Own Your Morning: Reset Your Routine To Unlock Your Potential

by Liz Baker Plosser

“Own Your Morning will guide you to create personalized daily rituals that center you, energize you, and give you the power to fully show up for your day.” —Jay Shetty, #1 New York Times best-selling author of Think Like a Monk and host of the On Purpose podcastRise and truly shine with a life-changing new morning routine. Find clarity and happiness with this start-your-day plan that prioritizes your wellness and life goals. Good days start with good mornings and Editor-in-Chief of Women’s Health Liz Baker Plosser believes there's no cookie cutter morning ritual that will lead you to success. Instead she advocates that your a.m. routine should reflect what matters most to you. Own Your Morning starts with easy prompts to help you identify your core values—the way you want to spend your energy, time, and resources. Once you've figured out the elements of your personal perfect morning, you'll find proven insights from wellness experts and personal anecdotes from Liz to help you reimagine your a.m. habits to benefit your physical and mental health, focus your energy, enhance your productivity, and make the most of your day from the moment you wake up. Whether you want to amp up a killer workout (sweat changes everything!), tap into the power of meditation (Jay Shetty shares his go-to meditation practice), create mini-moments of connectivity with loved ones (such as creating emoji shorthand in your group chat), or fuel your a.m. awesomeness with a healthy breakfast (including a few recipes!), these easy-to-implement strategies will help you set a morning routine unique to you.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Health, Adult, Productivity, Personal Development

144 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 7, 2021

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking for some inspiration to “own my morning” and use the time well before work. This book just felt like a magazine article. There were some little tidbits here and there that felt helpful, but overall the book just felt insubstantial. It would have benefitted from a list of core values to consider, some space within the book to journal, some prompts to really map out an ideal morning with blocked out time, and to set some goals.

[Ava Goodale · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not helpful

Sadly, I didn’t pick up any new tips or ideas here. There are a lot of space fillers in this book. The obvious is covered and many missed opportunities to share tips that would be helpful. This would be a “talks the most, says the least” award for me. Very disappointing!

[Melisa Nelson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping for some good insight and I did not get it with this book. The short hand, abbreviations and “girlfriend” tone of this was very irritating. It’s not hard to spell out “in real life” or “margarita “. I wanted to get some good insight and not read a 200 page Women’s Health article. Skip it and read My Morning Routine instead.

[Bridget · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you happen to have three spare hours in the morning and don‘t know how to fill them, this book gives you some ideas. But it won‘t show you how to actually organize yourself to get up at 5 am without skimping on sleep.

[Meghan Lyons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, quick read for those of us that need a little kick in the rear to claim back our mornings. The eye candy (pretty pictures and bright graphics) in this book make this feel more like a magazine, and I chose to read it as such - a couple chapters at a time, spaced out over two weeks. (You could easily blow through it in two hours)

Now let’s see if I actually ACT on my mornings! 😆

[Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Felt like a weak compilation of magazine articles written by folks who own or run successful companies. Was hoping for real practical advice from people who might not love getting up for the daily grind.

[Akhilesh · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book could have been an article.

I'm not sure I learned anything new from this book. Some of the things to keep in mind to do in the mornings are play some calming music instead of screen time, do the hard things early in the day, meditate and maybe get some reading done.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ugh I spent $8 on this

[Lean ♥️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

idk if i learned anything but slay

[Ramona Mead · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really excited for this book and hoped it would motivate me to change my morning routine. I'm feeling stuck in a rut. But I was disappointed. I've read a lot of personal development material and there wasn't anything in this book that I haven't encountered before.

The book reads like a magazine, with bright photos taking up full pages and little blurbs all over the place. I guess I shouldn't be surprised since the author is the the editor-in-chief of Women's Health.

It was clearly written for moms who work. That should have been on the cover. A lot of the content didn't pertain to me because I don't have kids or a traditional job.

This was a big bummer for me. I don't recommend it.

