The Morning Ritual
The importance of our own idiosyncratic, often deeply personal morning rituals can't be overstated. What you do first thing after you wake up can set the tone for rest of the morning, if not the day.
And as the days shorten and our first waking hours become increasingly dark, the cold creeping steadily into our homes, suchlike become increasingly key for finding that motivation within ourselves and our lives.
For me, the five or so minutes I take for myself every morning to prepare a V60 pourover of coffee has become that stepping stone. As I handgrind the beans, boil the kettle and slowly add the water to the grounds as it drips down into my first cup of the day, there is nothing but me and the coffee. And there, in that moment, I find five minutes of focus to centre myself, think on what I want and what I hope to achieve.
Through regularity this decided first action of the day became an instinctive habit, one that proved a gateway to others.
Recently, I was struggling to find inspiration and motivation for a writing project I nevertheless truly wanted to work on. So I tried telling myself, "You drink a coffee, then you work on the project. No project, no coffee."
So, every morning, first thing, I'd make my coffee, sit down at my desk with it and have the first thing I did be to work.
The first couple of days it didn't come easy, but eventually it always did at least come.
But as time went on I found that by just making a coffee I immediately entered into the right mindset for my work and wanted to do it straightaway, regardless of perhaps more pressing matters, as soon as I began my brew. Through the habitual ritual of always sitting down to work straight after, the writing became easy.
Morning rituals in this way can become the key to unlocking the energy and enthusiasm you need for the rest of the day. What habits and rituals do you engage in every morning that bring you to your best that little better? How do you, in the cold autumnal and winter months to come, get going in the morning?