The first thing to say about the ideal morning routine is that it probably doesn’t exist. Yes, endless influencers promise that they have tweaked, tested and fine-tuned the process of revving up for the day, but how history’s most productive people actually get things done is so varied that it’s hard to draw definitive conclusions. Beethoven, reportedly, used to count out exactly 60 beans for his morning cup of coffee, while Victor Hugo downed two raw eggs after reading a daily missive from his mistress. Mark Wahlberg, on the other hand, wakes at 3am for pre-workout prayer, chasing up his gym time with a few holes of golf and a jolt in the cryo chamber before he even thinks about doing any work.
It is clear, though, that having some sort of routine is key: a set of automatic actions that you do every day, to ease you into your responsibilities with a bit of momentum and a fresh frame of mind. And there is some stuff that seems beneficial enough that everyone should be doing a version of it, even if individual methods differ: one person’s meditative bean arithmetic, after all, is another’s mindfulness. But if you want to finesse your routine, the key is to add one change at a time. “When you focus on a single behaviour,” says the behaviour change specialist Dr Heather McKee, “you build confidence through quick wins, and give your brain the clarity and dopamine hit it needs to automate that action. Once that habit feels natural, you free up mental space to layer in the next change.” But what habits should you be building?
Get up, get out
First things first: there’s no single best time to get up. If you have the luxury of picking your own window, it’s probably best to start by roughly working out your chronotype, which boils down to if you feel and perform best earlier in the day, you can probably get away with getting up a bit earlier (if you do your best work at night, of course, it would be ideal to sleep in).
Most adults need between seven and nine hours’ sleep to feel fully functional, and you probably have a good idea of where you fall in that range. In an ideal world, you shouldn’t need an alarm to wake up: if that means going to bed at 10 so you’re feeling fresh by 6am, that’s the way forward.
Ellie Hambly, a clinical psychologist specialising in helping families deal with stress, advises getting outside in the morning light. “This is getting harder with daylight hours reducing, but trying to manage your diary around getting some daylight can make a huge difference in your mood.” Morning exposure to natural sunlight plays a key role in keeping our body clock working properly. It suppresses melatonin, boosts serotonin, gets you ready for the day – and seems to help people sleep better at night. If you have a dog or a running habit, great – but it’s even worth poking your head out of the door while you enjoy your morning coffee. “If you can make the time for a short walk without your phone in the morning, the combination of movement and lack of stimulation can help to activate your brain’s default mode network – the set of brain regions engaged in introspection and daydreaming,” says Hambly. “That can help with creative problem-solving and coming up with new ideas. If you don’t have time for a walk, even taking a shower without a podcast can work.”
Put the kettle on
Recently, it’s become fashionable among self-optimisers to claim that you should wait 60-90 minutes to drink your first coffee to avoid an afternoon crash. This sounds plausible, but a review of studies published in 2024 concluded that there’s no evidence this happens – and caffeine has also been shown to increase exercise performance in a variety of ways, so it’s definitely worth having a coffee if you’re going to work out (giving it 20-30 minutes to let the effects kick in). Otherwise, just do what’s most comfortable for you.
Should you exercise first thing? If you can face it, yes: at least a bit. The best time of day to hit the gym seems to vary depending on your chronotype, specific goals and preferred workout style: morning exercise, for instance, can help with burning fat, and strength-building sessions are also probably slightly better if your aim is muscle. But it’s possible that you can “retrain” your body to work out more effectively at different times of day by doing it consistently (one study on swimmers found that both chronotype and habitual training time are important). However, morning workouts seem to have a host of benefits all of their own, from reducing body fat to improving sleep.
On a more basic note, it’s also just easier to ensure you get your workouts done if you schedule them first thing, with no chance of a random pub invite or work demand getting in the way. If you can’t face a full-on run or dragging the dumbbells out from under the bed, it helps to have a pre-set, full-body routine that’s simple enough to do in your living room while everyone else dashes around eating toast and doing last-minute homework. The “slow” burpee is a winner here: squat down low, put your hands on the floor (between your feet if you can), then step one foot back at a time until you’re in a plank position. Do a press-up if you’ve got it in you, then reverse the whole process to come back to your feet: a handful of these will hit your arms, legs and core while also helping you stretch out stiff joints. Start with five, and work your way up.
