With an impressive resume that includes motivational speaker, best-selling author, podcast host, and criminal defense lawyer, Mel Robbins knows a thing or two about dishing out wisdom. Chances are her advice sound bites have been all over your TikTok FYP (see: the Let Them Theory) as self-improvement girlies everywhere are replicating her simple yet transformative morning routine. According to Robbins, all it takes are six steps in the first 15 minutes immediately after your alarm goes off to be “more energized, productive, and in control of your day.” Built around the “high-five habit” (the subject of one of her best-selling books), what is now being dubbed as The Mel Robbins morning routine can help you break out of destructive patterns and show up in your life with the energy and confidence you deserve.
You may be thinking it’s just another morning routine, but Robbins swears by it herself to feel her absolute best, and TikTokers agree: “Actually feeling SO GOOD after doing the @MelRobbins morning routine and feel like it kickstarted my whole day,” content creator Carly Grider said in a video, while another TikToker, Taylor Adams, shared, “If you struggle in the morning, this will literally save your life if you want to be more productive.” Keep reading to find out Mel Robbins’ science-backed “The High 5 Habit” morning routine that she does every day to put herself first, flip self-doubt and fear, and build confidence (and some insight on what happened when I tried it). Step 1: No snoozing.
What is “The High 5 Habit?”
While it may sound cheesy, Robbins swears this habit is the key to transforming your life (and for a free habit that only takes one second, why not try it?). The High 5 Habit came to Robbins when she was staring at her reflection in the bathroom mirror years ago, feeling overwhelmed and defeated after drowning in debt and going through a rocky patch in her marriage. To cheer herself up, she gave herself a high five in the mirror and decided to do it again the next day. By the third day, Robbins began to look forward to greeting her reflection, accepting herself as she was in that moment and feeling ready to take on the day with a sense of enthusiasm. So, she created The High 5 Habit to “make believing in yourself a habit and operate with the confidence that your goals and dreams demand.”
The act may sound silly, but science backs it up. In The High 5 Habit, Robbins refers to a body of research called Neurobics: “In a neurobic exercise, you combine a routine activity, like looking at yourself in the mirror every morning, and you pair it with two things: something unexpected that involves your senses and an emotion that you’d like to feel, like a celebration or being seen,” she explained. In other words, when you look in the mirror (an act you do often) and high-five yourself (an act you don’t normally do), the mind connects it with positive associations like “Great job,” “You’ve got this,” and “I’m proud of you” because of interactions you’ve had with the action since you were a child.
Before giving The High Five Habit a go myself, I only saw flaws, and I avoided looking in the mirror as much as I could. So when I first started, it felt strange and, TBH, uncomfortable (then again, when is growth ever comfortable?). But two weeks in, when I started getting used to high-fiving the person who gives her all every day and deserves self-compassion (me, ICYMI), I couldn’t help but smile and think, I’ve got this. It’s going to be a great day. Putting the habit into practice was like giving myself an unspoken pep talk every morning, and when I looked back at my reflection in the gym mirror or checked my makeup in the car later in the day, the harsh critic in me was way quieter.
Mel Robbins’ Six-Step Morning Routine
Step 1: Get up when the alarm rings
No snoozing allowed. As Robbins explains, hitting the snooze button is doing more damage than just delaying the inevitable. “When that alarm rings, get up and start the day,” Robbins emphasized on her podcast. “Research shows that lying in bed increases rumination. It makes your depression and anxiety worse.” Lying in bed and hitting the snooze button also means breaking promises to yourself; you made the goal and plan to get out of bed at 6:30 a.m. but didn’t follow through with that plan when you got out of bed at 6:50 a.m. instead.
“If you always hit the snooze button, your actions are saying you don’t do what you say you’re going to do,” she explained in her book The High 5 Habit. “And that impacts how your reticular activating system (RAS) filters what information gets kept in and filtered out of the brain. You make a promise when you set the alarm clock at night, and getting up at the time you set is you keeping that promise.” Robbins’ go-to trick? The five-second rule. The moment the alarm goes off, count backward from five (5-4-3-2-1); it’s a micro-action that starts the momentum, breaks any bad habits (ahem, scrolling on your phone or checking email), and pushes you to get up.
