is a new addition to my routine. I'm not a coffee guy due to the desire to avoid caffeine. Amazonian superfood cacao is a great alternative and is easily available to purchase online or in stores. It contains roughly 6.6 mg of caffeine per teaspoon of powder, compared to a cup of brewed coffee which can have as much as 135mg of caffeine. It feels quite fitting introducing the Brazilian born 'Antioxidant King' into my routine, especially considering the range of health benefits.

6:22am: Get the heart rate up (3 minutes)

In my new timezone I've had to move my daily jog or gym visit to 4pm. But I still want to get my heart rate up in the morning to feel energised. While my cacao is heating, I'll do a 3 minute core exercise like a plank or a mix.

6:25am: Breathing exercise (3 minutes)

We don't need to be reminded to breathe, but some people (like me) do need to be reminded to breathe deeply. Deep breathing can increase energy levels, reduce anxiety and depression, decrease stress and strengthen the immune system. There are a lot of great breathing exercises such as diaphragmatic breathing, box breathing (4-4-4-4 ratio) and alternate nostril breathing. I'm personally a fan of all of these and do whichever one I feel like on the day.

6:28am: Mindfulness meditation (10 minutes)

I first started meditating on a daily basis over 3 years ago. Those who read my article What I've learnt from 800 consecutive days of meditation practice will know that this is an important part of my morning routine. It allows me to start the day in a mindful way, and best prepare my mindset for the day ahead. Previously I was doing 20 minutes a day. I've cut it back to 10 minutes as I feel I get what I need in that amount of time, and it allows me to incorporate some of the new activities I wanted to introduce to my routine.

6:38am: Affirmations (3 minutes)

I've been somewhat of a sceptic about affirmations. But after trialling them in my morning routine, I've decided to keep them in. This self affirming exercise helps me address those negative thoughts that I'm sure everyone reading this has experienced. After all, negative thoughts can lead to negative actions and behaviour. Importantly, this isn't about painting a picture of an unrealistic perfect world where nothing goes wrong. Instead it's a way to focus on positive thoughts relating to self belief, which lead to positive actions and behaviour. As far as the actual affirmations, they vary depending on what I want to work on but they're mostly business related (see here for some inspiration). If I have an important presentation coming up, I use affirmations that promote thoughts around being an entertaining and impactful speaker. If I am going through a challenging time, I will use affirmations that remind me of my resilience and competence. There are affirmations online for everything imaginable, and of course you can create your own. I tend to record affirmations on my phone in groups of topics, then I can easily focus on what I want to each day by playing the recordings back.

6:41am: Gratefulness (4 minutes)

This is another one that I was a bit unsure of. It seemed a bit too corny for me at first. However I'm now starting to really appreciate taking a moment each day to write down the things I'm grateful for. It allows me to be reminded of how lucky I am to even have the basic things in my life. I don't have a set routine, I just list things I'm grateful for based on what I'm feeling at the time. It could be something that I experience regularly (i.e. I'm grateful for having such a supportive partner), something that I experienced yesterday (i.e. I'm grateful for the lady at the supermarket checkout yesterday who was patient with my limited Portuguese), something I'm experiencing now (i.e. I'm grateful for the taste of cacao) or something I have coming up (i.e. I'm grateful to be having dinner with friends this evening). It's amazing how having gratitude can help remove any of the problems that are niggling away in your mind. Gratitude (referred to as The Grateful Flow) was highlighted in Jonah Hill's recent Netflix documentary with his Therapist Stutz, which I found fascinating and highly recommend.

6:45am: Get to work

By this time I'm feeling rehydrated, energised, mindful, affirmed and grateful. I'm in the perfect place to start my day, regardless of what it will consist of. This is when I check my emails and the news for the first time, taking my mug of cacao with me if I haven't finished it already.

As I said, everyone has different circumstances and different routines work for different people. This has been a process of trial and error for me. There are many commonly suggested activities that I've tried and felt they weren't quite right for me, such as listening to motivating music, doing yoga and performing a retrospective.

For those who don't think they have 30 minutes to spare in the morning or don't think it's worth it, I understand. For me, I see the time spent each morning as an investment which pays off throughout the day. I work at a higher level for a longer period of time thanks to this 30 minute investment, and can tackle challenges with a clear head and a positive mindset. I easily get the 30 minutes back through higher work efficiency, and higher quality output.

What is your morning routine? Is there anything that you think I'm missing from mine? I would love to hear in the comments section!