Your morning routine in the summer still matters

Even if you work over the summer (as I do), there is something about these warm months and the anticipation of fireworks and cookouts that make us all want to slow down a little bit.

Slowing down is good, especially if you are a busy college student. You need that time to recuperate. 

However, most college students have to work and go to school year-round. It can be difficult to find that relaxation time.

And sometimes those who do have that free time in the summer tend to let go completely, causing boredom.

I've struggled with all of the above at some point in my life.

I realized today that I'd let my morning routine go a little bit this June. I had been jumping right into work, letting random things distract and guide my day, and - the cardinal morning sin - checking my e-mail from my phone right after turning off my alarm. 

So this morning I said "Isa, what the heck are you doing? Get back on the metaphorical horse, girl!" (See, not doing your morning routine can make you a little crazy).

My particular routine includes writing in a journal, reading my goals for the year, reading a few pages of the non-fiction book I'm working on while eating breakfast, and going through my to-do list to choose the top three things I need to accomplish that day.

Make your routine your own, and then do it. Every morning. Even in the summer. 

Centering yourself each morning will ensure that you can end the day feeling refreshed and accomplished. 

Don't let your summer slip away. It's still a great time to grow. 

Take my early morning challenge

It's Study Tipping Tuesday, and today I've got a study challenge for you.

Your challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to take your alarm clock, phone alarm, trained pet rooster, bugle player, or whatever else wakes you up...

...and tell it to wake you up at 5:45 AM. 

Crickets. 

You still here? Awesome. Now let's get down to the why. 

Here is why I know this challenge can help you: 

Staying up ridiculously late, having to pull all-nighters, and not experiencing the hours in which the drive-thru still serves breakfast are all propagated as stereotypes of college students.

And while I think its important to have a social life at night (it is part of the college experience) and I understand that work is going to go late at times, extreme late night desperate studying is just not as productive or healthy.   

I never studied later than eight o’clock when I was in college. Even on nights when I had to work. 

Why? Because late at night homework had a lot of competition - sleepiness, social media, fav TV shows, late-night delirium, and friends asking me to hang out. 

You know when you are never going to have to turn down a friend to hang out because you have to study? At 5:45 AM.

You aren’t losing sleep – you are losing distractions.

I think you will be surprised at how energized you will find yourself when you begin to utilize those early morning hours.

And (although your body and mind will have the function of a zombie at first) you can learn to adjust to the early morning routine; you just have to force yourself to make that first step and get your body used to it.


People ask me how I was able to write a book while having a full-time job, speaking, and getting a Master's degree. And I have the same answer every time - I woke up at 5:30 AM almost every morning this past year. Waking up early literally made my dreams possible, and it can make yours possible too. 

There are small steps to take as well:


Eat breakfast. Understand that an early morning might require more sleep at night or a built in nap during the day. Exercise to get your brain moving. 

Don’t just wake up and vegitate for three hours. I’m challenging you to get moving earlier – get up, start your morning routine, and use the extra hours in a valuable way.

Use those morning hours to get your work done – review your notes, work on your homework, write that paper that has been waiting for you. 

Even if your first class is at 8:30 AM, you are giving yourself a few extra hours to get your work done – hours that don’t have to be squeezed in on afternoons when your boss is calling you to come into work or your friends are calling you to hang out. 

And it is amazing how much more ready for the day I am when I wake up that early - it provides the chance to focus on what is really important to you that day. 

When you give yourself a few hours to focus and work in the morning before class, you'll show up to class more engaged and focused, already feeling accomplished, rather than thinking about how much you'd like to go back to sleep. 

So I want you to give it a try. I double-dog dare you ;)


Wake up at 5:45 AM – get some work done, eat some breakfast, exercise, and be ready for your first class.

(And remember, you can always work in a power-nap later in the day if you need to.)

6 quick ways to jumpstart your morning (that actually don’t include a $4 latte ;))

Beep….beep…..beep….beep…..SNOOZE

Beep….beep…..beep….beep…..SNOOZE

Beep….beep…..beep….oh man time to get up….

[rush around half asleep, get dressed, grab books, skip breakfast]

[nodding off in class…]

Does this ever happen to you? 

There are two kinds of people in this world --> Morning people. And people who hate morning people. 

