my new morning routine (2022 edition) – [1/3]

This year, for the most part, I had been able to honor my habit of waking up early by 5 am every day. However during the summertime, my sleep discipline and hygiene got massively compromised as against my better nature, I was constantly glued to the screens around me. i.e. either my phone, computer, or TV. First, I ended up staying up late for most nights, and then soon in order to catch enough sleep (6 to 8 hours), I started waking up a little bit later (after 6 or so), disrupting my 5 AM habit. (I regret making this change right now.)

Things have taken a good turn in the fall though, and my morning routine has significantly improved. I have been rising early close to 5 AM for the past couple of weeks and returning back to my previously set rhythms.

It’s weird but waking up even 1 to 2 hours late not only disrupted my morning, but also my positivity, productivity, and creativity for the day. I wrote a few lines in my 2020 routine and I would again like to share them again as I feel the same right now:

“I have also realized how easily we can rationalize not to wake up early. As much as I’d like to stay in bed, and while there are all kinds of arguments about why you should wake up early or why you should not do that and instead just follow your natural rhythms, from my personal experiences this year, I again encountered the truth that waking up early can indeed be powerful and life-changing. Just to be clear, it may or may not be the best choice for you, but it works like a charm for me.”

My current pursuit is educating myself repeatedly about the benefits of waking up at 5 am or before and understanding the difference it could make in my life and in my professional pursuits. As I stated last year, I need back to contemplating the long-term gains I could experience via the compound effect if I stick to waking up early every day.

Also, it would be best to develop the habit of sleeping early at a dedicated time (around 9 pm), and I have already started taking measures to distance myself from screens around me and am working on my night routine. Once I am able to craft it and stick to it consistently for around 90 days (3 months) or more, I’ll share it with you guys. I am trying to reinforce the truth in my mind that the real morning routine begins the night before when you consciously decide to prepare for the next day and sleep on time.

I would really like to cement my habit of waking up early by 5 am every day again as soon as possible, so please wish me luck.

I’ll now go through my new morning routine step-by-step which I designed very recently after tweaking and shuffling a few activities. This is the basic framework that I plan to stick to every day when I wake up.

I wake up as soon as I can after hearing the alarm on my smartphone (as of now, I have set three alarms – 4.45 am, 5.00 am, and 5.05 am). After I switch my alarm off, I do a few boxer shuffles to get myself in a pumped-up state. Then, I read some morning affirmations and make a quick visit to the bathroom. I sprinkle cold water on my eyes and wash my face. This helps me in waking up from any residual sleepiness.

I go to my bedroom and make my bed. Even though it’s a small task, I feel amazing and get a great sense of accomplishment once I’m done with it.

After that, I play my favorite mantra on my phone while tracking my body weight. I sit on the sofa in the living room with closed eyes until the mantra audiotracks end. Then I step outside on the balcony to gaze at the early morning sky and nature’s beauty for a few minutes. I come back inside, sit on the sofa, and then watch a video of my favorite devotional hymn track.

I then listen to some inspirational and motivational Hindi music while tracking my wake-up time and proceed with some light stretching. Then, I go to the kitchen and get around 300 ml (approx. 10 ounces) in a bottle (this water was previously poured from a copper vessel.); I infuse it with some freshly squeezed lemon juice.