4 easy ways to make your morning the best part of your day

Welcome to Well+Good’s (Re)New Year—a five-week expert-led program that’s all about helping you have your best year yet. For Week Four, we’ve brought on Nitika Chopra—‎talk show host, self-love guru, and beauty and lifestyle expert. Throughout the week, she’ll be sharing her tips for making self care a priority and giving your beauty routine the clean makeover it deserves.

How did you feel when you woke up this morning?

If you stretched in happiness while birds chirped outside of your window—can I move in? If you’re more like the rest of us, you probably groggily opened one eye while searching for your snooze button…only to eventually have to get up, put on your best workleisure, and rush out the door.

So ladies, your challenge this week—and hopefully this year—is to reclaim your morning routine. Instead of trudging through the motions, I want to help you create rituals that not only make you feel good for the rest of the day, but also make you look forward to waking up every day. (It can happen, I promise!)

I’m going to share with you a four-step process that has helped me relish my morning time and establish a positive outlook on each day—for a mindset can withstand even your toughest commute.

Ready to take on your morning in style?

Here are four ways to turn your morning routine into a ritual—show me how you make this (Re)New Year challenge a reality by posting your progress via #iamwellandgood.

1. Put on a song that brings you joy

Music is such a powerful tool for jumpstarting your morning on the right foot. While some people prefer to set their favorite song as their alarm, that can sometimes turn a favorite song into a not-so-pleasant wake-up call—literally. Once you’re bright-eyed and awake, queue up a playlist that lightens your mood and maybe even gets your blood flowing. (Dance party, anyone?)

Need somewhere to start? I’m loving the song “I Am Light” by India Arie right now, and listen to it as I get ready every morning.

2. Drink a warming beverage

I love spending quality time sipping a deliciously warm drink—especially in the winter. A cup of mint tea is my personal favorite right now—the sharp spearmint wakes up my senses and warms up my body—but you can have any kind of tea or coffee. (Bonus points if you enjoy in bed!)

3. Scrub off your night of rest

After a long night of sleep (you’re getting at least seven hours, right?), I love to get a great scrub and gently exfoliate any dead skin cells that accumulated overnight. Right now I’m reaching for Naturopathica’s Oat Face Polish to give my complexion a fresh, new feeling.

4. Set a scent-sational intention

Once I’m awake, my skin is renewed, and I’m ready to head out, I like to use a perfumed essential oil as a fragrant reminder of the rejuvenating morning I experienced. This isn’t just a spritz and out the door—think of this as a spa-like ritual to show gratitude to your body and your morning. I like to use Tata Harper Love Potion to wrap myself in some high vibes first thing in  the a.m.

The (Re)New Year series is not a “New Year, New You” program. (We think you’re pretty great as is!) Instead, we tapped the biggest and best influencers across the wellness space to help kick off the New Year in the best possible way. Between heart-racing workouts, DIY beauty recipes, and killer confidence advice, get ready to have your happiest and healthiest year yet.