[Marita Cressatti · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.7 ⭐️ I mother freaking LOVED this book. I will start by saying I wasn’t wild about the format. However, I think this format is appropriate considering the material and the creator (editor in chief of Women’s Health).
I LOVE the quiet hours in the morning when no one else is awake and I’m getting things done, I always have. Though I would say that the tolls of life have had a negative impact on my early riser mentality and routine. I am so grateful that this book came as a rec into my world because it definitely helped me get back into my morning routine. I know that not everyone is a morning person, so the ideas that this book enforces are more about a waking routine. I feel like with my varied work schedule, I have maintained a fairly strong morning/waking routine.
I will happily loan this to anyone who wants to read it, and I will also happily read this again to both highlight more tips/tricks and reinforce the methods in my brain. Love, love, LOVE this book!

[Danielle McCloskey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly I saw this book come across my Instagram feed and I thought I would check it out on the Library app. Of course many people must have seen it as well because there was a wait for it! It was like a magazine. Many women sharing their morning routines and rituals. I guess if you have time for that in your morning maybe it’s for you. I am not one to set my alarm for 4:03 a.m. for extra things in my day that I am passionate about in my life just yet, but more power to the people who are. This girl likes her sleep still.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an easy read full of good tips and the advice of others who have proven their personal methods as tried and true. Many of us, me included, as always looking for ways to make life run smoother and this book is helpful, if nothing else by having the reader think through many processes we often do on auto-pilot. If you hate mornings, or just struggle some days to get started, you are not alone! The contributors are mostly relatable, offering practical suggestions that cost little if any money at all and actually very little extra time!

[Elise · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was excited about this one as someone who is very into their morning routine, and it was a good read, but didn’t offer me anything new. Felt more like a list of things that you already know to do rather than new insight

[Jessica Corwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a light, uplifting read!

[Erica Miske · Rating 1 out of 5]

No new information. Basically every page tells you to work out. I bet this book would be 20 pages but with all the filler it is over 100.

[Nilz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very practical, nicely written with helpful advice!

[Alicia Erasmus · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you have even one iota of common sense there is no reason to read this. Meditation is helpful.. revolutionary.

[Tonya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unexpected excellence!

There isn’t anything brand new here, HOWEVER, the way the information is put together in short, succinct categories (WITH AN INDEX 😁) is really refreshing. It’s a resource book that can be returned to over and over again. The index makes information super easy to jump to. Love this book!

[Alyssa · Rating 1 out of 5]

This reads like a magazine article. No reason to have this in a book format. Super hyped on working out in the morning and no alternatives explored. Don’t bother with this one.

[Sarah Sandoval · Rating 3 out of 5]

Colorful book, easy to read but I feel like I didn’t learn anything new about owning my morning.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only way to add the wellness activities listed in "Own Your Morning (2021)," is to wake up earlier. It's hard to even wake up on time. The major recommendation is to discipline yourself to start each morning with exercise and nutritious food. We've heard it before but this book includes inspiring testimonials by people who tweak the formula of movement and healthy eating.

The author, Liz Plosser, has three children and a career as an editor at Women's Health magazine. She is busy but prioritizes her own health so she can help others. The inspiring testimonials in the book are mostly from Women's Health magazine staffers, human beings who write about their morning wellness hacks: exercisers, list makers, food preppers, and meditators. My favorite morning hack is a relaxation technique that I've heard about but never tried, autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR). ASMR is a tingling sensation that starts at the top of your head and goes down to the upper back. I searched YouTube for "ASMR and Yoga" and found that it indeed works as a way to relax the stress in my upper body.

This book is for those who want to get up early to get a positive start on the day. As a person who already has an early morning routine, I found this book useful for the recipes and the few routines that were unfamiliar but fun.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was very meh. Felt very much like a bunch of blog post strung together. Personally, I didn’t learn anything new from this.

