Are you thinking about starting a new morning routine?
Or adding something to your current routine?
Or quitting an unhealthy habit that you do first thing every morning (like checking email on your phone in bed)?
Well, I’ve got bad news for you: It’s going to be difficult.
When you wake up in the morning, you’re pretty much on autopilot. From the moment your alarm goes off, your brain engages whatever algorithms you’ve previously installed, causing you to do what you always do.
So how can we fix it? How can we break out of our old ways?
One option is to put visual reminders wherever you go in the morning (the bathroom, the kitchen, etc.) that tell you what to do. I like that option. I think you should definitely do that.
Another thing that helps is making a clear, written plan of action that delineates your new routine. Do this when you map out your day the night before.
Those strategies are good, but I actually want to suggest something else to do as well, something unconventional: changing your alarm sound.
Every habit has a cue that triggers it. The first habit you engage in each morning is cued by the sound of your alarm. So if you want to change that habit, you should change the cue.
Pick a new alarm tone (or a new song, if that’s your style), and the new sound will help break out of your old routine.
Hearing the new alarm will be surprising. For a moment, you’ll be confused. Then you’ll remember that you changed the sound to help you remember that you have a new plan. And then, no longer on autopilot, you’ll be able to choose to start the new routine.
If all goes well, your new routine will become your new morning autopilot around the same time that you get used to the new alarm sound.