It’s 6:30 am and your alarm is going off, you roll over and instantly look at your phone. Checking your email, seeing who posted what on social media, you immediately fill your brain with everything that you need to get done for the day. This causes your flight or fight to turn on and stay on for the rest of the day. Successful and powerful people don’t check their phones as soon as they open their eyes. A quality morning routine is crucial for setting you up for a productive and successful work day.
There are many different activities that you can do to start your day off on the right foot. Take a minute, think about what your morning routine is like. Do you take the necessary steps for yourself to have a good day? Let’s talk about some morning rituals that highly successful people do.
- Skip the caffeine – having your morning cup of java isn’t necessarily bad, but make sure to first give your body a big cup of water. Since you’ve been fasting for 6-8 hours, your body needs water to wake everything up.
- Meditation – instead of filling your mind with everything you have to do, take 5 – 10 minutes to meditate. This will help you to calm your mind and get you focused for the day.
- Exercise – just 10 – 20 minutes of moving your body can do wonders to get the blood flowing to all of your muscles.
- Write down what you need to get done – make a list and prioritize that list, as you go through the day you can check off things when you finish them. This will help you to de clutter your mind and focus on each task one a time.
- Express gratitude – when you begin your day with gratitude, you are setting the tone for the day of being thankful. Keep a gratitude journal and write down 3 things every morning that you are grateful for.
- Eat a good breakfast – instead of having your favorite donut every morning or skipping breakfast because you “don’t have time,” starting your day with a micronutrient dense meal will not only fuel your body but also fuel your brain! One of my favorites is; 1/2 oatmeal, 1 tbsp chia seeds & topped with a handful of blueberries & a tablespoon of peanut butter.
Whether you do any of things stated above or not, it is important to find a routine that works for you and your schedule. Try some of the things above and start to develop these into a habit. Start small, maybe add water before coffee this week, then a meditation next week. Slowly you will build each week and soon it will become a habit. The most important thing is finding what works for YOU and what you need to do to set yourself up to have a productive and successful routine.