Cold comforts
How cold should your morning shower be? Again, this depends on what you’re going for. There is some evidence that hosing yourself down with frosty water in the morning can offer physiological benefits: cold exposure can trigger the release of endorphins and help your parasympathetic nervous system (the restful one) kick in, so even if it doesn’t feel like it in the moment, it’s probably cheering you up. On the flipside, a cold shock is potentially going to jolt you out of any default mode network thinking that’s helping you to solve problems or think creatively. But there’s a best-of-both-worlds approach. “I recommend to my coaching clients that they introduce hot and cold cycling as part of their morning routine for both the physical and mental benefits,” says the wellness expert Tana Hoffman Cook. “For people who are just starting out, even ending your shower with a cold blast can offer health benefits – cold exposure has been linked to increased dopamine levels, making it a powerful addition to anyone’s morning routine when they want to start their day feeling alert, clear-headed and with a mood-boost.”.
Scribble it out
What about journalling, which is frequently recommended? A 2018 review of studies found that writing about stressful or emotional events for a few minutes resulted in improvements in physical and psychological health in non-clinical and clinical populations. “Morning pages”, as they’re sometimes known, can work as a sort of lower-stakes version of that: aiming to fill a page or two with judgment-free scribble (that you’re definitely allowed to throw away afterwards) might help you reorganise your thoughts before you go about your day, or at least get your biggest worries down on paper. If you’re struggling to get anything out, use a prompt as an easy starting point: “What’s the biggest thing I’m worried about?” or “What’s one thing I want to focus on today?” Or you could be more specific with something like: “How am I actually going to get this project done on time?”
Mindfulness on the go
As for meditation, the benefits are well established – they range from reduced anxiety to a boosted immune system – but if your mornings are too chaotic to sit in a quiet space (or plug into an app for 10 minutes), it might be worth starting with something a bit simpler. “I use something called the Ease morning routine to start the day with nervous system regulation rather than jumping straight into hustle mode,” says the wellbeing coach and yoga teacher Chloe Markham. “We begin with an Exhale, or stillness. If I don’t have time to meditate, I’ll use the 4-7-8 breathing technique: breathe in gently through your nose for a count of four, hold for seven, and breathe out through your mouth for eight. Next, we Anchor – this is where we clock in with the way our body feels and maybe set a soft intention for the day.” Spend a second listening to your body, she suggests, and maybe change your goals accordingly. “If you’re feeling energised, great! If not, maybe scale things back a bit. The next step is movement, or Shift – this is about moving our bodies in ways that feel good – and the final step is to Engage in something nourishing: read a line of poetry, sip your tea, write a quick reflection or get through a couple of pages of a book.”
Whether it takes five minutes or 95, she says, “this sort of routine cannot only prepare us for a calmer day, but also can strengthen our nervous system’s ability to self-regulate more quickly. The magic comes from consistency rather than perfection.” And if all that takes too much time, you could try to sneak in a bit of mindfulness while you do the washing-up: in one paper from Florida State University, a group of volunteers who read a text that encouraged them to focus their thoughts on the sensations evoked by the activity they were doing reported increases in elements of “positive affect” (such as inspiration) and decreased nervousness.
“You don’t need a 5am wake-up call or a one-hour ritual to have a ‘good’ morning,” says the yoga teacher Maysun Hassanaly. “What matters is consistency. Think small daily doses of feelgood moments to lift your mood, that are useful and doable. Think of your mornings in three layers: must-do, nice-to-have and optional. On busy days, stick to your must-dos: the simple actions that ground you or energise you. On slower mornings, add a nice-to-have or two. It could be something as small as putting on your favourite song and having a quick dance, walking one extra bus stop, or taking a moment to notice the morning light. Tiny rituals like these help you feel calmer and in control of your day, without sacrificing sleep or overloading your to-do list.” You can’t micromanage everything that’s going to happen for the rest of the day, or everything that’s going on in the world – so for 10 minutes after you wake up, why not just be a bit nicer to yourself?
