Erica: Hey, girl. By now, you know I have Her Collective, my online community for ambitious women who are done doing it alone. Her Collective is for the women who are smart, capable, and driven, but they find themselves stuck on the sticky floors like self doubt, burnout, and waiting for permission that quite honestly never comes. Inside HER, you get more than motivation. You get real support, real strategies, and real momentum.

Erica: We work on things like clarifying what you want now and what's coming next, building confidence without burning yourself out, navigating hard conversations, career moves, and leadership moments with clarity, and surrounding yourself with women who actually get it. This isn't about hustling harder. It's about moving intentionally with the right tools and the right people in your corner. If you're ready to stop spinning, start choosing yourself, and build a career in life that actually feels aligned, I'd love to welcome you inside her collective. You can learn more and join us at www.joinhercollective.com.

Erica: Because honestly, girl, you were never meant to do this alone. What is your morning routine, and does it set you up for success? Today, I wanna talk about setting the perfect morning routine. You see, as we get closer and closer to 2024 and all these new year, new me resolutions go around, I want to make sure that you have everything you need to get after that new me in 2024. And I'm here to tell you, it starts with your morning routine.

Erica: So today, we're gonna talk about why this morning routine thing is so important for setting up not just your day, but your whole life. So let's chat about our morning routines. Do you have one that is gonna set you up for success, or do you immediately reach for your phone, scroll through Facebook? That's gonna trigger FOMO.

Erica: Or maybe you check your emails and that's gonna trigger anxiety about the workday and just all of the emails that came through after you logged off at night. And y'all, here's why I need you to stop picking up your phone. When you do this, when you start scrolling through Facebook, you start looking at your emails, your calendar, it sets your mindset for the rest of the day. So you are kicking off already with feelings of anxiety, with worry, with stress, and y'all don't need to be doing that. Now I don't want you to tell me that your phone is your alarm and so you just can't help but you start scrolling.

Erica: That's fine if it's your alarm. If you can use it for the alarm and only the alarm and turn it off and leave that phone alone, go for it. But if you cannot, I'm gonna need you to go to Target. I'm gonna need you to pick up a cheap alarm clock, one of those super horrific ones, because you do not need to start the day with scrolling through your phone. So let's get to it.

Erica: Every day, I have the same morning routine. I wake up. I head out to my living room. Because it is the Christmas holiday times right now and it's cold, I turn on the fire. I light my Christmas tree up, and I sit on my couch with my dog, Kit Kat, where I keep my books.

Erica: I make sure I have my glass of water, and I love on my little bird doodle for about five minutes because who doesn't love some doggy snuggles? And then I just quietly read my book for maybe about ten to fifteen minutes. It's not a long time, but I read a little bit. And then I pick up my notebook and I do what I just call my brain dump. I start writing down all of the things that I know I have to do that are on my mind that might keep me distracted if I don't write them down and just put it all out there.

Erica: Those are kind of like the non negotiable things. And if I need to, I'll also add them to the notes app in my phone. So I make it a checklist so I can cross them off as I go. But after that, I've woken up a little bit, ready to get the brain going a little bit more. I usually do a little bit of my social media management.

Erica: So I make sure I engage on LinkedIn, I check out any messages I may have from y'all, and then I do a bit of content creation. And this works for me. I wanna stress that. I am naturally a morning person. I wake up and I'm ready to go.

Erica: This is when I'm most productive. It's when I'm most creative. My kids are still asleep, so I do get right into it, but that's what works for me. I want to make sure that you guys do what works for you. So if you're not a super morning person or you need more time, please take it.

Erica: It really doesn't matter what time you get up and get going. Just make sure that you stay focused. Now after that, I will get my exercise clothes on. I'll feed the dog, take her for a walk. I'll get back in the house.

Erica: Usually, the kids are up and moving by then, so I will get them started on all the things like getting dressed, eating, schoolwork, and I get my movement in. Now sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. And I share this with you because I don't want to pretend like I have a perfect morning routine every day. I do not. Sometimes the kids can't find their shoes.

