Creative ways to start the morning on the right foot | wit and pleasure

As previously seen on Wit & Delight

Editor’s Note: In the spirit of our March theme, Plan Ahead, we’re resharing this post from contributor Megan McCarty on planning a brighter and better morning routine. We hope it gives her a nice start to tomorrow, the day after that, the day after that and, well, she gets the point. Read on for all of Megan’s ideas.

He is not a morning person. Might as well put that in my obituary. I’d rather take a 10 pm yoga class and a midnight meeting than do anything in the morning. I have insisted on this, well, always. But it turns out that jobs don’t care and neither does the spinning earth or the economy, so here we go. We have to make mornings work for us.

Instead of whining and complaining in the mornings, it’s time to put a jolt of positive energy into our morning time. If I, a notorious morning grump, can start the year off with positive vibes in the morning, so can you.

Here are some of my favorite ways to start your morning routine on a good note. Do you have something to add? Drop us a line in the comments below.

Dry brush your body.

Although it seems like a goop-y trend, dry brushing has been a part of Ayurvedic medicine for centuries. Every morning I take off my sleep and winter skin. Nothing cheers me up more after a painful alarm at an ungodly hour. While medical evidence is lacking, it is believed to help stimulate the lymphatic system, increasing circulation and energy. And maybe, just maybe, it will help fight cellulite. Fingers crossed. Get scrubbing

Write in a manifestation journal.

Our love of gratitude journals is well documented, but after the year we’ve all had, how about we manifest some magic in the coming year? There is something about a manifestation journal that works. First, there is muscle memory. Writing “I’m going to buy a house for the fall” thirty-five times really drives that thought into your subconscious that yes, you willpower buy a house for the fall.

Then there is the law of attraction, the belief that positive or negative thoughts bring positive or negative experiences into your life. If you can put your wants and needs into words, and then repeat those words for an entire page, those thoughts are more likely to stick to all corners of your brain. It’s worth a try, isn’t it?

Get rid of your phone alarm.

…Or any screeching, alarming, um, alarm. Nobody wants to wake up with a start. Instead, start your mornings with soothing sunrise lighting and a soft alarm, a much more natural way to wake up if we don’t have work to do and kids to attend to.

The New York Times They rated the Philips Wake-Up as their favorite, and many others raved about the Hatch. If you’re not ready to spend $100+ on an alarm clock when there’s a perfectly good but slightly irritating one on your phone, consider the hOmeLabs Sunrise Alarm Clock, which isn’t quite as fancy as the others, but it works (get it?) at only $30.

Airplane mode is your friend.

One surefire way to turn a good day into a terrible, horrible, not good, or very bad day is to turn around, open your crusty eyes, and scroll, scroll, scroll.

no one loves The New York Times app more than me, but even I know there’s no need to open it before 8:00 am Same goes for email and Instagram. Do you really need to know what that Australian supermodel was posting while you were sleeping? If possible, keep your phone off or on airplane mode until you brush your teeth and are caffeinated enough to deal with that annoying request from her boss.

Drink a glass of lemon water with sea salt.

Hydration queen Dani Bruflodt of Thyme is Honey insists on drinking a glass of warm lemon water with sea salt first thing in the morning. Just a few of the benefits of lemon salt water: It can help boost digestion, it can kill harmful bacteria in your mouth and throat, it can help decrease inflammation, and it can provide an easy boost to your immune system.

At the very least, drink a glass of water before your coffee, so you can rehydrate your body before dehydrating again.

Take care of the little things.

There is nothing revolutionary about making your bed every morning. But your mom was right: make your bed and make your bed every day. Little things like making the bed, opening the curtains and putting dirty clothes in the hamper will make you feel All this more organized when everything else seems to be out of control.

Read a story.

Instead of scrolling you-know-what again, keep a storybook handy. During your morning tea or coffee (or lemon water with sea salt!), take five to ten minutes to read. It can be a story, a page or a poem. Whatever you choose, reading will ease your morning and prepare your brain for a day of creative thinking.

Send a compliment to a friend every morning.

Some mornings I like to remind my friend Jess, who lives a good 2000 miles from me, how much I miss her. Perhaps your best friend needs a reminder that she is a good mother, or your cousin could benefit from knowing that she inspired you to You say it, or even another friend might hear that she has the best butt in town. Sending a quick text doesn’t take much, what, 10 seconds, but it will start your day on a good note and start your day on a good note. win win

Greetings to the good morning. Or at least more hydrated and less stressed mornings.