A morning routine that focuses on self-care can make all the difference in how your day unfolds.
In today's blog post I'm going to share my morning routine and show you how 30 minutes every morning can transform your whole day.
My morning routine for self-care
I'm pretty religious about my morning self-care routine. My nightly self-care routine helps me unwind and de-stimulate, and my morning routine helps set my mood for the entire day.
I don't consider myself a morning person, which really only makes my morning self-care routine all the more crucial. I take it seriously because I love feeling calm, relaxed, and centered.
It also helps to feel like I'm ahead of the day so that annoyances and irritations don't get to me like they would if I wasn't feeling grounded.
1. Prepare the night before
I have kids who wake up before the sun, so I try to do things like putting easy-to-access foods out for them. This way they don't bombard me right away in the morning.
I also like to pick up major clutter if I can so that my space isn't overwhelming when I'm trying to do my routine the next morning.
Is there anything you do in the mornings that could be prepared for the night before so that you don't feel overwhelmed and rushed when you first wake up?
2. Avoid your phone to protect your energy
This is really, really big for me. Since I'm not a morning person, it's easy for me to roll over and grab my phone and scroll mindlessly through Facebook while I wake up. This starts me off on the wrong foot for so many reasons.
When I make the choice to scroll through social media after waking, I allow the energy of others to affect my own energy before the day has even started. This is so huge!
Don't open your energy to the world. Leave some things sacred and intact first thing in the morning, like your mental sanity.
The longer I stay off social media in general, the better my days are.
3. Create a sacred feel
I think the feel of our spaces has a big impact on our moods and this is why I try to pick up as much as I can the night before. I'm not a perfectionist but I like general order so that I can feel calm.
I love to burn incense. Every time I burn it, I'm doing self-care activities so the scent has become even more sacred to me. As soon as I smell it, it instantly creates a relaxing vibe.
I also love essential oil diffusers and candles–anything to make my space smell more relaxing. I'm a huge believer in the power of aromatherapy!
I keep essential oil sprays and roll-ons on my nightstand and will frequently reapply them throughout the day when I need some grounding.
4. Enjoy something you love
Coffee is what I look forward to in the morning. Whatever it is for you, enjoy it!
Buy the best ingredients and really savor it. It could be green tea, a smoothie, eggs and toast. Whatever, just do you and don't let anyone invade this small time you're carving out for yourself.
I love to buy coffee mugs just to make my morning a little brighter. Do little things like this for yourself because it makes your self-care time all the more special and uplifting.
5. Read a daily book to shift your perspective
I love reading a page or two out of a good book every morning because it helps give me a positive perspective. One of the books I like to read out of daily is Simple Abundance.
Simple Abundance is great because it's short and I feel like it has a touch of whimsical magic to it.
You can also check out my post on my favorite daily books for self-care if you want to see my book rotation.
6. Do a morning worksheet to boost your vibration
Every morning I fill out a morning worksheet. These have honestly transformed my mornings because they're quick but powerful. Sometimes I may not have time to do anything else, but I always have time to fill out a morning worksheet. They make such a difference.
There are several worksheet bundles to choose from that have a morning worksheet, so it really depends on what your needs and intentions are. I alternate between all of them.
Below are the ones I use:
✦ For moms: wanting to start their day with a calm, positive mindset
✦ For mindset/manifesting: setting your daily intentions and a quick visualization
✦ For moon phase self-care: this one is like the ones above but has a section for recording a daily card pull
✦ For entrepreneurs: focuses on mindset for business success
Morning sheet from moon worksheet bundle
7. Meditate for inner peace
The last thing I love to do is to meditate. I created a list here of my favorite guided meditations, and the very first one on that list is the one I'll usually listen to in the morning.
It doesn't even have to be anything too time-consuming; sitting and doing some deep breathing while visualizing your perfect day is extremely powerful! Don't underestimate it.
Try to avoid perfection when it comes to any self-care routine. Even one activity from the above list will shift your day positively.
The goal is simply to connect with yourself on some level.
To recap my easy morning self-care routine:
✦ Prepare the night before
✦ Avoid your phone to protect your energy
✦ Create a sacred feel with incense (or something else, maybe soothing music)
✦ Enjoy something you love (coffee, tea, etc)
✦ Read a page from a morning book
✦ Fill out a morning worksheet to shift your vibration
✦ Meditate for a few minutes
And that's my morning self-care routine. It takes about 30 minutes and transforms my whole day.
I hope you enjoyed this article! Do you have a morning routine and if so, what do you include in yours? Let me know in the comments below.
