Mornings are the perfect time to head into life with a fresh start.

A new chance to change directions. A new opportunity to think differently than you did yesterday. It means more room to see life from a different (and more empowering) perspective. A fresh chapter for you to write about where you want to go, who you want to be and how you want to live. A new day to be healthier.

But even though I love the feeling of waking up to a new day, I’m not exactly the biggest fan of the A.M chaos that so many of us don’t have the luxury of avoiding. And as someone who’s more productive after the sun goes down, I tend to work way past midnight, which means that getting a full seven to eight hours of snooze time each night isn’t possible if I also want to get started not-so-bright and super early the next day.

So I’ve decided that I’m OK with not being an early morning person.

But…I still want to make my mornings work for, not against me, so I followed my intuition and simplified, simplified, simplified.

It was also easier than I thought, thanks to the inspiration I got from the following morning routines that I’d discovered during my quest to start my day calm, focused and motivated:

1. De-clutter the night before

2. Put yourself first

3. Keep things simple

4. Edit your life

5. Meditate, hydrate and nourish

6. Slow down. Waaaay down

7. Gratitude, self-care, and intention

It’s so easy to go about my day on autopilot when life gets in the way, I set an intention before I start working or head out the door.

This way, I’ll be less likely to drift aimlessly throughout the day, waste my time scrolling through my social media feeds, eat mindlessly or say “yes” to things when I really mean “no, thanks”.

What’s your morning ritual like?