My Morning Travel Routine - 10 Things I Do Every Morning While Traveling
Updated: Jul 27, 2022
In this post I'm going to share my daily morning routine.
I tell you 10 things I do every morning, even while traveling.
The whole routine takes about an hour, including a slow coffee in the end.
Of course, what is beneficial differs for everyone, but maybe you can implement some things into your own routine.
Table Of Contents:
1. Waking Up Early
It might seem obvious, but the first step of my morning routine is to wake up early. Important to this step is when and how we go to sleep the day before!
If we come home at 3 am, completely drunk, chances are high, we won't follow through with anything of our morning routine the next day.
So, I try to go to bed early, around 11 pm, put away my phone at least an hour before sleeping and read a little.
When I start to feel tired, I put my book away and mentally let the day pass in review. I think about things I'm grateful for, and then imagine how I'm already excited for the next day. Usually I doze off shortly after that...
Having a small evening routine will enhance the quality of our sleep a lot. Which will determine how refreshed we will feel when we wake up!
2. Writing Down My Dreams
It's no secret that dreams tell a lot about our subconscious. Whatever fears, desires and unprocessed experiences we might hold, it can all come up during our night sleep.
I've been writing down my dreams since almost a year now and it is super fascinating to see how it all adds up to a bigger picture.
If I only look at one dream, it often seems a bit random or odd. I can't really make sense of it. However, if I put this dream in regard to many other dreams, I slowly get the meaning behind it. It is like every dream is a single piece to a giant puzzle. It helps me a lot in understand myself.
Since I remember dreams most vividly right after waking up, I write down some notes on my phone which I later complete. I have an extra "dream document" for this. I don't have dreams every night or at least I can't always remember them, so then I just skip this step.
3. Making My Bed
Short, but effective!
It takes maybe 30 seconds to put my blanket and pillow back into place, but it makes a big difference.
First, it makes me feel organized and in control. Making my bed motivates me to do other things, it gets the ball rolling...
Second, I already look forward to going back to bed in the evening, because it looks nice and tidy.
Third, it is a sign of self-care. I don't make the bed for someone else, I make it for only for myself! The very first thing in the morning I do only for myself. Great!
4. Having A Glass Of Water
After I get up, I head to the kitchen and have a big glass of water.
I used to drink only water. However, depending on the source and quality the water we drink can lack some minerals that are essential for our bodies! Hence I add a quarter of a lime and a tiny bit of sea salt.
I got this tip from entrepreneur and podcaster Aubrey Marcus. In his book Own the Day, Own Your Life he says hydration, light and movement are key for a good morning start. I couldn't agree more.
5. Breath Work
After having my glass of water I usually search for a quiet place. While traveling it can be challenging to find an undisturbed space. In this article I give you some tips how you can find such a spot, even if you're backpacking and stay in busy hostels.
Then I do ten minutes of deep breathing.
There are many different breathing techniques out there. I vary them a little, but my favorite is a really basic one. It's by Wim Hof and contains three rounds of breathing with a 1 - 2 minute breath hold in between.
You can try it by following his free You-Tube video.
For one thing, it helps me a lot to hold my breath longer when I go surfing.
Moreover, by increasing our oxygen intake we can make our blood more alkaline which means the ph-value of our blood increases while acidity decreases.
This can make us more stress resistant and can clean our bodies of toxins. It can even feel like we're in a different state of awareness. If you're interested in the topic, you can read more about it here or in Wim Hof's book The Wim Hof Method.
I've been doing it for more than 2 years on a regular basis and it's really crazy how it frees my mind, sometimes I even feel like flying...
6. Meditation
I'd say meditation is the heart of my routine. After centering myself by breathing, I bring stillness to my mind by meditating. I usually meditate for 10 to 15 minutes.
To be honest, it's not always the experience I'm hoping for. Sometimes I get distracted or can't really focus. That's fine, too.
I've been meditating for about 2 years now - only with a handful of exceptions and I can say I can truly feel a difference.
There are so many benefits from it. I think the biggest for me is that I feel calmer and more relaxed. I feel I got a head start and own the morning instead of getting owned by the rush and stress it can sometimes bring.
7. Cardio or Yoga
After setting my mind straight, it's time to get my body moving.
Usually I do a short high-intensity mini-workout. Two or three minutes are perfectly fine. The goal is not to train our muscles or staying fit. It is simply to get our heart rate up, so our bodies know it's time to wake up and start the day.
Often I do burpees, jumping jacks and high knees, but I vary my exercises a bit.
Sometimes I do a little bit of stretching or yoga instead. It depends on how I feel. While the workout is more like an instant wake-up kick, this is a slower and more gentle start.
8. Cold shower
I finish my body-mind practice by taking a cold shower.
This tip comes again from Wim Hof who advocates - apart from breathing - cold showers which bring several mental and physical health benefits.
Usually I shower first with warm water before I finish with cold water for 30 to 40 seconds. Doing this our bodies are first heated up and can take the cold more easily.
When I'm traveling in warm countries it's not always possible to get a cold shower. If I'm close to an ocean or lake, I go for a swim. If I have a fridge, I sometimes freeze some water and put my hands and feet in a bucket of ice water.
Otherwise I just take a shower with normal temperature. It will still feel refreshing since the outside temperature is quite high.
9. Having A Coffee
I don't necessarily suggest to include that point into your routine. I just describe my routine, completely and unfiltered (or filtered in this case).
If coffee is beneficial for our health or not, is still controversial. I think in moderate quantities it's fine. Anyway, it can't be generalized, some people are more sensitive to caffeine than others.
For me it's kind of a reward for finishing my morning routine. This first sip of coffee in the morning... Tastes like magic to be honest...
10. Writing
Last but not least I do some writing while having my morning coffee.
I wrote down five things I'm grateful for. If we take the time to do this, our focus will shift in no time. Instead of concentrating on lack and things we are missing, we put our energy into things we already have.
After that I write down my goals for the day. This helps me a lot to get clear on what I want to do with these 24 hours I have.
Sometimes I write about other things, how I feel and what I think about certain situations, whatever comes to my mind... Or I read a little instead.
As I mentioned in the beginning, before I drift off to sleep, I think about the day, what I did and what made that day worth living.
Then I wake up to another day...
I hope I could give you a little bit of inspiration for your morning routine, especially while traveling.
Safe travels and enjoy!!
Info: In this post there are some affiliate links which means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.