How to Have a Self-Love Morning Routine That Actually Works

Here’s how you can have the best self-love daily routine with ease

To help you achieve the best self-love morning routine, I decided to write a blog post talking about how to have a morning routine that really works.

These tips are quite easy, yet if you follow them, you’ll see your productivity increase. Waking up without an alarm and not having a proper plan will result in procrastinating (for me).

And for me, procrastination also leads to anxiety. That’s why I came up with this list of the best morning routine habits that work.

When your self-care morning routine is chaotic, or you don’t even have one, you’re setting yourself up for an unsuccessful day because you’re wasting time deciding what to do, which might cause you to run late.

To prevent that, it’s really important to practice proper morning self-care.

Developing a proper morning routine can help with time management, productivity, and overall well-being, as well as set a positive tone for the rest of the day.

Starting the day with specific tasks or activities can also help prioritize important tasks and goals for the day.

Besides, learning all about how to create a self-love daily routine helps you show yourself some love in the morning, which is honestly the best way to start every day.

After all, you should love yourself first.

This post may contain affiliate links. That means that if you click on a link and purchase something I recommend, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Now it’s time to talk about how to create a proper self-love morning routine

1. Prepare the night before

Creating a proper morning routine is important, but so is creating a proper night routine. You’ve probably heard that a successful morning starts the night before.

The main idea is to do as much as possible the night before. That allows you to focus on more important things in the morning. So, what I do is prepare my coffee machine every night.

I also prepare my clothes and breakfast as much as possible. On the days I know I’m heading out, I also prepare my bag.

It’s good to prepare the night before because it happens quite often that something comes up when we least expect it.

You might sleep in, your coffee machine might stop working, or you might realize you didn’t buy milk for your coffee.

TIP: I also like to schedule my day the night before. I find it easier to wake up knowing exactly what my day brings.

I’m also quite indecisive in the mornings, so this helps me focus my energy on more important tasks.

You might also like: How to create a productive night routine to end your day positively

2. Wake up an hour earlier

Every time you read these kinds of posts, someone suggests you wake up an hour earlier. I know it’s not the easiest thing to do.

I know that some of you say, “I’m a night owl, and I can’t wake up early,” and that’s fine.

My goal is to come up with the best self-love morning routine, and that’s why I really like this advice about waking up an hour earlier.

It’s not suitable for everyone, but for some people, it can drastically increase their productivity. If you wake up an hour earlier every day instead of your usual time, you’ll have 365 extra hours a year!

The key element here is that you need the right amount of sleep. If you get only 5–6 hours of sleep every night, thinking that you’ll catch up on sleep during the weekend, you’ll get nowhere.

Sleep deprivation causes you to be less productive. So, if you get up an hour earlier every day but have slept only for 5 hours, it won’t increase your productivity.

TIP: Wake up to music instead of an alarm. According to research, certain melodies can have an energizing effect. The sound of an alarm terrifies many of us, and it can even be confusing.

If you’re not used to waking up early, hearing your alarm ring can even trigger bad emotions, and it’s not a very good start to your day.

I also really like this gradual alarm clock that will help you wake up gradually.

You might also like: How to successfully wake up early (these tips really work)

3. Make your bed

Now I’m going to tell you something you probably already know. Make your bed.

Making your bed the first thing in the morning gives your day a productive start because you feel like you’ve already achieved something. It motivates you to work harder throughout the day.

And let’s be honest, your bed looks better this way. It also encourages you to keep the rest of your room, or even your apartment, tidy. A tidy room lowers your stress and boosts your mood.

Everything starts with a bed that’s been made.

4. Postpone your morning coffee

Okay, folks. I read that drinking your morning coffee as the first thing you do when you wake up is not a good idea at all. Whoa!! So, let’s talk about it.

We know that cortisol levels basically mean stress levels. However, they are also correlated with our alertness levels.

When we wake up in the morning, our cortisol levels are at their highest. It basically means we’re naturally alert already.

If we drink coffee at the same time we’re already maximally alert, we’re wasting the potential boost we would get from drinking coffee.

TIP: The most effective time to drink your coffee is between 9.30 a.m. and 11.30 a.m.

5. Drink a glass of lemon water

First of all, I can’t stress enough how important it is to drink water, whether it’s with lemon or not.

It has so many benefits, starting with regulating your body temperature, keeping your skin healthy, and keeping your energy levels high.

Make it a habit to drink a glass of lemon water every morning. If you’re not a big fan of lemons, you can use cucumbers, berries, limes, or even oranges.

And unflavored water works just as well. I’ve just found that drinking naturally flavored water motivates me to drink more, as it tastes better.

Here’s a HUGE motivational water bottle with a time marker to ensure that you drink enough water every day.

You might also like: The one-hour morning routine that will change your life

6. Do some journaling

Journaling is certainly a really good self-love ritual because it has a lot of benefits.

It boosts your mood, keeps your memory sharp, and reduces stress because you’re being mindful and reflecting on your emotions.