For spiritual self-care tips every Sunday afternoon, you can sign up for the Dwell in Magic weekly newsletter.
If you’d like more real life examples of daily spiritual self-care, you can connect with me on Instagram.
And if you’d like more direct support and community with like-minded people, come join the Dwell in Magic Facebook group.
Lots of love,
Jessica
Jessica Dimas is the creator of Manifesting Magic with the Moon, a holistic self-care ritual bundle.
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Jessica A Cleveland
Hi Jessica, Thanks for your awesome post! I am learning that a morning routine is crucial for my happiness and well-being through out the day. I have four children, so I always have to be determined and creative in the mornings if I want my time. They are normally up before me (my oldest is 9) and they can help themselves to a banana and a glass of milk. As soon as I am awake express gratitude before I even get out of bed. When I get up my children watch their favorite shows on YouTube and I have my coffee and a fifteen minute meditation (headphones!). I am often interrupted by my 2 year old and I find that if it's not working out then don't force it. I love being outside first thing in the morning. I usually take a little walk around my yard and talk to my favorite plants, express more gratitude to the universe and give myself a little pep talk for the day. That's about it. It takes me about an hour too and it's well worth it. I have to change it up every few weeks to make it work for me and my kids, so it never gets boring!
Jessica Dimas
Hey Jessica! I couldn't agree more with you about the morning routine being crucial. I loved reading your morning routine, and I especially loved the part about you walking around your yard talking to the plants and expressing gratitude, that is a great idea I think I'm going to add to my routine too. Yes, my youngest is 3 and like you said, if it's just not working out I don't force it because that will definitely not start my day off right. You sort of sound like a kindred mom spirit to me! Our kids get up before us and we do our little self-care morning routine amidst some little kid interruptions and whatnot. Thank you for your comment, it was a pleasure to read!
Jessica A Cleveland
Thanks Jessica! I think we probably have a lot in common (did I mention that I home school too?). I really enjoy reading your blog and I'm looking forward to watching it grow. Perhaps one day I will have the courage to do something similar.
Jessica Dimas
No you didn't mention that you homeschool and now I sort of want to stalk you a little bit, haha! I'm just envisioning another homeschool mama out there in the world doing her morning routine with her little kiddies in the background like me. If you ever have questions about starting a blog, email me!
Chelsea @ Life With My Littles
This is awesome! Some mornings I am able to get things done for myself before I have to get the kids up, and when I do I feel a lot better! Also, I LOVE THAT MUG! So cute!
Jessica Dimas
Yes, it's so nice when you're able to get some things done for yourself! I got that mug in the Target $3 aisle, I love that section of Target haha.
Amy
Jessica,
This was a really great post! I'm trying to do better on not touching my phone until after I'm fully awake and already out of bed. Thanks for the inspiration and also the motivation to start doing yoga.
Keep up the great work!
Amy
Jessica Dimas
Hi Amy! Yessss, not touching the phone helps so much. I succumb some mornings and check it while still in bed and I can literally always tell what a difference it makes, my mood is just off. Thank you for your comment!
Nedalee Thomas
Thank you, Jessica! I really love some of your articles. I like this one.
Melanie
Love this routine Jessica! I need to stop waking up to my phone. Sometimes it's so difficult to convince myself to roll out of bed. Grabbing my phone is just my lazy way of waking up. But you're so right. It's puts other people as the first focus of your day. But my day should really start off being about ME. Thanks for the reminder to prioritize myself every morning!
Jessica Dimas
Me too Melanie! It's my lazy way of waking up too. On those days when I just want to reach for my phone to wake up, I at least try to only check uplifting things and nothing that would stress me out or cause me to go into a mindless scroll-fest! Makes for such a better morning, that's for sure. Thank you for your comment! xo
Brandyn
I love this! My mornings have been all over the place lately and I've been trying to brainstorm some better ways to start my day. These are some great ideas that I will be sure to keep in mind while I work out my own routine!
Jessica Dimas
I love when my mornings are intentional! I've actually been off my morning routine since I went on vacation a few weeks ago and I'm DESPERATE to get back to it, it makes such a difference!
Sheila Camm
I just found this beautiful magazine. I want all of them. They are all you say about them. Thank you!
Jessica Dimas
Aren't they beautiful?! I'm trying to collect them all, and they're perfect to read over and over again.
Niccole J.
This sounds great! I also have your nightly routine bookmarked to incorporate. It's crazy how little changes such as these can really set you on the right path for the day. I'm trying to be more intentional about how I use my time throughout the day to ensure that I can slow down in the beginning and the end of my day. Thanks so much for sharing. Good stuff!!
