Those of you who follow me know that I am not a fan of New Year’s Resolutions.

I am however a fan of habits and rituals.

So today, let me share some of my favourite rituals to start your day. Don’t worry, they are so easy, you will have no trouble at all to integrate them first thing into your day.

  1. “Today is going to be a great day.”
    As soon as you wake up, and before you do anything else, say this sentence. Simple as that. It sets the tone and mood of the day. And wouldn’t you rather have a great day than a not so great one?
  2. Body scan
    Before you get up, dedicate the first 10 minutes of your day to check in with your body. I like to use the Calm app for that and this body scan is great. Starting out the day by dedicating a few minutes to just being, allows you to start into your day much more present and relaxed.
  3. Stretch
    If you don’t have 10 minutes, simply take a few moments to stretch. When we sleep our bodies spend hours in a resting position and waking up our limbs is beneficial. Here is a video to show you how simple this can be.
  4. Strength
    While still in bed, you can totally add a few strength poses after you stretched. I found the best ones to be variations of plank and locust.
  5. Tap
    If you wake up anxious or already stressed when looking at the day ahead, a quick remedy is Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) or tapping. Have a look here for some free and easy sessions and you will be amazed at the results when you do this regularly.
  6. Lemon water
    Before you have anything else, drink a large glass of water with a half or whole lemon juice squeezed into it. Take 2 seconds to prepare, but has enormous benefits as it detoxes and gets your metabolism working.
  7. Supplements
    When we eat healthy meals, we should in principle get enough vitamins, minerals and all the other necessary goodies our bodies need to thrive. I find it helpful to give it a little boost, especially in winter. Mainly with easy supplements of magnesium (against stress), vitamin D (as we tend to get less daylight), vitamin B and some omegas. Vitamin C you should get enough if you drink the morning lemon water mentioned under point 5. If you don’t know where to start or which deficiencies you have, a blood test or doctor consult is always a good beginning.
  8. Intention
    Setting your intention, stating to the world what you want, is a practice that the most successful people use. And it doesn’t have to be a big 5 year plan. You can start your day with stating your intention of the day. It’s as simple as asking yourself 4 questions. Click here for the worksheet to help you with that.
  9. Write
    If your brain starts in overdrive as soon as you get up and you tend to get stressed by your to do list even before breakfast, I suggest you do a brain drain list but simply writing down all the things that pop up in your head. This creates the necessary space to start your day calmly as you won’t forget anything because you have written it down.
    Another tool are the Morning Pages, first introduced by Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way. Emptying your brain of all the chatter is a great way to create space for creativity.