- Morning routines, the ideas are endless.
And I have a few myself.
(upbeat music)
Good morning, good life,
welcome back to "Amy TV" where we come together
to help you go after the life you want.
I am a firm believer in the morning routine.
I've got mine that I do every day,
unless you know, life happens
and then life happens and you miss your morning routine,
but it's okay.
I believe all morning routines look different.
It depends on who you are,
and what you care about,
and what's gonna be the best case scenario
for you to own the day.
But in the case that you need a few ideas
to start fleshing yours out,
I've got 20 to share with you today
that are life changing for their own reasons
if they're right for you, and none of them,
none of them include social media
or checking email, so keep that in mind.
Before we get started I just wanna say thank you
to everyone who has been supportive
of this journey to a million, a million.
We're trying to help a million people
go after the life that they want
and you can help us by subscribing to this channel
so we can see ourselves get to that goal.
So thank you so much.
If you haven't and are about to
or you already have and you keep coming back,
I appreciate you so much.
All right, here are 20 life changing things
to do in the morning.
Number one, my favorite by far,
I can't stop doing it even when I'm like,
"Uh, I don't feel like it."
I love it so much when I'm done, morning pages.
Julia Cameron, I'm clearly your biggest fan
of all time, I don't know.
Julia Cameron wrote about this
in the book, "The Artist's Way".
Basically stream of consciousness,
writing for three pages so you can get all
of the gross stuff off your brain.
Sometimes it's great, there's an epiphany
in there somewhere.
But it's usually just like grudges from the day before,
bad dreams, things you're stressed out about,
whatever's on your plate for the day.
Just taking it out of your mind
and writing it all down exactly as it comes out,
as yucky as it is, and as not fun to read it back
as it might be.
You will find it is life changing
how you are able to dig into the next thing
of the day, be more creative because you got all
of this stuff out of the way.
Number two, you've gotta hydrate, drink some water.
I'm certainly a fan of lemon water myself,
but it's not a requirement.
It is life changing to stay hydrated.
It's actually not as hard as you might think
to stay hydrated.
I think that there's a certain recommendation
of water you should have throughout the day,
you should talk to a medical professional about that,
or read up on that somewhere else.
To me, I know that my body is thirsty
if I went all night sleeping and doing nothing else.
So one of the first things that I do
along with my morning pages is drink lemon water.
I know that 16 ounces is in right away,
and then I can go straight for the coffee pot after that.
Number three, gratefulness reflection.
Something that's very easy to lose sight of
as you start to interact with tasks, and emails,
and people, and things throughout the day
is what you're grateful for.
Why you're happy to be doing what you're doing,
even if it's just one thing in a really long day
that you're grateful to be doing.
What are you grateful for?
Who are the people in your life
that you're grateful for?
Even if they drive you a little crazy sometimes.
What are the little things, the things that seem stupid
that you probably wouldn't go on Twitter
and say, "I'm super grateful for envelopes."
But maybe you happen to be grateful
for envelopes right now.
Can you tell I just looked at envelopes
when I was looking for a word? (laughs)
You can be grateful for absolutely anything
but the more your life will change
when you incorporate it into your life
on a regular basis because that gratefulness
is very important for seeing the big picture
when things that are small are getting us down.
Number four, skincare.
If you're like me, you have like an 80 step process,
no matter if it's morning or night.
You don't have to be like me, that's okay.
We just wanna put our best and freshest face forward
as much as possible.
So even if you're just adding some moisturizer
when you wake up just to kinda move the muscles around
and get your face ready for the day,
I highly recommend it.
It's so important to take care of your skin.
It's something that's irreplaceable.
You're kinda stuck with it and it's gonna be there forever,
facing the people that you meet
and facing yourself in the mirror.
So no matter how vain you happen to be,
just take care of yourself and the skin
is a really important organ to take care of.
Is the skin an organ?
Alexa, is the skin an organ?
- [Alexa] Yes, skins are organs.
- Good, I knew that.
Number five, goal review.
I personally have the memory of a pea.
So I like to set lots of goals
and have lots of touchpoints and milestones
throughout the journey of reaching those goals,
and then I'll just forget about them
and I'll be like, "Ooh, shiny object syndrome."
And I know that a lot of us have that tendency.
So regularly looking at your goals,
not only looking at them maybe even rewriting them,
that's what I do, is a great way to never forget
what they are and what you should be focused on.
It is life changing when you are really good
at saying no to things because you wanna say yes
to something else.
Specifically no to the things
that maybe you've caught yourself saying yes to, too often
but don't fill your cup.
Say no more often and feel better about it
because you know what your goals are
and focus on them on a regular basis.
Even if you just reread them, say them out loud.
That could be good enough for you.
It's just a matter of how you remember things,
how you learn, how well you stay focused.
Number six, read a book.
If I do nothing else in the morning,
I typically don't sit down with a chapter of a book
and read, I like to just read something quickly
and move on.
I try to read wisdom when this is the case.
Everyone's probably fully aware of this
if you've been watching my channel for a minute.
I'm a huge fan of Ryan Holiday's "The Daily Stoic".
I am rereading the same copy
that I read a page a day of last year.
