Starting your morning with a half marathon and an entire self-help novel sounds good in theory, but who has time for that? We're strong believers that a solid pre-work routine doesn’t have to involve a punishing 4am start and 500 sit-ups.
To show the Mark Wahlbergs of the world that there are easier ways to kick off your day, we teamed up with Sustainability Victoria to share our top tips for finding a more sustainable morning ritual. With a couple of simple planet-friendly steps, you'll be rolling into that 9am meeting feeling good about yourself—and your impact on the environment.
Grab A Coffee In A Reusable Cup
No daily ritual in Melbourne would be complete without a morning brew, but the single-use cups for your daily long black can't be recycled at home or in public as they have a plastic liner. The number of coffee cups and lids used annually in Victoria could fill a whopping 203 trams—so whipping out your reusable cup is a surefire way to keep that caffeine habit eco-friendly. Keep it in your bag or by the door with your keys—the key to nailing a new habit is to pair it with an old one.
Another way to lock in those new habits is, of course, the lure of an incentive. Luckily, some of our favourite Melbourne cafes offer up to a 50c discount when you use a reusable cup.
For a winning caffeine fix take a wander through the back streets of Collingwood—home to many hidden gems and a banging local spot that was visited by none other than Kourtney Kardashian.
Get Moving
Hitting snooze feels great, but we guarantee kicking off the day with a bit of morning movement feels a whole lot better. From waking us up faster to improving focus, boosting energy and kickstarting your metabolism—nothing beats an AM session to kick-start a solid morning routine.
Morning movement for you could mean joining a community run club and meeting new mates, an elevated yoga flow, a stroll around a local park—with a takeaway coffee in your reusable cup, of course—or a quick stretch on the living room floor. To really dial up the brownie points with Mother Nature, get outside and give plogging a go—a social movement which combines your daily jog with picking up litter.
Ditch The Screen Time For Green Time
The urge to get scrolling as soon as your eyes snap open can feel impossible to resist—think of all that fresh content that dropped during your eight hours of shuteye.
But holding off from hitting the screen first thing sets a great precedent for the day—and helps you use your device more intentionally. A winning sub for the morning doom scroll is 10 minutes of journalling, giving your indoor plants some love, a quick guided meditation, or reading a few pages of that best-seller that's been gathering dust on your nightstand.
Prep Your Lunch
Setting yourself up for a solid day means prepping a good lunch—a balanced meal will help fight off those arvo sweet treat cravings and stave off brain and body slump.
Use up those leftovers or brainstorm a couple of killer recipes on a Sunday, then prep and box 'em up each morning, so you'll have something nutritious to dig into come midday. Pre-packing your lunch in a reusable container is also an easy way to use up older fridge ingredients that need to be eaten—and stops you from piling up the single-use takeaway containers.
Switch Up Your Commute
It's easy to start feeling bogged down in your routines, but a quick way to freshen things up is changing the way you get to work. Take a different route or add a leg of walking to your journey—switching out packed trains or roads for tranquil gardens. If your office is a trek, jogging your way into work or exploring Melbourne's cycling paths is a winning way to lighten that eco-footprint.
Ditch the beats and add in a touch of meditation too—you'll find your phone's app store full of short and sweet guided meditations. Even 10 minutes of slowed breathing can get you grounded and ready to tackle the rest of the day.
Amp Up The Kindness
Along with knocking back water and saying no to that glass of red, there are many things we could do better—kindness being one. Doing something small for someone else will get the good vibes flowing and create a knock-on effect; like grabbing an extra reusable cup and shouting a colleague a coffee, or walking your neighbour's dog.
Extend that goodwill to yourself and pick up a gratitude journal—pencilling in a few things you're grateful for each morning can help you take five and get those worries in perspective.
Sticking to just a couple of these smaller daily rituals might help you keep that morning routine going for longer than a week. And for those harder days when hitting the snooze can't be avoided or you can't stop scrolling, do us a favour and at least get that morning takeaway coffee in a reusable cup.
Editor’s note: This article was produced in partnership with Sustainability Victoria and proudly endorsed by Urban List. Thank you for supporting the partners who make Urban List possible. To read our editorial policy, click here.