How To Get The Most Out Of Your Morning Routine
I bet I can predict what your morning routine looks like: You wake up to a generic alarm clock that shakes you out of sleep, hit the alarm as many times as you can before rolling out of bed, get dressed, grab a mediocre breakfast and leave the house still rubbing your eyes and yawning.
Bang on?
We’re creatures of habit, and we like to fit in to those around us. Commiserating on mornings, coffee and fatigue is one of those things ANYONE can talk about. But if you’re ready to take the next steps, to actually start your morning off with a bang, consider a few of these points. You can journal, exercise, read or meditate – but you can also try some of these options out if you’re feeling brave.
The 2-Minute Exercise
No one has time to REALLY meditate and full free their mind in the morning. Instead, take 2 minutes to work on your breathing, do a plank, some squats and a stretch to wake up your body and your brain
Turn On The Music
There’s no better way to stimulate your mind in the morning than by listening to music. Pick something positive and chipper (but not too exhausting that you just want to go back to bed) and you’ll soon be mimicking Mary Poppins as you jaunt out the door
Wake Up At The Right Time
Your sleep cycle works in 3 hour intervals. If your body is naturally waking up around 5.45am or 6.00am but you don’t HAVE to get up until 7am, don’t go back to bed. You’ll wake up in the middle of a sleep cycle more exhausted than you would have if you had just gotten up when your body naturally woke up.
Do The Dishes
Rolling up your sleeves to hand wash a sink full of dirty dishes from the night before, but a 2015 study found that mindfully cleaning dishes (aka staying in the moment while scrubbing away) reduced anxiety and made study subjects feel more inspired! As a bonus, your kitchen will be clean when you get home from work. Check out the study here
Draft A Thoughtful Things-Not-To-Do List
We all have mile long to-do lists that we (semi-diligently) try to tackle each day, but a surprising productivity secret is actually doing the opposite. Make a list of things that, no matter how much you may want to do them, you can skip doing for 24 hours.
Stop Checking Your Emails
Your brain is most awake and most productive in the morning, so why are you wasting that precious brain power checking emails and having unnecessary meetings? Move your emails until the mid-afternoon, and spend your morning designing, creating action plans and doing the nitty-gritty stuff. Your brain (and company) will sincerely thank you.
Don’t let your kids in bed with you
Do you know how many parents (specifically moms) are in my office talking about how tired they are? Almost everyone. You know that a very common reason for that is? Many people have little human beings climbing in at 5.30am (or earlier!), waking them up out of their sleep cycle and eliminating any chance of waking up rested. We talk a lot about the importance of sleep for our kids, but your sleep is also just as important. Design a system where the kids stay in their rooms until a specific time. We use an alarm clock that changes colour to signal that it’s time to wake up. Did it take time to implement? Completely. Is it worth it? 100%. We’re all a lot nicer in the morning because of it.