Jessica Dimas
Yes!! When anyone tells me they don't have time for self-care I just want to tell them that it's not about some luxurious 2 hour massage every 6 months...it's the little things that we do for ourselves daily that make our days so much more peaceful and magical. Glad we crossed paths, thank you for your comment! xo
The Broke Dad
I really enjoy your morning routine, very nice way to start out your day especially with young kids. I have a similar routine myself that revolves around my morning coffee. It has really helped make me a much more positive person all day long. I really like that you use incense as well, I started doing that when I was in my early 20's and have never stopped. The one thing I have never tried is yoga, I have always wanted to but have not actually done it yet, seems like it would fit right in to my day though.
Well thank you so much for sharing your morning routine, I really enjoyed reading about it.
The Broke Dad
Jessica Dimas
I lOVE incense! It's so soothing. And yes, any morning routine that revolves around coffee is bound to be a good one. Thanks for sharing a bit of your morning routine, I enjoyed reading it!
Rebeccafaith Dietz
GIRL. I went to add your yoga playlist and it doesn't exist anymore! Don't you know I need that sort of curation in my life? Please reinstate... lol
Jessica Dimas
Nooooo, what did I do! Okay I'm gonna edit and re-link to my yoga playlist. I'm totally obsessed with this one yoga teacher on YouTube, she's so awesome and she just finished filming a 30 day yoga for happiness challenge for the new year!
Jessica Dimas
Isn't that song so good? It makes me choke up every time I listen to it, even though I've also heard it a million times. I'm so glad you found yourself here on my blog and I definitely believe we find things we're meant to connect with <3 Loved reading your comment, thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Jodi
What is a good scent of insense to use?
Jessica Dimas
Sorry this response is so late! My favorite is peppermint, because it's really refreshing and effective at de-stressing you.
Illujen Eye Cream
Oh my goodness! Impressive article dude! Many thanks,
However I am going through difficulties with your RSS. I don't understand the reason why I can't subscribe to it.
Is there anybody having the same RSS issues? Anybody who knows the answer can you kindly respond?
Thanks!!
Hailey
This is a fantastic list! I especially like the staying off of social media in the morning. It gets me off of the wrong foot. Thanks for sharing!
Heather
Hello!
Thank you for this! I really connected with this. I always want to get a morning routine down, I mean, I wake up a 5a.m. I should have one right? I think I have a picture in my head of what I want as a morning routine and when it doesn't work out, I lose faith and flop on the couch. I just need to flow with my life and home. I need to stop trying to have someone else's idea of a morning routine. I appreciate you and I look forward to reading your other works!
Jessica Dimas
Yes Heather, I do the same sometimes! Have an idea of how it "should" look and if it can't look like that, I'll just save it for tomorrow. But yeah, I think that's what stops most people from practicing consistent self-care, they get too wrapped up in how they think it should look that they just don't do it at all. I'm glad you liked this post xo
Julia
I wake up in the morning and basically exercise first thing, which is great because I'm not a morning person at all so I like to avoid my phone too! Otherwise it's way too easy to just get sucked in.
Julia // The Sunday Mode
Jessica Dimas
Yes, it really is!!
Venus Danielle
I love this! I always enjoy reading about others routines. I have the worst time keeping up with one, especially the journalling. Your post has inspired me to get up and get doing! Thanks for the kick in the butt post;)
silvia cosma
Love this piece! Coffee is also part of my morning routine- it allows me the time to recharge and gather myself mentally while enjoying my favorite drink.
Kim
Thanks for sharing your morning routine. I wrote about mine last year and nailing my evening routine and getting a good night's sleep definitely effects my mornings.
Anonymous
Great article! I totally agree with you on not checking the phone every mrning. It really helps a lot!
Katherine
Thank you for this lovely post. I’m 45 and I’m finally seeing that I could really benefit from a daily morning/evening routine. Working shift work at a hospital has made this a challenge but I like how what you shared today would only take 30 mins! I’m all for that! I’ve had the Simple Abundance book for years and have never even cracked it open. I’m looking forward to trying your ideas!
Jessica Dimas
Yes, it's really amazing how re-setting even 30 mins can be. Even better when you can set up your rooms to be relaxing, like putting string lights up in your bathroom for example for low-lighting and listening to something that re-centers you (I always listen to Abraham Hicks on YouTube). ALL the difference. And with you being INFP, for sure little things like that would really help to re-set and inspire you. I think most INFPs are more easily over-stimulated so things like low-lighting and calm spaces really help so much.
Aja
Will definitely try some of these tips thanks!
Jessica Dimas
I hope you do, thanks for commenting! <3