We see the glamorous YouTube Vides sharing the “perfect” morning routine. Only 17 steps to follow and $5,893 worth of products to start your day the perfect way.
Well, if that is what you are looking for, I’m sorry to disappoint, but I don’t think you need a complicated routine. You don’t need a stack of expensive supplements or a 90-minute cold plunge, sweat-filled morning ritual… although feel free to do so if it brings you joy. If we look to science, some of the most powerful things you can do for your mood, your health, and happiness are free, simple, and available right outside your front door.
And, I will even make the argument that these simple and free things will also make you more creative in the long run.
Here are three habits I come back to every single morning and the science that explains why they actually work.
1. Get outside and get some sunlight
This one sounds almost too simple, but research proves it time and time again. According to Cleveland Clinic, sunlight activates a specific part of the brain called the pineal gland, which is connected to the production of serotonin… this sometimes gets called the “feel-good hormone” because of its effect on mood. Getting more of it in the morning helps your brain understand it’s time to be alert, which also sets you up for better sleep that night.
Even 10 to 30 minutes of sun exposure can start to make a difference. I’ve found that, for myself I’ve found working from home running my own business, keeping a consistent wake up time helps me function at my best. I feel good, sleep better, and can be more productive with my time.
For me, getting morning sunshine is mostly a walk around the neighborhood or on days I want to mix things up, I take my rebounder outside. Either way, I’m getting light, breathing fresh air, and starting the day before the day comes rushing at me.
2. Move your body
Here’s something that surprised me when I first read it… the movement you do today directly affects how refreshed and alert you’ll feel when you wake up tomorrow.
A University of California, Berkeley study covered by MSU Health Care, found that physical activity the day prior was one of the key independent factors predicting how alert and refreshed people felt in the morning. When an individual’s physical activity was comparatively greater the day before, people reported feeling more alert the next day. The reason? Exercise increases hormones such as adrenaline that make us alert and moving, and stress is well managed with exercise. What a great reason to make movement a regular habit!
And you really don’t need a lot. Ten minutes counts. A walk counts. Dancing in your kitchen absolutely counts.
If you want a beautiful framework for making this into a daily ritual, pick up The Art of Flaneuring. It’s a gentle invitation to slow down, wander with intention, and let movement become something you actually look forward to. I really enjoy this book!
3. Write down what you’re grateful for.
I use The 5-Minute Gratitude Journal: Give Thanks, Practice Positivity, Find Joy every morning. I really love my gratitude practice each morning.
Harvard Health reports that in positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. It helps people feel more positive emotions, appreciate good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build stronger relationships.
One study asked participants to spend ten weeks writing about things they were thankful for. Those who wrote about gratitude were more optimistic, felt better about their lives, exercised more, and had fewer visits to physicians than those who focused on sources of aggravation. Another researcher found that when participants were assigned to write and personally deliver a letter of gratitude to someone who had never been properly thanked, they immediately exhibited a huge increase in happiness scores. And note that, it had an impact greater than any other positive psychology intervention tested, with benefits lasting for a month.
That’s a powerful five minutes!
I love the 5-Minute Gratitude Journal because the prompts give your brain a direction instead of leaving it to wander back to the to-do list. That said, a plain notebook works beautifully. Your phone notes work. Whatever lowers the friction enough that you’ll actually do it.
Sunlight, movement, gratitude. None of these require a perfect morning or a big block of time. They just require showing up… stepping outside, moving your body a little, writing one true and specific thing you’re thankful for. Small daily habits compound into a life you actually want to be living.
Personally, I am my most creative self when I’m happy, moving my body, and practicing gratitude regularly. What about you?
I hope this inspires you to add one or three of these into your day.
Which of these three do you already have? Which one feels hardest to start? Tell me in the comments. I’d love to hear about it.
Read. Move. Build the habit. Change your life.
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Even though I am 100% a night person, I do enjoy getting out in the sunshine for a little bit in the late afternoon once I get up, or even early evening. When I do get away to Barbadoes, my schedule altered by about an hour or two so that I do get more sunshine.
This may interest you though. I finally after waiting and waiting for the referral to come through, got to see a psychiatrist here in Toronto. I thought it would just be a medication consultation to make sure my family physician was giving me the right meds for my depression, anxiety, and etc. But he had the whole morning set aside for me and it was an intense session, and evaluation. But one of the first things that he said to me, really surprised me. I had told him that I had been taken off my security position because of the last fight and my tendency to resort to force too quickly. I told him though that I was still keeping the same hours, staying up all night and going to bed in the morning sleeping through most of the day. He actually raised his voice in emphasis to say “ that’s good! If you’ve been a night person for the last several years, that is absolutely the healthiest choice“
Movement yeah. Problem is I’m getting up there and consuming more and more pain pills. And if I overdo it one day, I pay for it the next. But if I don’t move around at all and just sit in a chair that doesn’t work either. So I’m not quite sure what to do about that. I just try to mix them up a bit.
Gratitude. I am grateful for the good things I did have in my life, even though they are some years back already, at least I had them, most importantly, my wife, Barbara. I am grateful here in Toronto for at least one good friend whose company I enjoy just on a pure friends level. But although I am grateful for certain things, I tend to focus on the negative. But something the psychiatrist told me last week was it at least I confront my problems. In fact, I pretty much put out a search and destroy mission to deal with them. And once they are gone, I can be grateful for that.
Sorry for the long answer. But I also have to say that I am grateful for you and you’re inspiring pieces. I am not forgetting that I only started a Substack because of you and one of your posts. And now I have my own Substack and will soon be posting another story on it. So thank you very much, and I hope that you and yours are very well.
It’s nice to read morning routine ideas that aren’t about ‘optimising’ ‘productivity’ or ‘self improvement’. But just about gently nourishing our minds and bodies. Thank you