Mornings can get a bit chaotic, am I right??? With two young kids at home and a husband who is often heading to work as they are waking up, my mornings were in need of a little love and attention. So last year I read the book “The 5AM Club” – own your morning, elevate your life (find it here) – and it was a massive first step in finding myself again. I made a conscious effort to get to bed by 9:30pm then used Mel Robbins “5 second rule” countdown to roll out of bed when the alarm when off at 5am. I got into the routine of drinking my AG1, making a LMNT water, pounding out a 30 minute Peloton workout, then finishing with a 20 minute meditation with my red light mask on. I then had a few minutes to drink my coffee in peace before the kids got up and the demands of the day were underway. It was working fine until….
I Couldn’t Shake The Feeling That Something Wasn’t Quite Right
I had intentionally carved out time for myself again, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t quite right. After I finally got the kids dropped off at school I was arriving home feeling frazzled because you know how fast the time goes until you have to turn right back around and scoop them up. I thought the answer was prioritizing the evening prior but after a full day I’m bone tired and mostly over it (anyone else?? ha) so that was not the solution. Then I came across an article (which I now can’t find so shout out to that guy…) with the gist of it being that that the most successful people actually do NOT workout first thing in the morning. That grabbed my attention!
A New Way
It’s been proven that our minds are the most clear and focused first thing in the morning and we develop “decision fatigue” as the day goes on, making it harder for us to think at our best. So why was I spending my time with the highest level of cognitive abilities – with a workout?
I immediately made the change. I still get up at 5am but now I spend that precious hour taking action on my goals and dreams. If it’s writing a blog post, scheduling social media content, or doing research. And it has changed EVERYTHING. What blew me away the most is how starting the day in a highly productive way doing something I love, carries with me throughout the entire day! So I’m more motivated to do the laundry, cook meals, clean the house, and run errands. I feel more like myself than I have in years, if ever. And I no longer feel the hustle anxiety as soon as I get my kids dropped off because I’ve already set the foundation for the day.
And while I still get workouts in on weekends and the occasional late afternoon, I’ve shifted my focus away from daily pounding workouts to loving myself with a consistently clean diet. And 10 pounds lighter, it’s working.
Listen To What You Need
I feel like this new routine is exactly what I need at this time stage of my life. Is it perfect for you? I have no idea! Will it last forever? Probably not! But the moral of the story is you won’t know until you try. If something is feeling off in your life, be brave enough to try something new. If it’s a new routine, a new outfit, a new goal – it may take a few tries but it might be exactly what you needed to create the life you dream of for yourself and your family.
You got this.
