The art of living well: Morning segment

 I have observed that the first thing that college students do is go on their phones. From personal experience, I go on my phone first thing in the morning. I check the time and calendar to see if there is anything important coming up in the day. Others may check their phone to talk with their friends and family when away from their homes or simply check social media. Many popular morning routine preachers, tell us to refrain from checking social media because it doesn’t give your brain to form thoughts itself. Instead, social media dictates what you should think first thing in the morning. Is it true? Yes, to some extent. But what if you woke up in a bad mood and seeing a good morning message on social media inspired you to be happy? And what if you woke up in a good mood but saw someone’s vacation pictures on social media? That quickly puts you in a “self-pitying zone” because you believe here you are trying to work hard and this person is vacationing. Seem unfair, right? So are the experts right in saying don’t look at your phone first thing in the morning? The answer is complicated. It all depends on you and how you perceive all these social media posts and glamor. asked my friends in the young adult phase like mine about their morning routines and where their phones fall into place. Their answers varied based on how they felt about the issue. But a majority of them go on their phone and end up having mixed feelings about how they react after checking social media first thing in the morning. I will say, that we human beings are not yet equipped to handle the pressure bestowed by social media. So avoiding this pressure can be good for you. But if you end up being happy after seeing a new place through your friends’ vacation posts or even a sunrise photo then go for it! I also asked my parents (who obviously are way past their young adult phase) about what they do with their phones in the morning. And their reply was simple: they like to go on social media to stay connected with the world around them. It is also good for checking the news. There is no harm in knowing what is going on around you. Yet this introduces the argument: why bother depressing yourself by knowing the news the moment you wake up? I will harp on this point: It is all you! My parents have been reading the news first thing in the morning forever. They don’t seem to have any negative feelings about that. Again, it might not be the same for you. You have to set 10 minutes apart to think whether you like your phones the first thing in the morning. At least through this exercise, you will know yourself better. I sometimes feel that reading people’s morning routines provided a way for me to know what my preferences are. It is good exercise, try it sometimes. 

Another important topic to discuss in the morning routine section is breakfast. We are supposed to have breakfast as a king. But how many of us are guilty of avoiding breakfast simply because there is no time? Or else we end up going to a fast food drive-thru to eat breakfast. Is this a good way to say good morning to ourselves? In this matter, I have strong opinions! We need to make time to eat breakfast. Period. It is a way of warming up our body for a long day of workouts (which comes in the form of work, stress, and daily wear and tear). It gives you a boost of energy to live the rest of your day as a robot (basically modern lifestyle has made us robots, repeating the same mundane routine every single day with no apparent complaints). And please do yourself a favor, and eat an unprocessed breakfast. Not a drive-thru breakfast that won’t do anything good for you. I know I am adhering to what the popular routine magazines are mentioning. What they are saying is true, really. Prepare your breakfast the night before if you don’t have time in the morning. Overnight oats with berries are a good idea. Eggs even. I think I should link a website to help you fill your tummies with something good and healthy. 

 

Link to the article, “25 Best Make-Ahead Breakfast Recipes” by insanelygoodrecipes.com

Even though you do not get to meditate every morning, that is fine. But ensure you get time to eat. You can meditate in the evening if your schedule allows you to unwind in the evening. 

In conclusion to this segment of the blog, I would like to say that in order to live well, you have to assess your preferences, schedule, and priorities to come up with a routine that is nourishing your mind and body. I will provide an example routine for a student in the form of a case study. It is important to assess your preferences and design a morning routine. Try that morning routine for a week and if you don’t like it, switch it up the next week. Here is how you should go about making a morning routine. 

Schedule assessment:

Student A is a night person and loves to study at night. But A has a class in the morning at 9. 

Preference assessment:

Student A likes to go to an Instagram page that posts morning quotes and affirmations. Student A loves those for some morning motivation since A is a night person and finds it difficult to wake up early. 

Breakfast preferences:

Student A loves overnight oatmeal with berries and coffee as morning fuel

Ideal morning routine for student A:

1. Wake up at 7:30 am

2. Go to that Instagram page for morning motivation

3. Write down the most powerful quote of the day in the journal

4. Get ready and assess the to-do list for the day

5. Eat overnight oatmeal with berries along with sipping on some coffee 

6. Attend class

This gives you an idea of how to design your own routine instead of blindly following what those popular tabloids are telling you to do. Through this exercise, you will get the power to take charge of your own life and get out of auto-pilot mode. Hopefully, this inspires you to design your own version of the healthy, morning routine. See you in the next segment of the art of living well: evening routine.