If you’re just starting off on learning more about managing mental health and how to make trick yourself into liking the morning, maybe this could help. Don’t expect too much depth though in any of the topics. They’re all quick hellos accompanied by “hey here’s my gf from over at so and so company who does this and LOVE it” vibe sprinkled in with a dash of one quick science fact that was found.

I also read this on a kindle so it felt very choppy with all the pictures and graphics that seemed a bit all over the place. Maybe the physical book is pretty, but still it’s just reads like a bunch of blog posts taped together so I don’t know how much being “pretty” could really save it.

Also there was a lot of “I’m a mom” content, which didn’t really resonate with me. While it’s easy to look past this and apply the concepts, there’s a type of section that repeats over and over again in this book that reads like they were interviewed. I just wish there would have been more morning perspectives presented, even if they were still leaning towards being a morning person.

[Nikki Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been a lover of Women’s Health Magazine for quite some time, and have enjoyed following Editor in Chief, Liz, on her journey in writing this book! I’ve always had more of a spark in the mornings and truly have been a morning person for as long as I can remember. That said, I found the tips, recommendations, and stories in this book to be welcome and a taste of how other people hopped on the morning train. Some other reviews said it felt as if you were reading a blog or a magazine article, and while I feel the same, I think that was the intention. It’s not meant to be a lofty novel providing you with insight and a life plan of how to be a morning person throughout a long list of tips. It’s meant to be quick switches a person can take, tips to try, and certain rhythms to maintain to begin the switch to mornings (if you so wish). It’s a fun, light read, and something I may pick up again if I need a little motivation in a routine.

[Zach Freeman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty much feels like a magazine in book form. This reads like a bunch of blurbs the author wrote about how awesome her life is, has been and will continue to be, with very little actual guidance on how you could improve yours, aside from vague obvious things like wake up earlier, eat better, exercise more… essentially this is an expanded space-filler magazine article. Lots of interviews with other authors or “founders” about how awesome they are too. Read about this in Runner’s World, clear cross-promotion because anyone reading this objectively would quickly realize it has very little value aside from being a nice promotional piece for the author.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall insubstantial. The concept is there but the depth that could have been explored by both the author and reader was not used. Very superficial, “positive thinking” view on a habit that requires a greater depth of understanding to acquire. It’s a good starter self-help book on habit-building. Did take a few pieces of advice from the experiences of others that the author included, but overall wasn’t too moved. You can read through the entire book in whole while you’re IN Barnes & Noble, that’s how brief the content is. Finish the book in store and instead invest in an “okay, next step” book!

[Valkyrie Files · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you can snag this from a friend or the library there are some nice tips in it. If you can enjoy a treat at the bookstore cafe and thumb through it that could work too.

I wouldn’t normally buy a book like this, but with B&N 50% off sale the end of last year I thought it was just what I needed.

I’ll be cutting up for vision board work and junk journaling so it wasn’t a total waste.

Just almost everything is like IG info I would call it.

[Ani · Rating 3 out of 5]

These tips to "own your morning" are widely known: meditate, journal, express gratitude, exercise, eat healthful foods, prepare ahead of time, develop small habits, eat that frog, etc. They are all things we've heard before. However, I liked the presentation of this information and the reasonings provided behind why they work. My favorite was reading the real testimonials of women and what they do to succeed!

[Bob Peterson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the title sentiment and the sunburst cover but the actual content didn't rock me. Lots of ideas on how to recreate your life by taking advantage of the early morning hours presented in 3 or 4 page chapters. Not much new in these pages for me. An easy book to skim through to pick out ideas that may worthwhile to you.
She finds 5:17 am to be a magic time for her to rise but recommends everyone find their own best time.

[Jasmine Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing little book to up your AM routine game. I can't believe how much I've changed the way I start my day since the beginning of this book. I actually look forward to my mornings now, and as a health care professional, I now make time for ME, before taking care of my patients, or loved ones. This is a book to take notes from, highlight along the way, and continue to refer back to as you cultivate your perfect morning routine.