The Intentional Morning – 3 Simple Habits to Energize Your Day

Not long ago I realized just how off-track my mornings had become.

Under the guise of “keeping up with business” I was cramming my mornings with “busyness.” (I was checking my email upon waking and sampling blog stats before breakfast.) No surprise that my days lacked energy and inspiration!

Use these three simple suggestions to fine-tune your own morning routine.

#1. Get up a half-hour earlier, and use the time intentionally.

In many spiritual traditions, the early morning hours are revered as a time of spiritual insight and renewal. You don’t have to become a monk to leverage this principle, though. You don’t have to get up at 5am!

If you can manage to get to bed a few minutes earlier and start your day with an extra half-hour, I can almost guarantee that in three weeks’ time you’ll be feeling happier and more energized in your life.

The world offers us many opportunities to react in a day: news reports, phone calls, real-time internet apps. Without intentionality, we allow the subtle signal of our inner compasses to get diluted or drowned out by the input coming our way.

Try waking up by intentionally using a small portion of your morning time just for yourself. Doing so will revitalize your inner compass and boost your energy.

#2. Connect to Your Body (Not the Internet).

Practitioners of NIA (non-impact aerobics) make an interesting distinction between “mechanical” time and “natural” time.

In mechanical time, we react to external timetables (like clocks and calendars). We gain satisfaction through “matching” our environment. We show up on time. We meet our deadlines.

In contrast, in natural time we synchronize our efforts with an organic rhythm we perceive from within. If you’ve ever enjoyed a day listening to the waves at the beach, then you understand the meditative calm that arises from reconnecting to natural rhythms.

Here are two easy ways to connect to natural time.

• Stay offline.

When you “log on and check in” online, you allow yourself to be nudged into reacting to the world’s demands. For your morning routine, prioritize “natural time before mechanical time.”

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