I'm reading a page a day again.
Because guess what?
There's a different lesson for every day,
a different lesson and a theme for every month
and it's just so great to go back and reread them
and remind myself of those principles.
I'm actually going up a notch with this reading process
and taking notes to myself on what I really learned
so I can go deep with the knowledge
rather than just read 20 pages.
I would rather read something and really take it in.
Whatever you choose to do,
whether you're reading something you need
to do research on, reading something for pleasure,
or you just don't like to read and are trying
to figure out why this is important and life changing,
well guess what, people took all their ideas
that they took forever and a whole lifetime to learn
and they put them in like 200, 300 pages for you
to pick up and skim through so you don't have
to make the same mistakes and you can go
and do the things that worked for them.
So take that silver platter, would ya?
Number seven, meditate.
The more and more I talk about meditation,
the more of a fan I am of it.
I am not very good at it,
I sit down and I can do it for five to 10 minutes.
And I'm not doing it daily.
But I do notice the days when I really need it.
So if you're somebody who's thinking,
"I don't have time for meditation,"
I totally connect with you, I relate to that,
but I recognize the times that I do it,
suddenly my mind clears on many other levels.
Like, "Oh, I thought I didn't have time to meditate,
"but I just had a realization during that time
"of stillness and mindfulness just now that I now don't
"have to do those other 50 million things I've been trying
"to convince myself to do."
And that is a revelation I'll take any day of the week.
That would be life changing.
Get me out of the busy work, please.
Number eight, do a workout.
This is great for your movement category of the morning.
If that's a real exercise routine,
whether it's like weightlifting,
or you're gonna go see your personal trainer,
or you're gonna go take a class, cool.
Or it could just be a walk.
Could be really simple.
Do something that moves the body,
obviously the more you do this, the more habitual it is,
the more life changing it is,
because your life just might get a lot longer
because of it.
Number nine, visualization.
I love this tip and it's something I do
in sort of tandem with my goals.
Because when I look at my goals,
I'm looking at a year, and the quarter,
and the weeks in front of me.
But I also write down sort of my really big picture.
You know, where would I like to be in three,
in ten years?
I don't have it completely figured out,
I don't have the exact things figured out,
but I let my mind get creative on it
when I do visualization.
Just sitting there with my eyes closed,
thinking about what it would mean
to reach one of those goals.
What would happen?
How would I feel?
What would be some reactions around me?
How would my life be a little bit different?
How would it be the same?
What are those things and how can you visualize them?
Because the more you see them in your mind come to life,
the more they might actually do that.
Number 10, write something.
I personally love to sit down when my mind
is completely clear, I did my morning pages already,
I've done some goal setting, and actually write something
that's gonna move the needle in my life
or in my career.
So it could be as simple as a fun Instagram caption,
it could be a blog post, it could be an email
letting somebody know I appreciate them.
Write something, it's the easiest form of creation,
I feel like, for most people
and if you can get a little bit more creative
than texting then that would be awesome.
Like with the Instagram caption I guess you could call
that the same thing but I try
to get a little bit more microbloggy
with my Instagram captions, so maybe that's a tip
that you can try as well.
But writing is really interesting because a lot
of us probably wouldn't call ourselves writers,
but when we write, when we create,
when we allow ourselves to have an opinion
and to get it out there,
even if you don't publish this writing,
it feels really good to get it out of you
and that's, I think, a liberating feeling
that compounds over time.
Number 11, eat the frog.
If you don't know what this phrase means,
it's essentually the way I've always known it to be,
it's frogs aren't cute, and they're not fun
and they're usually gonna take some effort to deal with.
And that's usually that big, hairy task of your day.
If it's possible for you to do it
as early on as possible, then amazing.
The thing is you do all the mind clearing,
you take care of your body,
you drink some water, you kinda get the day going
on your terms and then you attack the thing
that you're totally in charge of doing
that needs to get done.
It is such a better time to do that
than a more distracted period of time,
maybe in the afternoon when you've got people pinging you,
people walking into your cubicle,
whatever the case may be.
Eat the frog, change your life.
You'll make bigger, faster, longer strides
and it'll be really amazing to see how that pays off.
Number 12, research your passion.
If you're somebody who's been thinking
about doing something new, or leaving your job,
or just wanting to get better at what you do,
when are you gonna have more time to do that?
It's usually not when you're about to have dinner
with the family and trying to squeeze something in.
Or in the middle of a workday when you have a load
of things to do.
Doing that research, really refining your skills,
and developing your expertise is an amazing thing to do
in the morning.
And it certainly fits into that mastery category.
Number 13, practice a foreign language.
This is usually the only reason I will grab my phone
during the wee, wee hours of the morning.
I'm not trying to look at social media,
I really do a good job of staying away
from all of that stuff and only pulling
up a foreign language app so
that I can practice my Italian words, okay.
I am practicing as best as I can
and I need an app to do that.
Now if you know that the phone is a trap for you,
and I have done this as well,
just use regular flashcards.
Those 3x5 cards at the you used to use in school,
they sell those on Amazon, they're really great
and easy to find and use.
And just practice writing things,
maybe that's the writing thing that you do
is just writing the words and what is the translation
on the back.
