This post will be constantly updated with my favorite tools and books as I read them so bookmark this page!

Books

Rich as F*ck by Amanda Frances

I love Amanda and her no BS attitude. She is direct and inspirational and helps you overcome so many things with her journal prompts. She is know for her course the money mentality makeover but if you are looking for a quick way to help shift your attitude towards money and step into abundance this is it!

Atomic Habits by James Clear

If there is one book I could tell you is a must read in your lifetime it is this book. I seriously do not think that there is one book that has made more of an impact in my life than Atomic Habits. James Clear spent years and years studying habits and efficiency. I read and re-read this book year after year to help keep me on track and every time I discover something new. Do not miss out on this one and buy a copy for your friends who are into this kind of thing.

Tools

5 Minute Journal

If you are new to journaling or don’t know where to start this is the perfect thing for you. The 5 Minute Journal gives you the same format every day but has different quotes and weekly challenges for you at the top. It helps make the practice of gratitude and journaling mindless and un-intimidating. I really think this is a must have and I will be repurchasing! I use this every morning as a part of my morning routine!

A Cute Blank Journal

Science has proven having cute things makes you want to use them more. Don’t quote me on that but like I feel like that has to be true. So get yourself a cute journal that will look cute on your nightstand so that you wont put it away and forget about it. I love going through the journal section at Target or Homegoods / TJ Maxx. Try out my best tips for new journalers here!

The post Being the Better You: My Favorite Books & Tools for Self Improvement appeared first on Alex Schin.

I started journaling by deciding I wouldn’t read back my writing until I was ready. I may never be ready or maybe tomorrow I will decide to read back what I wrote but I made that promise to myself so that I would at least do it. So many of the most successful people journal so it was at least worth a shot, right?

So how did I get started? Well I snagged a few journals and self help-ish type books (my favorite journaling and self help resources are here!) and decided to go for it as part of my morning routine (check out how I slowly but surely built a morning routine here!) So where do you start?

Tip 1: Start with Gratitudes

The simplest place to start with the biggest return on investment is gratitudes. So I started writing down my gratitudes. First I just wrote a few in my journal but then I started the practice of using the 5 Minute Journal. It is simple. concise, and truly everyone has time for 5 minutes (or less). For the rest of my favorite self improvement books and tools check out this post!

Tip 2: Stream of Consciousness

Usually what I am writing is a stream of consciousness. If I am journaling in the morning I usually write down a stream of consciousness of what kept me up the night before OR what I woke up thinking about. Because I know there is a high chance that thing is going to stay in the forefront of my mind until I address it. So I write it all out, trying to get my hand to keep up with my brain until I feel like it is all out there. I dont try to solve it. I dont try to fix it. I just write it all down. It is honestly a major release.

Tip 3: Who do you want to be?

One of my favorite things to do is sort of a stream of consciousness but it is from the perspective of who I want to be – 1 year from now 10 years from now, whatever I am feeling. So I write down where I am, what I am feeling, wearing, cooking, smelling, what I accomplished. Everything down to the nitty gritty details. I love doing this first thing in the morning. I find that I work harder, eat better, workout more, achieve more when I do this. Because I am making it so abundantly clear to myself who I want to be and I know the actions & mindset of that day have an affect on who that person is.

Tip 4: Stack the habit into something you love

Part of why I didn’t journal for so long was because it made me feel so uncomfortable. So to ease the pain I built it into a habit I love and already did. So I do my journaling in bed with a cup of coffee to wake myself up in the morning & set my intentions. I love my morning cup of coffee and cherish the time so journaling feels so much better alongside that part of my morning routine.

The post How I Turned My Fear of Journaling into a Life-Changing Daily Habit: Top 4 Tips for New Journalers appeared first on Alex Schin.

I have truly never been a morning person. This is a little embarrassing but my parents woke me up every morning til I graduated high school because I could not be trusted to wake up on my own. But this year I have really been focusing on how I can be more intentional with my life to be the most effective, best version of me because ya girl have a lot of goals she wants to achieve this year! Part of that was not just waking up, rushing to pour a cup of coffee and get to my closet office to start work on time. So using the techniques I learned from Atomic Habits (which if you have not read and you dont even know where to start to get your life together – you MUST read!!).

Here is the thing (you may have heard it before): Rome wasnt built in a day. Well – neither is a morning routine. 99% of us wont wake up one morning with a fully formed morning routine full of journaling, meditating, lemon water, coffee, exercise, a smoothie, and all the fixins’. But every 4 days we can add another habit and then another and another until we have a full morning routine.

Now listen – this is what I like to do. Maybe you prefer tea. Maybe you don’t love journaling and you would rather read (though journaling has really been transformative for me and I used to find it incredibly embarrassing and unattainable – but thats another blog post). Adjust accordingly! Im not here to tell you how to live your life but I would love to give you access to a little habit building routine to hopefully better your life.

OKAY now to the good stuff…

Here is what we are going to do. Every 4 days we are going to add a small little habit to stack on top of one another that will ultimately help us to develop a full well rounded morning routine.

Days 1-4: Set coffee pot to brew with your alarm. Wake up with your alarm (no snoozing if you can!). Write down 3 Gratitudes.

I love that in our little loft I can smell the coffee brewing and it motivates me to get out of bed and grab a cup to bring back to bed while I journal. It helps me not to snooze & helps me to set my intentions to wake up by setting up the coffee pot the night before. Here is the coffee pot that we have! I also use the 5 minute journal for my gratitudes!

Days 5-8: Add one page of stream on consciousness journaling.

I used to be mortified to read back my journals and what I wrote so I would never do it. But the practice of journaling has been such a great way for me to keep myself on track and focus on what I am working towards. Check out my top 3 journaling tips for new journalers on the blog for some prompts & what my morning journaling looks like!

Days 9-12: Add 15 minutes of movement!

We have the Peloton and absolutely love it. If you aren’t ready to bite the bullet on the physical bike I would highly recommend still using the Peloton app – they have the best instructors and you can filter down their workouts by type of music, length, target area, etc. If you don’t know where to start with your fitness look up a 15 minute yoga flow or go for a little walk around the block to get some fresh air! If you’re worried about how you look throw on some sunglasses and no one will know the difference!

Days 13-16: Add 15 more minutes of movement (total 30 minutes)

Almost every morning I am on the treadmill in our building doing a 12-30-3 (12 incline, 30 minutes, 3 speed). It warms up my body and wakes me up. My body responds really well to fasted cardio and so getting this in first thing is so good for me!

Days 17-20: Up your journaling to 2 pages OR keep it to one pages & red or meditate.

Some of you might feel tapped out at 1 page of journaling so feel free to add a few pages of a self help book (here are some of my favorite life-changing books!). Or listen to some guided meditations – also available on the Peloton app but I also love meditations from Amanda Frances!

Days 21-24: Add a Fab 4 Smoothie

Fab 4 Smoothies are a token of Kelly Leveque’s nutrition practices and they have made a world of difference for me. Protein + greens + fat + fiber make up a perfect meal. I personally use and love this paleo protein that is gluten and dairy free and leaves me with no bloat. I use the chocolate almost every morning with almond milk, spinach, 1/3 banana, chia seeds, and peanut butter!

Days 25-28: Keep it up, friend!

You’re doing great! Now that you have stacked all these habits you have a fully formed morning routine! Add and subtract as you figure out what works best for you!

The post How to Build Your Best Morning Routine in 28 Days appeared first on Alex Schin.