Journaling has no rules. Just write whatever comes to your mind. Don’t think about grammar. No one expects you to be Shakespeare.

Journaling is all about personal growth. Here are 160 journal prompts for mental health.

I love journaling in the mornings because, when I’m working on my worries and problems first thing in the morning, I don’t think about them for the rest of the day.

It gives my day a more positive start and gives me overall control over my mindset.

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7. Meditate or practice affirmations

You can meditate at any time, but I’ve found it most effective if I meditate in the morning (and before falling asleep).

Life is stressful, and starting your day with silence helps to keep you grounded. Our minds are clearest in the morning, so it’s much easier to focus as well.

It doesn’t matter how spiritual you are; meditation and practicing affirmations can help anyone.

How to meditate? Choose a place where you won’t be disturbed. Find a soothing exercise that works for you.

I use an app called Calm. I like it because it has breathing techniques, calming exercises, and so on.

Sometimes I like to just sit and think of absolutely nothing as part of my simple morning ritual. It’s also a challenge, as my mind tends to naturally wander everywhere.

There is no right or wrong when it comes to meditating. You can focus on your breathing, repeat self-love affirmations or mantras, or just sit and think of nothing.

The key here is to be mindful and really focus on what you’re doing.

TIP: If you haven’t practiced affirmations before and have no idea where to start, make sure to check out my post about 365 self-love affirmations.

You might also like: Let's talk about why discipline is the highest form of self-love

8. Eat a healthy breakfast

A lot of people skip breakfast. I’m not here to tell you it’s wrong, but I find eating a healthy breakfast a very important part of my morning routine. I just work better when I’m not hungry.

Creating the habit of eating breakfast is something you can actually work on. Start with small steps, such as eating some fruits.

Eventually, you’ll see your natural appetite increase. Besides, eating a proper breakfast means you’ll probably snack less throughout the day.

9. Read something educational

Let’s talk about why you should read if you want to create the best self-love morning routine. Reading something that’s good for your soul is one of the best ways to invest in yourself.

Reading something positive sets a good mood for the entire day. You don’t have to read an entire book.

Just 15–20 minutes of light reading will already have a positive impact. Reading improves your brain function, reduces stress, and increases empathy.

You might also like: Insanely productive things to do when you're bored at home

10. Get some exercise

What should be another important part of your daily self-love routine? Exercising. Get some exercise.

By exercise, I mean nothing vigorous. You can start your day off with stretching, yoga, Pilates, or a morning run.

Whatever suits you best. I usually follow Blogilates’ routines or make something up myself using resistance bands.

Working out in the morning helps to improve your metabolism, gives you that extra boost of energy, and also makes you feel good about yourself.

Here are some very affordable exercise bands that I personally use.

I also really like these pink dumbbells, as pink is my favorite color, and it can be pretty hard to find pink dumbbells, at least where I live.

I’m going to be honest with you. I hate exercising. I do it, but I hate it. For me, that’s certainly the hardest task of the day, and that’s why I try to cross it off my morning list as quickly as possible.

People say you’ll feel good after exercising, but that’s not the case with me. If you have any good tips on how to start loving exercise, let me know in the comments below.

11. Set goals for the day

Setting goals for the day is certainly among the best morning routine habits, because setting goals for the day means setting yourself up for success.

If you don’t set goals, you’ll probably walk around like a headless chicken, trying to do a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

To be honest, I actually set my goals for the day the night before, as I’ve found that works better for me.

What I’ve also suggested before is breaking your goals into smaller steps. I’m going to give you an example.

If my goal is to write a blog post, it seems like a big goal to overcome. At least for me. So I divide this goal into smaller steps.

So it would go like this:

1. Brainstorm blog post ideas
2. Do keyword research
3. Write a blog post
4. Optimize this post for SEO
5. Create pins and find good stock photos
6. Publish

Now it doesn’t seem so scary anymore. All these mini-goals are easy to achieve.

So, what are you waiting for? Grab a pencil and a piece of paper, and start writing!

TIP: Make sure to set SMART goals. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.

You might also like: Habits of very organized people you should consider adopting

12. Eat the frog

Eating the frog means doing the hardest task first. If you’re like me, or like I used to be, you’ll leave the hardest task until the last minute.

So you spend the whole day worrying about this task while doing nothing about it. When the time comes to do it, you tell yourself it’s too late, and you start working on it the next day.

WRONG!

Make it a habit to work on the hardest task first, and you’ll see how your days become less stressful.

It actually motivates you as well, because if you achieve something really big first thing in the morning, you’ll get that sense of achievement, and you’ll see what you’re really capable of.

You might also like: One of my favorite morning ritual ideas, aka my slow morning routine

It’s not that hard to have a self-love morning routine that you’ll love immediately

I love mornings so much! Let me know in the comments below if you have any additional tips for creating the best morning routine. What does your morning self-care routine look like? I would love to know!