Start Your Day Strong: “10-Minute Power Practice”
I used to start my day in a stressful state. As soon as the alarm went off, I would begrudgingly get out of bed, somehow exhausted even before my feet hit the floor.
My mornings feel and look a lot different these days. I wake up energized, ready to take on the day, and tell myself, “Today is going to be a great day! Let’s crush this.”
This shift of mindset and energy took time to establish, but now it’s routine. I know how to move and fuel my body with food, water, and movement so my body feels good when I go to bed. I get over 7 hours of sleep. And when I wake up, I feel rested and ready to conquer the day.
I have established daily routines that begin immediately so that I can go about my day with a strong mindset, manage stress, and can feel good about what I accomplish. I call it my “10-Minute Power Practice” and I’m sharing it with you here so that you can start to establish a powerful routine in your life.
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“10-Minute Power Practice”:
Find a quiet place, grab a warm cup of coffee or tea, and designate a journal to keep track of this daily morning practice. Note: If you need to wake up earlier because your morning already feels quite full, set your alarm for 10 minutes earlier than normal. That way, you can start to incorporate this routine into your morning. Get out your journal and pen, and write the date at the top of the page. Then, complete a brain dump, followed by listing 3 intentions, and then end by expressing gratitude.
Brain Dump:
Use the first few minutes to write anything that comes to mind. It doesn’t have to make sense. A brain dump allows your mind to wander freely as you write what comes up for you. It can be phrases, words, to-do tasks, you name it. Get it out of your head and release it. Brain dumps are used to free your brain from holding on to these thoughts which takes valuable brain space, lessening anxiety and stress (Wisner, 2023). I personally found that a brain dump routine at the start of my day feels immediately more freeing.
Intentions:
List 3 intentions of the day. These are things you want to focus on during the day so that 1) it gets done, 2) you focus on that intention, and 3) by the end of the day you can feel good about accomplishing whatever that intention is. When life is busy, stressful, chaotic, sometimes we need to take a step back and look at the “big rocks”-- the things you know you need to get done that day. Take a minute or two to think about what yours are. Write them down. Commit to doing them with intention and focus. For example:
Workout
Work meetings
Spend time with my kids
Express Gratitude:
End your 10-Minute Power Practice with listing the things you are grateful for. This list may be as short or as long as you want it to be that morning. Expressing gratitude each day lifts your mood, shifts your thoughts away from negative emotions, gives you an opportunity to focus on good things and people in your life, releases serotonin and dopamine (chemicals in your brain that make you happier), decreases stress, and long-term practices of gratitude can lead to lasting changes in your brain that help you to feel more grateful more often (Brown & Wong, 2017). Plus, research shows it leads to better sleep, improved focus, higher self-esteem, increased patience, and improved relationships (Reid, 2024). With all of these benefits, ending the 10-Minute Power Practice with gratitude will send you off feeling in a happier, more balanced state.
Some individuals will feel a difference right away when they begin to incorporate the “10-Minute Power Practice” into their morning routine. Enjoy those positive vibes!
If you don’t feel anything right away, don’t worry. It may take time. The first few days of doing this, my brain kept telling me: ‘Kristen, this is stupid. Why are you doing this?’ That’s because it was new and my brain didn’t know any better. I was so used to starting the morning as quick as possible in such a hurried state that I had no time to catch my breath as I got myself ready for work and the kids out the door to school. But over time, I started to feel a shift in how this morning practice affected my morning mood. Then, I couldn’t stop.
So I encourage you to try it, and keep going. Do it even if your brain tells you that it’s stupid and that you don’t have time for it. Your future self will thank you for continuing to do it. And you may find that the 10 minutes turns into 5 minutes because it becomes automatic.
Enjoy, my friends! And coffee cheers to you. May your mornings begin to be as strong as your cup of joe!
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Photo credit: Jamie Hagen
