I am a big believer in creating an intentional morning routine.  I talk about mine here.  The keyword there is intentional.  Almost all of us have a morning routine.  But often it is unintentional and does not serve us.  Recently I heard author and speaker Jay Shetty talk about the importance of a morning routine, and his idea resonated with me

You need more T.I.M.E. in your morning.

You might be thinking, “No kidding!  Of course, I need more time!  Don’t we all?”  Sure, the concept of getting more minutes and hours in your morning is important.  But more vital is how you use those minutes.  Shetty talks about the T.I.M.E. as what you need to put in your morning to make it more powerful…so you can start your day off the right way.

T = Thankfulness

The T in the T.I.M.E. concept stands for Thankfulness.  Each morning, use a gratitude exercise to reframe your mindset.  I try to do that in the very first 60 seconds of my morning.  It can be a simple but powerful act that can affect your day.  But even if you don’t do it right away, insert some thankfulness in your morning.

I = Insight

The I in T.I.M.E. is for insight.  This is what I like to call “pushing good into my brain.”  What am I going to learn?  What am I going to read or listen to that will give me insight?  For me, this is not what I get (generally) from surfing mindlessly around social media.  In order to find things that will feed my brain, I have to look for it.

M = Meditation

Yes…M stands for Meditation.  This is the one I struggle with the most, but when I do it I feel better.  For me, this is why a routine is so important.  If I don’t make time for meditation, I will not do it.  Even if I only do it for a short window, I find that it helps me deal with stress and improve my cognitive abilities during the day.

E = Exercise

Now it’s time to get your blood pumping.  It’s not just about being more fit (though that is a great benefit).  The reason to get exercise in the morning is to improve your brain function.  When you exercise, you increase blood flow into your brain.  This will improve your ability to think creatively and deal with stress.  And of course, if you do this each day, it will ultimately increase your energy level and improve your mood as well.

So yes, you need more T.I.M.E. in your morning.  Many of us jump out of bed at the last possible second and hurry through this important part of our day.  Then we wonder why our whole day feels hurried and not nearly as productive as we want.

Get up a bit earlier.  Those minutes will help you get more T.I.M.E. in your day…and you will be better for it!

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