If you're anything like me, your morning kicks off the start to a hectic routine. At 5:45 in the morning, you can find me snoozing until the last possible minute or mentally calculating what I can shave off from my morning routine so that I can sleep in for another 4 minutes. You'll often see me dressing my daughter in the dark so that I can minimize her whining, and finally frantically rushing out of the door pissed that I didn't make my target time.

This cannot be life!

This week, I'm going to incorporate a few tried and true strategies to start my day off more peacefully before I put in 10+ hours in the office. I've done all of these before successfully, and it's time to get back to what I know!

Awake with gentle music

Confession: I am the snooze button queen. I have been known to have multiple alarms with jarring bells that infuriated past roommates and romantic partners. I thought the more annoying and frequent the sounds, the more I would be enticed to wake up. That has never been true, and I don't know why I still give in to that lie.

In reality, the less I hit snooze and the more soothing the music, the more positive and promptly I awake. For example, I gave hitting snooze for Lent a couple of years ago and never overslept! I also used the Sleep Cycle app that has a gentle, gradual chime type of alarm and it made my day begin so much more positively.

This week, I'm going back to using Sleep Cycle and preventing be scared awake.

Transform into a superhero

When I was a senior in high school, Pulp Fiction had just come out and my friends and I were huge fans. We would spend hours analyzing the scenes and discussing the allegories to life. One of my favorite parts is when Jules and Vincent walk up to an apartment and say, "Okay, let's get into character."

Each day, we need to get into character too.

While you get dressed, play a curated playlist that reminds you of the awesome person you are. Turn on some YouTube videos that get you going (like these). Queue up inspirational podcasts (here you go).

Starting the day with this sensory experience will remind you that you're badass. And not just because you have "bad mofo" on your wallet. (Pulp Fiction reference if you didn't know).

Power up

When I was at my personal best, I awoke each morning an hour early to pray, meditate, and work on my craft. Investing this first hour in myself not only helped me gain momentum with coaching and writing, it also affirmed my self-value. It's so easy to give all of our energy to external things and purposes, that there's nothing left for yourself (discussed here).

Since I started going to bed at 10:30 for my Lent sacrifice, I have no reason why I can't wake up at 5am and get back on this routine.

The Bottom Line

Your morning routine sets the tone for your entire day. If you adjust how you start your morning, you are well on your way to preventing stress for the rest of the day!

Which one of these strategies are you going to use this week?