Step 2: Make your bed
The chore you dreaded as a kid had more benefits than just avoiding an argument with your mom. It’s a small, simple sign that you care about yourself and take the time to clean up—a really important life skill that Robbins believes translates into other areas. “Making your bed every morning is another way to strengthen the muscle of discipline and commitment to yourself,” Robbins said in The High 5 Habit. What may seem like a trivial task has a lot of benefits: Research shows that making your bed increases productivity, promotes healthier habits, and contributes to overall better sleep quality. When your space is disorganized, it causes overwhelm and anxiety. Messy homes and workspaces leave you feeling anxious, helpless, and overwhelmed. So make your bed “no matter where you are, how you feel, or what excuses you might have.”
Step 3: Give yourself a high-five
Every day, it’s essential to “greet your biggest ally and best friend—you,” Robbins advised. In a TikTok, she explained that high-fiving yourself in the mirror rewires your brain to focus on self-love and positive reinforcement. Having an intentional strategy for starting your day out with the positive affirmation (and the neurological magic trick) that a high-five provides means that you also move forward with a concrete tool for boosting your confidence in the future. If you struggle to adopt the habit, place a Post-It note on your mirror to remind yourself to follow through with your high fives (it saved me a couple of mornings!).
Step 4: Drink water before having any caffeine
Robbins used to drink a big cup of coffee first thing after waking, which would spike her anxiety and leave her with physical symptoms. After just three days of starting her mornings by drinking a glass of water, Robbins went from drinking three to four lattes a day to having one cup around 10 a.m. and not craving another, nor having a dip in energy she normally had. Drinking water before caffeine is an important step many health experts recommend, and Robbins agrees. “Hydrate first,” Robbins said in a TikTok. “Your body is craving water when you wake up. Plus, water boosts mental performance.” “Believe it or not, caffeine first thing in the morning makes you feel more tired, not awake,” she suggested on her podcast.
When you drink caffeine as soon as you wake up, it binds to neuroreceptors in the brain and traps adenosine, a chemical that fuels your desire to sleep. So even when the caffeine wears off an hour later, the adenosine remains in your system, and the afternoon slump hits. But if you delay caffeine intake for one to two hours after waking up, you give your body time to flush out the adenosine. TL;DR: Wake up, drink a cup of water, and wait to have your caffeine of choice at least an hour later. Not only will you be more alert and experience a better mood, but you also won’t be reaching for more caffeine to stay awake in the afternoon.
Step 5: Get sunlight
Getting sunlight first thing in the morning can do more than help you get to sleep earlier and improve your sleep quality overall. Your circadian rhythm is regulated by light exposure, so morning sunlight increases energy during the day and sleep quality at night. Robbins agreed on her podcast: “Exposure to morning sunlight is crucial to reset your body’s internal clock and help you transition into the awake phase.” “Morning light resets your internal body clock, boosts energy, and improves your mental health—even on cloudy days,” she stated in a TikTok. According to neurologist and well-known biohacker Dr. Andrew Huberman, you just need five to 10 minutes of sun exposure on a sunny day or 15-30 minutes on a cloudy day to reap the benefits. That can look like taking a walk, sitting on a park bench, or sipping coffee on your balcony.
Step 6: Move your body
You don’t need to fit in a 60-minute gym session first thing in the morning. Robbins suggests as little as a 10-minute walk outside. Why? It can add years to your life, but as for the immediate perks, Robbins said it helps remove any overwhelm, overthinking, or anxiety and boosts your mood. Known as forward ambulation (AKA the act of walking forward), you generate optic and auditory flow, which reduces the part of the brain associated with anxiety and fear. In other words, when you walk, you quiet the anxious chatter. “[A 10-minute walk] is going to put you in a better mood; it’s going to make you more productive…” Robbins said on her podcast. “And if you do it without being on the phone or listening to something, meaning you take a quiet walk… it helps you create a stronger, more relaxed, confident mindset.”
Robbins lays out her workout clothes the night before, which forces her to put them on the next morning before she leaves her bedroom (she calls it “productive guilt”). “Whether it’s a walk, a stretch, or a workout, morning movement boosts your mood, clears your mind, and makes you more productive,” she said in a TikTok. “Even a few minutes can change your entire day.”
MEET THE AUTHOR
Katherine Chang, Wellness Staff Writer
Katherine Chang is The Everygirl’s Wellness Staff Writer with over five years of experience in the health and wellness space. She navigates the latest wellness topics and trends through expert interviews and studies, and she’s always first in line to try them firsthand.
