I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching since the beginning of 2020. 2019 was such a transformative year for me that I needed 2020 to be a continuation of that. OF COURSE a little something called COVID-19 happened so I wasn’t able to go through with that in a lot of ways I was hoping. BUT lockdown did give us one gift… and that was the gift of time. And time truly is a gift that most of us don’t spend very wisely. So speaking of time, today I want to share my short, 15 minute morning routine to a better mindset.
Photo by Hutomo Abrianto on Unsplash
Although lockdown encouraged us all the slow the f down for a while, we’re all still busy people. We have lives and families and kids and jobs and pets and chores – the list is endless. Who has TIME to soul search? Who has TIME to work on their mindset every day?
What if I told you, you only need 15-30 minutes every day?
I’m someone who always likes to be on the go and ticking things off of that ever growing to-do list. Not only do I not have the time for mindset work that takes hours and hours every day, I also don’t want to and can’t be bothered. That’s not to say I’m not seriously about it – but I don’t have the attention span. I want things done quick.
And quicker doesn’t always mean worse.
After signing up for Abundance Academy earlier this year (a course to help you manifest money and abundance into your life), I developed this quick routine that I try and perform every single morning. I like doing this in the morning because it allows me to start my day with a much clearer and positive mindset. And we all need a bit of that, don’t we?
So if you’re like me and you like things done quickly but also like to see the results, then this 15 minute routine is for you. If you’re looking for:
- A more positive mindset
- A clearer vision on what you want
- An outlet to express how you’re really feeling
- An extra loving energy boost
then this routine is for YOU. I’m not a spiritual guru or a mindset master. As much as I wish I was. I have a lot to work on but I pride myself on being completely NORMAL. I’m the most normal gal you will find, who naps in the afternoon, watches too much Desperate Housewives, cries at every Disney movie and loves her dog more than life itself. For that reason, I hope you’ll trust me when I say this routine works.
Ready for your 15 minute morning routine to a better mindset?
Meditate
Okay we start with a couple of minutes of meditation. 3 or 4 will do. We start with meditating because if you’re doing this in the morning, it’s a great way to clear the slate before the start of the day. Try and rid your mind of yesterday or any dreams you’ve had. Your to-do list for the day and any chores you need to complete. This is YOUR time.
Recommendation: For this, I like to add relaxing music in the background. I use the FREE app MyNoise on my iPhone, as they have some great sounds like a Tibetan Choir, ocean waves, a Spring walk and more.
Visualize
Next up, it’s time to visualize. Set your timer. Again, around 3 minutes. I want you to really set your mind free now. You’ve meditated and you’re grounded. Now it’s time to fly. What do you REALLY want? What do you see in your future? Where do you see yourself in 5 years? What does your dream house look like? Your ideal morning routine? Dream big, my love.
Affirm
So that’s 6 minutes of our morning mindset routine done already. Next, we’re going to affirm. Before you do this bit, you’ll need to establish a set of affirmations that you’re able to remember or write down and repeat. If you want some already made affirmations, grab my affirmations cards here. Or, you can do this process instead:
- Grab a notebook and write down 4-5 areas of your life you want to focus the most on. This could be: money, relationships with others, the relationship with yourself, home, career, physical health, mental health, hobbies etc.
- For each of your chosen categories, write down 3 things that you’d like to change and/or work towards within those categories. For example, under physical health, you might write, “I want to be fitter”, “I want to be X amount of pound lighter” or “I wish I was stronger”.
- Once you’ve written down ALL your statements, I want you to flip the script. I want you to re-write every statement as if it’s already happened, as if it is already so. For example, I’d re-write the statements above like this, “I am grateful for being fitter”, “I am grateful for being X amount of pounds lighter” and “I am grateful for being stronger”.
- Start each statement with “I am grateful for…” as over time this will help you re-frame your mindset into believing that what you’re saying is already true.
