my anxiety-beating morning routine

I love mornings.

I love breakfast (breakfast food is my fav). I love sunrise, and the colors it paints the sky. I love the quiet. I love a fresh start. Seriously, I just love everything about the morning time.

As my mom would say, I’m an “old soul.” I’ve never been the type to sleep in until noon – not even when I was a teenager. There’s something about me (and maybe I get it from my parents?) that thrives in the early hours of the day and always has.

With that said, my mornings are sacred to me. They set the tone for the rest of my day, and they play huge role in how I’m feeling mentally.

It’s taken awhile, but I’ve got my anxiety-beating morning routine down. Here’s a look into it, which starts between 5:45-6AM on (most) weekdays:

1. Get outside: As you probably know by now, I have a dog named Charlie (he’s the cutest ever … And no, I’m not biased). The first thing I do is take him for a 20-minute walk. I do not bring my phone with me on our morning stroll; I make it a priority to take in my surroundings, say hi to my fellow early-bird neighbors and have some quality time with my fluffy guy.
2. Get moving: I’m a morning-workout person. I used to have a gym membership, but my fiancé and I agreed that transforming our single-car garage into an at-home gym was worth every penny. We purchased a bench and dumbbells off of Amazon, found a full barbell and bumper-plate set through the app OfferUp, and then stocked up on things like med balls, resistance bands and kettlebells in various ways. BEST DECISION EVER. Before I get into the heart of my workout, I use a foam roller for at least 5 minutes and follow that up with an 8-10 minute yoga sequence. This gets me warm, and also mentally prepares me to get the most out of my 30-45 minute workout. Shout out to my amazing trainer and friend, Rachel Agranove, for the personalized workouts that I LOVE. 

   

3. Eat breakfast: My favorite meal of the day! Most of the time, I make my go-to green smoothie: almond milk, protein, spinach, half a banana, chia seeds, maca powder and almond or cashew butter. As I wrote about in-detail here, this smoothie has all the ingredients and low-sugar content to be a filling, mood-balancing meal. If I’m not in the mood for a smoothie, I have two eggs over arugula and avocado, drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice on top. SO. GOOD.
4. Take my medication + supplements: Once I have food in me, I take my medication and daily natural supplements. More info on exactly what I take here. My top priorities are to take my SSRI and probiotic. I try to never go a day without those two supplements!
5. Get ready: Since I’m sweaty from exercise, I shower (of course) and then get ready for work while listening to upbeat, feel-good tunes on Spotify. I’m on a Maren Morris kick right now – currently, my favorite song of hers is Second Wind. Highly recommend!
6. Set my intention for the day: I’m usually moving pretty fast through the getting-ready stage, so I make sure to stop and set my intention for the day before heading out the door for work. It can be as simple as telling myself, “you’ve got this!” or it can be a few minutes of jotting down 2-3 things I’m grateful for.

After all that, it’s finally time for me to seize the workday (my AM alarm is even labeled “carpe diem”)!

Do I always follow this routine step-by-step? No. There are mornings where my body needs more sleep, and I allow it. There are mornings where I want to write while sipping a cup of coffee before anything else (what I’m currently doing). And there are weekend mornings, which are for sleeping in + brunch, obviously.

If I’m ever feeling “off” or feel high anxiety coming on, I make sure to start the day with this routine and it almost always nips it in the bud and makes me feel good.

What morning routine or habit(s) do you follow to make sure that you’re in the right mindset for the day ahead?

xoxo,

Lisa