EXPLORE84 - DAY 4
Day 4 - running in the rain!
Starting My Day Early With EXPLORE84
I never used to be a morning person and always thought people were crazy for waking up early to work out or start their work routine. However, for the past few months I have been waking up early and doing my EXPLORE84 routine and really like it.
To reduce the temptation of being distracted in the morning I did 2 simple things that have really helped:
No TV - I removed the tv from our main room so I'm never tempted to start the day with news or sports highlights. This also helps reduce the amount of tv time after work - which means I get to hang with my kids more (they're teaching me how to play chess) and I get a lot more reading done!
Old School Alarm Clock - I stopped using my phone as an alarm clock so that I'm not tempted to check my emails, social media or news alerts in the morning. Not checking my emails first thing in the morning was the hardest habit to break - but after a few weeks it was no longer an issue.
Without TV and my phone to distract me, I have more control over my mornings. As result, I am proactive rather than reactive, and it feels really good to this quiet time for myself.
My morning routine looks like this:
Soul
I like to wake up before the family and do my meditation so that I am not interrupted.
Starting my day with meditation helps me start with a clear head and I try to bring that mindset with me throughout the day which is easier said than done!!
Mind
I get my 20+ minutes of reading in early to get the brain going.
I have a lot of good book suggestions from my podcast guests - and my oldest daughter has me reading Nancy Drew books now too!
Full disclosure - once my mind and body goals have been completed I usually check my emails to make sure that nothing major happened at work while I was sleeping.
Body - Fitness
On my run days I like to get it over with early so that it doesn't hang over me all day.
I've attached my run to another morning routine I have which is walking my kids to schools!