Repeat your chosen affirmations for 3 minutes straight. Try not to fidget or have distractions whilst doing so and really concentrate on what you’re saying. That’s 9 minutes in total. Onto the next…
Journal
Journalling! We all love a bit of journalling, don’t we? The next 3 minutes of your morning routine to a better mindset is going to be spent journalling (although you can continue for longer than 3 minutes if you’re in a flow) and this is where you can allow the gloves to come off and the emotions to flow out. Write about whatever you want here – whatever comes to you naturally and authentically. If you need some prompts, try these:
- 31 Self Discovery Journal Prompts
- Journal Prompts For the List Lovers
- The Journey of Grief: Journal Prompts
Stretch
And for the final 3 minutes of your routine, you’ll be stretching. You’ve worked on your mind, now it’s time to move on to that beautiful container which holds all essence of you in one place. Don’t short change yourself here – this part is just as important. And great to do at the end of your routine to get yourself up and ready to take on whatever is next.
Additional things to add into your morning routine for a better mindset:
If you do have a little more time in the morning and would like to add a few more elements into this routine, here are some suggestions. I personally choose to add tapping into my routine because I enjoy it and have had some success from it in the past. But it’s entirely up to you!
Tapping (EFT)
Emotional Freedom Technique (also known as tapping) is a technique in which you repeatedly tap on specific points on the body in an attempt to balance the energy within your body. It’s similar to acupuncture and focuses on the Meridian points (energy hotspots) to restore energy and relieve negativity attached. I use Brad Yates on YouTube, who is a great place to start if you want to get into this!
Crystals
If you’re into crystals then by all means, introduce them into your morning routine! You can hold them whilst you meditate or sit with them near you whilst you perform your morning routine. Swapping and changing each day, depending on how you’re feeling or what you need from your crystals.
Yoga
And finally, Yoga. I wasn’t NOT going to mention Yoga in this post, was I? When I complete my morning routine, I tend to go straight into exercise (I follow Holly Dolke’s HIIT workouts) and Yoga thereafter. But it might be nice to incorporate some Yoga directly into this routine, if you have the time to do so. Check out these posts if you need some recommendations on where to start:
- 10 Yoga With Adriene Practices I’d Recommend
- Yoga With Adriene Practices For Every Mood
- Yoga Poses For Lower Back Pain Relief
Journalling is very positive I’ve seen many benefits of doing this. I don’t do crystals personally but I believe in practicing daily gratitude. I wrote about ways to be better recently in a blog post, would love your take on it https://livingpf.com/2020/12/04/things-i-did-this-year-to-better-myself/ . Keep up the good content.
Thanks! I’ve been doing my variation of morning mind exercise for years now. I believe the morning is the best time to do such a practice because one is closer to a mind that is rested, mostly unattached to outside world of distractions, and closer to our sub-conscious mind. The morning mind is ready to be tended, seeded with what you want it to grow.
I totally agree. If I don’t do these practices in the morning, then I just can’t get anything out of them because my mind is too busy and distracted!
Yes, habits and routines are so important for our wellbeing 🙏🏼 This sounds exactly like my morning routine, and honestly on the odd day that I skip it, my day just doesn’t flow the same way. It’s so important. Lovely post ✨
I agree! I’m the same. I feel so off when I don’t do my morning routine!
This is just what I needed – thank you ! I’m new to WordPress and it’s articles like this that I was looking for ❤️
Glad you found it! 🙂
I totally agree! Meditation, Visualization, and Journaling are all super helpful tools to create the life of your dreams.
They sure are!
I am definitely guilty of being constantly on the move from the get go, and this post is a great reminder that I need to slow down. Great tips!
Jemima x
anotherrantingreader.co.uk
Thank you ☺️
Oh wow Jenny, this is actually SO similar to the routine I’ve started using! I do a 5 minute meditation, use my tarot/oracle cards, then set my intentions and use my gratitude journal before a quick 5 minute yoga stretch video to get me ready to take on the day! It’s absolutely changing my attitude and mindset, and making me so much more content with life. I’m glad that similar practices are working so well for you too!
Oh wow, very similar! It really doesn’t take much does it, to set you up for a good day? 😌
Great post, routine is soo important to me and 100% a key factor in maintaining a healthy state of mind, a morning work out tends to be how I start my day combined with a morning walk with my dog, I love the idea of meditation but am yet to try it, I definitely want to give it a go after reading your post! ☺️
I’d highly recommend adding meditation into your already amazing morning routine!
Thank you, I will definitely give it a go and let you know how I get on!
Loved it!!! I’m starting a 15 minutes routine, and so far so so good.
Glad to hear it!!