Okay so it is more like a continuum. And I am somewhere in the middle. I definitely do not wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed, and it takes a lot of effort for me not to hit my snooze button over 5 times.

It’s easy to decide whether you are a morning person or not and let it dictate how you start each and every day. Are you grumpy? Sluggish? Dreading the day? Would you rather start your day off happy? Excited? Thrilled even?

About a month ago I realized I was not making the most of my mornings. I was starting off each day sluggish. And I needed a change.

I read two books that helped remind me what it was so important to start my day off right. The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy that I reviewed last Friday, and Stop Saying You’re Fine by Mel Robbins (which I’ll review this Friday).

And changing my morning routine has changed everything. 

If you replace your snooze time with the six things below you too will wake up every morning thrilled to start your day.  You’ll feel excited, ready to take on anything. You’ll have more energy, be more alert and more in tune with how to best spend your time, and take advantage of opportunities that come your way.

Are you ready?

Here they are: 

1. Get up on first alarm

Mel Robbins taught me this concept in her book. She said most of us start every day by hitting the snooze button….which literally means we start every day saying “no – I don’t want to get up…I don’t want to start my day."

That subtle opening attitude is not the best way to begin a day. So she recommends at the first sound of your alarm – stand up! Sound extreme? It felt extreme when I first tried it (especially because my first alarm goes off at 5:30am). But I did it. And it works every time. Just Say No to snooze and start your day up by standing tall.

2. Stretch/exercise

Just because you stand up doesn’t mean you’ll want to stay standing, right? Everything in your brain will tell you to lay back down for “just 5 more minutes.” What has helped me combat this is to go straight to the bathroom, turn on the bright lights, and do 2 quick stretches and 10 standing sit-ups. This gets the blood rushing through the body and it literally feels like a boost of caffeine to my foggy brain. Try it.

3. Read your goals/vision statement

I’ll be talking more about how to set goals and vision statements in my upcoming Overachievers Club newsletter (you can sign up in the box on the top left-hand corner to learn more about how to join).

But for now, be sure to write down your goals (I recommend the SMART method) and print them out and paste them all over your room (good ol’ fashion post-its work great too).

Reading your goals every morning will reinvigorate you. It will remind you what you want to accomplish, what is really important to you, and tune in your brain to notice related opportunities. Focusing on your own life goals each morning will excite you (if it doesn’t than it means you haven’t written down your true goals…the things you really want) and help you see the opportunities throughout your day to help you reach your goals -- opportunities you would otherwise miss if you weren’t focused.

4. Journal/prayer/meditation

Take a few minutes to reflect each morning. Choose something that works best for you and take that time to remind yourself of what is truly important and express gratitude for what you have in your life right now.

5. Nutritious breakfast

Find something that you really like, that’s easy to make, and that has nutritional value. This will help boost your energy and get you ready for the day. I’m not a big breakfast person so what has helped me is buying one of those individual-cup blenders (kind of like the magic bullet) and making quick healthy breakfast smoothies. (My current fav: 1 banana, 3 cups unsweetened almond milk, 1 tsp fiber, and 1 tsp vanilla spiru-tein powder, ice.)

6. Set your priorities and do one big, ugly task

Have a to do list that you review every morning. I like keeping mine in a Google document so I can access it anywhere, on any computer. Do not overload your to do lists because it just doesn’t work. I have a “Today” category that is all I need to focus on each day; I never put more than 3 things on that list. 

Every morning, decide on what those 2-3 priorities will be on your "Today" list. Do not write down more than 3, and make sure they represent the most important things you need to accomplish in that particular day. Then do whatever you can to start working on the top priority that morning.

Starting your mornings off this way will change the way you feel about each day. You will feel more positive. And something else really interesting happens when you focus your mornings on yourself, your goals, and what you want out of life. Things start happening. It feels like magic. But what it really is, is you deciding what you want, deciding to work hard to get it, and starting off every morning with a positive, hopeful, and ready attitude. 

It’s not always easy. But I promise you – it’s always worth it.

So next time you hear that Beep….Beep….Beep….Beep….let it be a reminder that you have the privilege of waking up to enjoy another day, and kick that two-faced snooze button to the curb ;)