Erica: Sometimes they're crying about breakfast. Who knows what's going on. Maybe I read for too long or I sleep in just a teeny bit more, but whatever it is, I get them out the door, I get them to school, and then I come home and I start my day. And it's pretty much that same thing over and over.

Erica: I do give myself the flexibility. I want to make sure that you give yourself that flexibility because that's life and it happens. Now, why is this important? Because when you get up and you start your day, it's all about setting the tone for success. What makes the morning so critical is that it is providing a structure from the jump so that you are already reducing the decision fatigue and that leaves you more energized as you go throughout the day.

Erica: Now if you're not familiar with decision fatigue, it's the reason why Steve Jobs always wore his famous black turtleneck, but it is when the quality of your decisions deteriorate over time. So as the day goes on, you have to make more and more decisions. And they're not always big decisions. They're little decisions. What are you gonna wear?

Erica: What are you gonna eat for breakfast? What do you wanna pack your kids for lunches? And on and on and on. There are so many decisions y'all that we make before breakfast, and your mind gets exhausted by all of these daily decisions. So the more that you can streamline your regular routines, you get up, you get your water, you get your coffee, you read your book, whatever it is, the less fatigue you experience.

Erica: Now, here's the deal. Y'all already know that our habits shape our lives. The micro habits we have, those tiny steps we take each day, those are the things that pave the way for significant change. You do not become a runner by waking up and running a marathon. No.

Erica: You become a runner literally one step, one mile at a time. So each tiny micro habit that you set up in the morning, from hydrating to reading to journaling and breath work, whatever it is that works for you, those are the things that will set you up for success. You cannot change the big things if you cannot change the small things. I'm gonna say it again. You cannot change the big things if you cannot change the small things.

Erica: Now I think it's super important to balance the morning routine with a little bit of self care and a little bit of productivity. So for me, it's the reading followed by the content creation. And I like doing this because, number one, everyone needs a little me time. I have to fill my cup first. But then I do something productive to get some things done.

Erica: And this is huge because no matter how the day goes, no matter what happens or what obstacles come up, I have accomplished something. If I accomplish nothing else, I can sit there and say, I did read. I took care of me. And you know what? I did get something done.

Erica: Now that is the secret to success in your whole entire life. Because when you do show up and you change the little things, the big things start to change. And when you show up consistently day in and day out for yourself nailing that morning routine, you are taking a moment to say, I prioritize me. I am important. I take care of me.

Erica: And here's the thing y'all, micro habits, they may be small, but their impact is monumental. This really is about the ripple effect of a positive morning routine on the rest of the day. So here's what I want you to do. Super simple. And I want you to put this into practice.

Erica: Doing this one thing, it's gonna get you out there on the right foot and set up for success. I want you to take a moment and think about what you want your morning routine to be. And I want you to be realistic. If you are not a morning person, you don't have to wake up at five a.m. to be productive, to be successful.

Erica: I just want you to think about how do you want your routine to look. And I want you to pick one thing, just one. Maybe it's journaling, maybe it's a five minute meditation, maybe an early morning walk, or just drinking water in the morning before you drink coffee. Whatever it is, make yourself a promise. And now here's the tough part.

Erica: I actually want you to keep that promise. Getting a habit of consistency is the key to changing your life. The first decision that you make in the day, was it to hit the snooze? Was it to scroll TikTok? You did not keep that promise then, and I get it.

Erica: We've all done that. The cozy warm covers, especially December, we just wanna go back under the covers. But I want you to think about that promise, and I want you to honor that promise. Remember, your morning routine is your daily act of self love. It's your secret weapon to changing your life and for monumental success.

Erica: Start small. Really, just start small. But I want you to build intentionally, and then I want you to watch how your life transforms. Now as the saying goes, you win the morning, you win the day. Now I hope you enjoyed our journey into the perfect morning routine and micro habits.

Erica: Do not forget to rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast as it truly lands in the hands of the person who just might need the push to start their perfect morning routine today. Now until next time, friend, harness the power of your morning, embrace your micro habits, and you know what? Keep busting ceilings.