When I first saw the title I thought this was going to be a 15 minute morning routine, as in a full morning routine and my first thought was HOW?! But this makes a lot more sense. I’ve never tried anything like affirmations but this sounds like a really nice way to start the day x
Sophie
Hahaha heck no!
I really need this in my life. I‘M finding mornings so difficult at the moment, they are basically a write off.
Start small! Just choose a couple of these things and go from there 😌
These are some lovely ideas to incorporate into one’s morning routine! I like to get up and walk around first thing to grab a cup of water and brush my teeth. I feel like moving around straight off and freshening up a bit just gets me going right off & then I like to settle in to do my morning devotions to get my mind & soul in the right place for the day 🙂
Sounds like a good plan!
Great tips here! Morning routines come hard for me as a night owl, but I’m slowly trying. I’ve been journaling a lot, so I think I will try the journal prompts out.
Hope they help!
I LOVE this! My morning routine I started a couple of months ago failed – I think because it involved too much. I’m excited to try this instead! One question though – what sort of stretches do you during those three minutes?
Very basic stretches! Some neck rolls, shoulder rolls, just stretch out my arms and legs!
You are always such a breath of fresh air…a summer breeze drifting through our lives! Thank you! You always inspire me in such a happy way. I love your one comment above about ‘dreaming big’. We sell ourselves short when we expect too little. Why not, dream big? Wishing you an amazing day! 🙂
Awh thank you so much what a lovely comment to wake up to!
Really enjoyed this article and helpful for me
I’m glad!
My morning always typically start with reading – it’s a much nicer way to wake up than looking at my phone x
I agree! I need to start doing that.
Lockdown and not working as regularly as normal has had a knock on my morning routine. I am not a morning person in the slightest so I need to kick my butt back into gear!
Rosie
Hope this helps!
Really enjoyed reading this, i always feel like i should meditate to calm down but don’t feel like i have time in a morning
You only need a couple of minutes for it to make a difference!
This is a great post!! I love having a morning routine. I get up, do some yoga stretches and have a good breakfast. I love the one about affirmations – it is something I have been doing more recently and I love it! These are great routine ideas, I think a routine is really important for mental health as well
Em | http://www.loveemblog.com
I agree, it definitely improves my mental health too. I feel just so scattered and unfocused if I don’t do my morning routine!
These are some great suggestions. I think a lot of people overlook the fact that your morning routine can set your whole day in motion. With that in mind, why not take the time to kick it off on a positive note and improve your productivity and positivity as you move forward. I haven’t tried EFT, but I think I need to dig into that moving forward. It sounds fascinating.
I agree, it can have such a huge impact on the rest of your day!
Wow, I’ve never really thought of having a morning routine like this but I can definitely see how beneficial it is. Now is the best time to implement it too.
Des | https://www.itsbetterinheels.com
It’s a really great time to implement a routine like this!
This was everything I needed. Thank you ❤️
You’re welcome 🙂
There was a time when I did not have a set morning routine. Slowly, though, I began to notice the things I did each morning that helped make my day feel more full, like throwing back the covers and immediately throwing open my curtains.
Today I still do that and I keep a list of daily affirmations that change with my needs. Love your ideas for a solid morning routine, especially the addition of yoga! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Glad you’ve slowly established a routine that works for you!
Wow! This was amazing and really informative – thanks for sharing!! meg
whatmegmeans.wordpress.com
You’re welcome x
These are great steps to get a better mindset. I really need to find time to do these in my day. I have been working way too hard lately and not taking enough time to clear my head. I would love to pickup yoga. Thank you for sharing!
I have lots of posts about Yoga if you don’t know where to start!
Great post, Jenny! I feel like I just learned so much. Tapping is totally new to me, and it sounds so interesting. Thank you so much for sharing!
Awh, thank you 🙂
I loved this. Meditation and yoga are always a part of my morning routine. As well as doing my daily positive affirmations, it truly has helped me so much with being more calm and positive and productive.
I agree – affirmations are incredible!
I definitely think stretching would make a good addition to my routine! Also love the idea of journalling too but feel like I’d forget all the time!
Tash – http://www.agirlwithview.co.uk
Yeah I don’t journal every day but on the days where I feel like I need to, I always make time for it!
I am really terrible at affirmations. But I do think it is important to take some time, with purpose, in the morning to set the day’s tone.