If you're like me and you've always wanted to be better
at foreign language, other than the seven years
of Spanish that I took, you could do this
in the morning as well.
And being able to communicate in more than one language
is certainly life changing.
Number 14, rewrite passages from books
and quotes that you like.
This is something I actually talked about
in my video about "The Commonplace Book".
I will link to that and not go on forever about it
so if you wanna go find out more details,
but this is how I keep a database of all
of the things that I have pulled from books,
all the knowledge, all the wisdom,
all the really good ideas and put them in one space.
You can do this a multitude of ways,
you could do it digitally.
I happen to use those 3x5 cards I was just talking about
and file them away, but this is a really fun practice
because it's a lot of mindfulness in reflecting
on what you've picked up.
Number 15, plan your day with calendar blocking.
Another video that you could check out,
we're gonna link to the calendar blocking video.
But this has been the time batching sort of technique
that I have done to be able
to be the most productive person I can throughout the day.
In the morning I'm just trying to own it.
And part of owning it is planning what the rest
of the day is that I can control,
and some things that I can't.
When am I gonna fit in the things that matter to me
throughout the rest of the day?
Calendar blocking is a really great technique
for making this happen.
It has been life changing for me for going on 10 years now.
I would definitely recommend it to most people
who have a lot of things on their to-do list,
which does not emulate how much time you actually have.
Move that over to the calendar and figure out
how you can actually make these things happen.
Number 16, write a thank you note,
like a real thank you note with a stamp on it
and everything.
I'm sure somebody's done something cool for you lately,
and you know what is going outta style?
Making a real connection,
getting attention in somebody's regular mailbox.
Emails, that's not difficult.
Also, very easy to get lost in.
If you actually want someone to feel the gratitude
that you feel for them, then hand write a thank you note
and drop it in the mail today.
It'll make you feel like, really cool that you did.
Also, pretty nostalgic.
Number 17, be present with someone.
If there are people in your life,
in your house, or in your environment
that are a part of your morning routine,
make the time to make it the best time with them.
Not passive, not just focused on a million other things.
Really sit down, if it's with your child,
or if it's with your significant other
and just say, "Hey, my attention is on you.
"I'm not looking at devices, I'm not watching television,
"I'm not trying to multitask."
Even if it's five, 10, 15 minutes that you both have,
make it present.
Number 18, do some stretching.
This is my personal form of movement in the morning
because I don't like to do a workout
until a little bit later, but stretching is so good.
I always feel so much leaner, so much more healthy
if I've actually given my muscles the time
that they need to wake up.
I actually just talked to my friend, Chris, recently
and he actually has a foam roller
that he rolls around on every day.
And he actually has one that he can travel with too,
and it really helps him.
He's got some back issues so that really helps him out.
If that's something that speaks to you,
that's pretty easy to find on Amazon.
And we will link to it on shine.squad.secrets as well.
By the way that's a secret Instagram account
I just told you about, you need to make notice, okay.
Number 19, write ideas down.
Something that happens to me
when I'm doing all my fun morning routine things
is that an idea will pop into my head.
This is not something you need to do right away,
although this might be the perfect time for it.
It's still just an idea.
It's something that might need to simmer,
it's not something that needs your distraction
at that moment.
The difference between ideas and shiny objects syndrome
is that ideas can get written down,
and assessed, and researched, and made time for
at the right time.
Write them down.
You don't want to lose them,
you don't want them to fly out of your head
and be gone forever.
And number 20, decide on one thing you're going
to improve on today.
Maybe you've been a little bit quick to the temper lately.
Can you be better about that today?
Can you notice when those things are happening
and improve?
Maybe you need to drink a little bit less soda pop?
Okay, well then have less of it today.
It's pretty easy situation.
Just how do you want to improve, write it down,
set the intention, and say,
"This is what I'm going to do today to be better."
If we can do just one thing to be more positive
and improve today, we will be better tomorrow.
Question of the day, what are your ideas
for things to do in the morning?
I just had 20 of them that I personally find
to be life changing but maybe you have one of your own.
Share that in the comments below.
Don't forget to subscribe to this channel,
if you have already and haven't picked up the book,
"Good Morning, Good Life"
is your good morning routine guide.
It is the manual for how to figure out
what that looks like for you.
It's not gonna tell you exactly what to do,
it's gonna give you your options so that you
can have a well-rounded start to the day
and master your life.
The link to that is in the description below.
That's all for today, thank you so much
for tuning in.
I appreciate it, as always make sure you subscribe
for good vibes, kiss the ones you love, (lips smack)
and go after the life you want.
Cheers.
(upbeat music)
Hey, are you struggling to find time
for the things you love?
Feel like you're constantly on the go
but taking care of everyone else first?
You are not alone, and you deserve so much more.
Not only are you capable of taking on this challenge,
you already have all the tools it takes
to make it happen.
That resourcefulness is all you need
to get activated by your new daily mantra.
Good morning, good life.
It's my new book and it launches on Amazon
on December 10th, more details at goodmorninggoodlife.com.
(clapping)
Yeah, that's another video.
I believe all my (tongue rolling).