Start Your Day with Intention With the Right Morning Routine

May 14th, 2025

Morning Routines for a Soul Glow Up: How to Start Your Day with Intention

How do you start your day? Do you need that precious cup of coffee? Perhaps you have a skin ritual that helps you perk up. Maybe you listen to your favorite playlist. How you start your day sets the tone for the rest of the day. If you don’t love your morning routine, then you aren’t setting yourself up for a glow-up. Start your day with intention by following a mindful routine.

Mindful Awakening

Nothing is worse than suddenly jerking awake as you realize you’re running late. Your day is now off to a rough start. It’s time to change that and start your day with intention. Mindful awakening is the first step. Wake up peacefully and with the purpose of setting the right tone for the rest of your day. Go to bed the night before at a reasonable time to get enough sleep. Take three deep breaths after you wake up and before you get out of bed. You probably have your phone on silent while sleeping; keep it that way for another 10 minutes after waking. Those texts, emails, and calls will still be there in 10 minutes. It’ll be harder to focus on yourself once you start allowing outside influences in. Wake up your body and mind by doing gentle stretches in bed.

Journaling for Emotional Clarity

Before focusing on making decisions and conquering the day, take a moment for yourself. Keeping a journal can help you release the mental clutter you may be harboring from the day before. Writing out your thoughts, feelings, or goals helps you sort through your emotions. As you write, you’ll gain self-awareness and emotional balance. Journaling each day ensures your thoughts on recent events are fresh. In time, you’ll find greater mental clarity and an increased ability to focus on what truly matters.

Some people appreciate doing things old-school with a physical journal and a pen. Others prefer technology and can journal by typing in a document on their laptop. Whatever method you choose, it needs to work for you. Your thoughts need to flow freely, and you need to feel comfortable being open and honest with yourself. Each morning, start journaling by writing three things you are grateful for. Then, brain dump everything that’s on your mind. Write out any thoughts, worries, and fears that linger from the previous day. Finish by writing down positive affirmations that reinforce your worth and power.

Nourishing Your Body with Hydration

Water is essential for life. You aren’t at your best when you are dehydrated. Fuel your body for a fresh start to the day by drinking water first thing in the morning. Your body will thank you with increased mental clarity, better digestion, and more! You don’t need to go crazy; just keep a glass of water on your nightstand and drink it before getting up. Add lemon, a pinch of sea salt, or herbs to get an extra boost of benefits. Make the experience more enjoyable by using a fun water bottle or a fancy glass. It turns drinking water into a self-care experience instead of a chore.

Grounding with Meditation or Prayer

Stay grounded by connecting with your inner wisdom. This can look a little different for everyone. Taking a moment to connect forces you to be physically and mentally still. You’ll align your mental and physical energy before facing the day’s challenges. It’s also a good way to reduce your stress levels. So, how do you connect to your inner strength and wisdom? Take five minutes in the morning to physically not move. During those minutes, you can meditate, do breathing techniques, or say a short prayer. Whatever you connect with. To make the most of your grounding, turn it into an experience. Light a candle or burn incense.

Curating Your Morning Soundtrack

Music can have a significant impact on your mood. The right music can set the tone for your day by uplifting your mood. Create a playlist of the music you love and find uplifting and motivating. Play your playlist while getting ready in the morning. If music isn’t your favorite, try a podcast on motivation and growth. You could have different playlists, each with a different type of music, to help your mindset for the day. Stay relaxed and calm with some lo-fi or classical. Lean into your introspective or reflective mindset with indie, blues, or soul music. Feel confident and empowered with rock, EDM, or R&B. Stay focused with instrumental jazz, ambient, or deep house music. Be your own hype man by listening to pop or funk.

Dressing with Intention

When you feel good about yourself, you project self-confidence. Show pride in yourself by dressing with intention. You don’t have to give up your sweats and yoga pants; they just have their place, and it isn’t as your daily attire. Express yourself with well-fitting clothing that showcases who you are, your style, and your taste. Choose outfits that reflect how you feel or want to feel. Accessorizing completes your outfit and can give it a touch of elegance or luxury. When you’re dressed, stand in front of the mirror and state positive affirmations. Some of these can work:

I am radiant
I am powerful
I am ready for the day

Practicing Self-Compassion

The world is tough enough on you; don’t pile on by being tough on yourself. Before you head out into the world, be kind to yourself. Nurturing yourself helps increase your resilience and confidence. That way, you are stronger when you face challenges during the day. To practice self-compassion, place your hand over your heart and take a deep breath. State out loud positive affirmations. Try looking at yourself in the mirror and smiling. Don’t fake it or phone it in on this one. Give yourself a genuine, honest smile that reaches your eyes. Decide to embrace whatever the day brings you. Actively release yourself from self-judgment. What happened yesterday is over, and today is a fresh start to do things with purpose.