4 Steps to Creating Your Day Your Way

The way you start your morning sets the tone for the entire day, especially when focusing on creating your day your way.

No matter what routine you set up for yourself, when you do it consciously and intentionally, you create positive momentum for creating your day.

Think about it this way – compare the days you snooze your alarm… putting you behind before you’ve even begun your day… to the days when you wake up before your alarm, stretch, smile, and jump out of bed in anticipation of creating your day with something exciting happening.

Which kind of day, focused on creating your day, ends up being more productive and more likely to stay on track?

It’s not a matter of what time you get up. It’s a matter of how you get up to face your day and begin creating your day.

Charles Duhigg, in The Power of Habit, talks about keystone habits… those habits that, when you do them, make a huge difference to how your day rolls out.

A consciously constructed morning routine is one of those keystone habits.

For instance, when I wake up, I meditate for 20 to 30 minutes. Then I think about how I want my day to go. I usually move somehow – walking the dog in warmer months, but right now, we have so much snow, we wouldn’t get out of the driveway… so I may dance or use the elliptical machine.

After that, I sit down with my coffee and read for a bit, do some of the NYT games, and warm my brain up before I start my work.

That’s my morning routine. It helps me start my day the right way. I have a better chance of living my best day when I follow my routine.

How can you create your best day?

Step 1: Own Your Wake-Up Routine (No More Rushing!)

Often, this starts the night before. Having a consistent bedtime helps you more easily wake up even without an alarm the next day. I only set an alarm when I have to wake up earlier than my “normal” time.

Here are some ways you can own your wake-up routine:

• Avoid hitting snooze – Snooze-y sleep isn’t good sleep… and waking up groggy affects your energy and decision-making. If you can avoid setting an alarm all together, even better.
• Get sunlight first thing – natural light helps regulate your circadian rhythm and boosts alertness. The farther towards the poles you live, the more difficult that will be to do year-round. In those cases, using a SAD light of some kind can be helpful.
• Hydrate before you caffeinate – drinking water first thing kickstarts metabolism and brain function.

Pro Tip: Use a gentle alarm or habit stacking (e.g., drink water as soon as you turn off your alarm) to make waking up smoother.

Step 2: Move Your Body to Activate Energy

When you wake up, do you instantly feel alert and energetic? Or does it take a bit to shake off the grogginess?

That’s the leftover sleep hormones still in your system.

Moving around helps clear those more quickly. Movement also lowers cortisol levels and increases dopamine and serotonin.

But the biggest benefit of movement in the morning is the boost to your mitochondrial activity… Mitochondria generates your energy for the day. Moving, even light activity, amplifies the effect and gives you even more energy.

So what constitutes movement?

• Stretching or yoga to wake up the body.
• A quick walk or cardio session (like a mini dance party, maybe?) for an energy boost.
• Strength training or resistance exercises like pushups for confidence and resilience.

Even 5-10 minutes can make a huge difference.

Step 3: Create a Morning Ritual That Fuels You

You’ve warmed up your body. Now it’s time to warm up your brain with a ritual that sends signals about your intent to have a great day.

Here are some suggestions for that ritual:

Mindful coffee/teatime – Slow down and enjoy a mindful moment before diving into emails.

Reading or listening to something inspiring – A book, podcast, or learning material to sharpen your mind.

Breathwork or meditation – A quick reset to reduce stress and increase focus.

The key is intentionality — design a morning routine that energizes you, not drains you.

Step 4: Set Clear Intentions for the Day

Look at your schedule for the day. How much time do you have between meetings and other obligations?

Once you know your available time, try some of the methods below to move you toward your goals.

How to win your day:

Journaling and planning: A quick brain dump can help clear mental clutter before diving into work. Get your worries and concerns on the paper and out of your brain. Also make sure to journal about what you’re grateful for too. Then look at your calendar and plan your day.

The MIT Method: Identify the three Most Important Tasks that will create the biggest impact today. Those must be done before you work on anything else.

Time blocking: Assign focused work periods to protect time from distractions. No social media scrolling or checking email during these blocks… just work on those important items.

Final Takeaway: Design Your Own Morning Success Blueprint

Morning habits don’t have to be complicated or time-consuming — small intentional shifts can create massive results.

Action Step: Choose one habit from this list and test it for a week. Notice the difference in your focus, energy, and confidence.

Success starts with the small habits you commit to each morning!

For more tips and tricks to help you stay on track with your goals, subscribe to my free enewsletter here.