January felt like the longest month of my life. I became sluggish and mornings in particular were an uphill battle. The combination of cold, dark mornings and a sleep pattern that resembled chaos meant I’d been struggling to wake up and get going. Then I stumbled across a TikTok video of someone doing the "Mel Robbins Morning Routine." A few scrolls later, another popped up. And then another. Soon, it seemed like my entire For You Page was nudging me toward this routine. Was the algorithm trying to stage an intervention?
At my wits’ end and desperate to reclaim some structure, I decided to give it a shot. I committed to following Mel Robbins’s morning routine for a week. Normally, I’m sceptical of TikTok trends and loathe the culture of trying to optimise every waking moment. But something about this felt different. Mel’s advice didn’t feel like yet another punishing schedule; it’s just a more intentional way of doing things we all already do (minus the high-fiving yourself in the mirror – more on that later).
Emotional outbursts at the ready, there's a full moon coming.
Who is Mel Robbins and what's her morning routine?
Mel Robbins is a bestselling author, motivational speaker, and former CNN commentator known for her no-nonsense approach to self-improvement. She gained widespread recognition for her 5 Second Rule, a technique designed to combat self-doubt and procrastination by simply counting down from five and taking immediate action. Since then, she’s built a global brand centred on confidence, mindset, and habit-building, with books like The High 5 Habit and her popular podcast, The Mel Robbins Podcast. Her relatable, science-backed advice has turned her into one of the most influential voices in personal development today.
TikTok content
Here’s how her morning routine works:
- Don’t hit the snooze button. Get up within five seconds of your alarm going off – counting down from five can help you move faster. No snoozing allowed.
- Make your bed. Robbins calls this “a promise kept no matter what.”
- Give yourself a high five in the mirror. She says it helps people feel better about themselves and take control of their lives: “It rewires your brain to focus on self-love.”
- Hydrate. Drink water before anything else — especially caffeine. Robbins suggests waiting an hour or two before having your first coffee, as your body craves water when you wake up.
- Get outside straight away. Robbins recommends getting outside, rain or shine, and soaking up the morning light. She calls this step a “gamechanger.”
- Move your body. Whether it’s a workout or just a walk, Robbins says even a few minutes of movement can transform your day.
Ready to say bye to the buzz?
Trying Mel Robbins’s morning routine for a week
On the first morning, the routine felt jarring and new. I’m someone who usually hits snooze for over forty minutes, so getting out of bed within five seconds was a Herculean task. My partner jokingly asked if he was now dating a drill sergeant, to which I replied that he had to get out of bed, too, or I couldn’t make it. This was my first hurdle.
Normally, I aim to make the bed in the mornings, but since I’m not the only person sleeping in it, and our work routines vary, it felt unfair to enforce this on my partner. As a compromise, I started making my side of the bed, and honestly, I counted that as a win. By day seven, I no longer needed the five-second countdown. I was naturally jumping up, ready to get started. As an extra step (not in Mel’s routine), I found that swinging my legs over the side of the bed and placing my feet on the ground for a few moments before standing felt grounding.
The high-five, however, was another story. By nature, I’m quite cynical about exercises like this. When my yoga instructor tells us to give ourselves a pat on the back, I avoid it and internally cringe – chalk it up to being British. But I persisted. While it felt silly at first, I didn’t completely hate it. It’s much healthier than my usual morning mirror routine, which consists of zooming in on any new spots or imperfections. Over the days, I found that doing the high-five after brushing my teeth felt more natural, and I began pairing it with the sense of accomplishment I felt from the bed-making. While small, it made a difference in how I started my mornings.
Drinking water before anything else wasn’t a challenge for me personally – I always wake up parched and down a pint before doing anything else. What was difficult, however, was resisting the urge to have coffee straight away, especially before exercising.
That said, getting outside within minutes of waking up was, hands down, the best part of this experiment. I hadn’t realised how many days I’d spent indoors until my lunch break at 1pm. Working from home most of the time, it’s easy to stay inside all morning. Stepping outside and soaking up some morning light was an instant dopamine boost, as was exercising before even glancing at my emails or texts. It’s something I’ll definitely be keeping in my routine moving forward.
How a doctor cured her insomnia.
A realistic approach
Not every part of the routine was completely realistic for me. As a journalist, my work revolves around the news, so waking up and not immediately checking it wasn’t just a challenge – it was impractical. I had to modify that rule to suit my job. And while I loved the sense of accomplishment that came with making my bed, I couldn’t justify kicking my partner out of it every morning.
Ultimately, viral routines like this have to work for you. A modified version is better than abandoning it entirely. Going forward, I’ll stick to most of Mel’s steps – especially getting outside and exercising early – but I’ll skip the guilt over checking my phone for work.
For anyone looking to shake up their mornings without committing to something extreme, Mel’s routine is a practical and gentle place to start. Just don’t feel bad if you need to tweak it to fit your life. After all, the best routines are the ones that actually work for you.
