Emails. Text Messages. WhatsApp. Messenger. Viber. Instagram. Facebook. Twitter. LinkedIn. Your morning is off to a scrambling start causing your brain to go into panic mode. And it gets worse from there. Rush to get the kids out the door, rush to get to work, rush through your day. Sit in meetings, check emails, slack. And at the end of the day you wonder why you didn’t get anything done. Meanwhile, your body and your brain are in screaming to you but you can’t hear them. You get home exhausted. No time for yourself again. If you are lucky, you grab dinner to go on the way home and watch TV until you fall asleep. Does this sound like your day? Is this normal? Your body tells you it isn’t but you have disconnected from it a while back. What if there is another way to live life? What if you could turn this around?
I have decided that I longer want to go through my day like this. I needed a change. I needed to clear my head, take care of my mind and body and get focused on my work.
This is where the Unhustle Morning™ comes in. Breathe. You too can do this. It’s not your typical morning routine. Actually, I don’t even like to call it a routine. It’s a loose set of practices that I follow in no certain order.
An Unhustle Morning starts with waking up when our body tells us it’s time. There is no alarm clock. Of course, this is easier if you also went to bed when it got dark outside with no screens in front of you and you slept well.
Go outside for a walk and time with nature. Move slowly. Admire the beautiful sunrise. Listen to the birds chirping. Listen to your breathing. Feel grateful for being outside, for being in nature, for waking up, for the silence, the peace and the quiet.
Take 20 min to move your body with some gentle yoga, QiGong and stretching poses. Breathing in, breathing out. Work out the kinks and feel the energy starting to flow. Now your body wants more. Give it 5 – 10 minutes of high energy workout and get your blood going. A quick HIIT workout with basic moves: squats, jumps, push ups and planks. You body is warm from the yoga and energized from the quick workout. You are bursting with energy.
As you do it, your creativity turns on and you grab your journal. Writing in whatever comes to mind, planning your day. Focus on the three most important projects you are going to do today. No more, only three. I know you have a lot more to do. This is an exercise of simplifying and focusing. When you complete your three things, you’ll feel happy and productive.
It’s still early and no one is awake. Spend 10 min meditating. My favorite ways to meditate are in nature or on the couch. My body needs to feel completely comfortable for my mind to relax.
I make a high performance drink to feed my brain. Sometimes it’s a bulletproof coffee and sometimes a matcha moringa latte. A quick shower finished with 30 sec of cold shower prepares you for the day ahead.
You feel calm, energized, and ready to start your day. This is the Unhustle Morning™. I hope you enjoy these practices and get out of hustle mode at least in the morning.
Notice that looking at your phone is not included or necessary for these practices. I know the minute you take a look at your phone, you will get distracted. It’s impossible not to. Avoid doing it at all costs until you are ready.
This article first appeared on Unhustle.com.