*This is a repost from February of 2020—three years later, I find myself in the same situation as I did then, trying to figure out how to keep a smooth healthy routine going despite changing locations*
I’m in an unfamiliar spot this month, and with a hectic schedule that’s making my usual healthy morning routines a bit more complicated. Last night, I was getting ready to crash after a long day of coaching and riding, and I realized that I’d just done laundry so my towel that was standing in as my yoga mat was no longer in place and ready for my short yoga and core routine. I had just done a lot of riding volume, but didn’t have a water bottle or glass of water by the nightstand. These sound like pretty minor things, but when you’re waking up feeling tired and not exactly in a high-performance state of mind, it can make a big difference. (I am not really a morning person despite my best efforts.)
Conventional “how to exercise in the morning” wisdom talks a lot about setting out your workout clothes for the morning, and often, I do a bit of that. But I realized last night that there are so many smaller ways to optimize my morning as well. When home, many of these are one time things—having a spot designated for my yoga mat, which is always unrolled and ready to go, or having my gear organized well enough that finding a running kit in under 30 seconds is never a problem. But on the road, I had to re-think these habits.
So, last night, I took a minute and prepped for my future self, the tired person who was going to wake up at six to get $hit done before the rest of the camp woke up and the day got rolling.
This morning, when I woke up, I was not in the mood to do my yoga routine. Honestly, I rarely am. But the mat was there, so I did it. I wasn’t feeling my morning meditation, but my headphones were next to the bed and I’d chosen the guided one I wanted to listen to. My journal had a pen sitting on top of it.
I was so much happier.
So, before you go to bed ask yourself “What’s one small thing I can set up for success in the morning?”
A few examples:
- Setting out your mat for morning yoga
- Putting a glass of water on nightstand
- Queueing up the meditation you want to do
- Pre-cooking your healthy breakfast (soaking overnight oats, chopping smoothie ingredients)
- Setting out workout clothes, checking the weather
- Downloading the podcast/playlist you’re going to listen to while you train
- Putting the bike on the trainer and making sure it’s working correctly
Are there any other little routines that make big differences to your day?
