For some, waking up in the morning is a challenge, especially for night owls who are used to sleeping and waking up late. However, shifting into a productive morning routine is not impossible.
Luckily, there are simple ways that you could do until you form better and more productive morning habits that can set you up for success. Sooner, you’ll become a natural early bird, and your daily morning routine will eventually become something you’ll look forward to.
What to do in the morning lies in your dedication to becoming productive though. Therefore, you should have the commitment and the drive to form your own productive morning routine for success.
Before we delve deeper into how to create a morning routine, let’s first understand why you should have one in the first place.
Why Should You Have a Good Morning Routine?
There are so many reasons why one should have a great morning routine aside from getting to eat a healthy breakfast and starting your day early. Here are some of the main ones:
You Can Prepare for the Rest of the Day Ahead
A healthy morning routine allows you to plan ahead. You have more time to prepare, so you don’t feel frustrated or rushed when you start doing your to-do list.
You can even have more time for the morning news and your own preferred morning ritual, giving you more peace of mind as you ready yourself for the day.
You Increase Your Productivity
If you start early, you’re likely to have a productive day as morning habits allow you to have more time to work on your important tasks earlier in the day as compared to when you start midday. With the momentum you created and the early kickoff you established, you can feel relief for having tackled so many things before the eleventh hour and you also can feel pride for having maximized your productivity for the day.
You’re in Control
One of the many benefits of a great morning routine is that you’ll feel more in control.
There’s a huge impact when you control your day, not the other way around. Your mental energy becomes sharper and you’re likely to reduce your stress, knowing that you've got everything planned out and covered.
You Lower Your Stress
When deadlines are fast approaching and there are still so many items on your to-do list, it makes you worry, and that causes a lot of stress. Morning routines can introduce a sense of normalcy in your day and that can keep you calm.
Instead of feeling like you'll never have enough time to finish everything, the morning hours can help you plan out how to tackle your workload and create time blocks to efficiently and promptly take care of everything.
You Develop Healthy Habits
Self-care also includes creating healthy habits, and as simple as waking up in the mornings can be deceptively simple but highly effective. When you’re an early bird, you pick up habits that can help boost a productive day.
You can eat a healthy breakfast, do breathing exercises, say positive affirmations, practice gratitude, go for a jog, be mindful as you sip your morning coffee, enjoy the peace and quiet of the house before everyone wakes up, and a whole lot more.
You Boost Your Energy Levels
Sunlight can boost your body's serotonin levels, which can also increase your daytime energy. You'll get even more benefits if you do exercise or even just a light stretch. A lot of us hate waking up early because we feel lazy and the comfort of the bed is just so hard to resist.
Trying to be a morning person can really be a huge challenge for some people, but if you're really decided to switch and become an early bird, you just have to get up and stop hitting snooze. Light movement can drastically boost your energy in no time and once you make it a habit, it can well be one of your best decisions for your productivity and your success.
You Improve Relationships
There are several tasks you can do in the morning, and one of them is improving the relationships you have. Since you’re waking up with less stress, you’re likely to have a good mood.
You'll also have more time to catch up with your family members or your spouse, and it's a great opportunity to bond and start a lovely day together.
You Combat Forgetfulness
One of the reasons for forgetfulness is lack of sleep. If you practice going to bed early and waking up early, it can help you combat forgetfulness that can cause you trouble in your personal and professional life.
Being a morning person can help you have a sharper mind since our brain is hardwired to be more alert in the morning as well.
You Enhance Your Confidence
When you’re in control, you’re much more confident. You’ll see yourself checking your daily to-do list smoothly without rushing and feeling like you’re losing control.
When you have a set time to prepare, you also boost your confidence more by having a lot of time to do personal care like fixing your hair and preparing your clothes. Being a morning person and having a morning routine allows you to come equipped and ready for the day.
You Learn to Become Flexible
The last on our list is flexibility. Sometimes, there are just days when our routine changes a bit, and having more time in the morning gives you some leeway and wiggle room to adjust your schedule, workload, or plans. Most of society's normal activities are done during the day and when you wake up too late, you'll barely have the time to catch up if necessary.
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How Do I Start a Morning Routine?
Now let's talk about how to start a morning routine for success. These tips are pretty sustainable, so anyone can do this. They’re practical too, so they’re easy to follow, especially when you’re still starting to form better morning routine habits. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
Aim for a Good Night’s Sleep
Your morning routine starts with a good night’s sleep. This is highly important if you want to make a daily routine of waking up early and following a consistent set of plans.
Unfortunately, many of us are not sleeping enough. In a report, 35.2% of adults in the U.S. have fewer sleeping hours. This immediately affects one’s productivity the next day.
So, try winding down hours before sleep. You can read a book or take a hot bath to induce sleepiness. Stay away from your gadgets and electronics too, and set your alarm right – with you ideally having 8 hours of sleep.
Avoid Hitting the Snooze Button
Your next important task starts the next day, and this requires you to not hit the snooze button no matter what. Snoozing even just for minutes could easily turn into an hour, so you should not make a habit out of this.
Instead, try helping yourself by doing tricks like counting to five and then just decide to wake up. If this doesn’t help, you can even put your slippers away from your bedside so that you’re forced to stand up.
Challenge yourself for one week, and you’ll start seeing how easy it becomes as the days roll. You'll just wake up one morning not needing your alarm anymore. You'll body clock will just eventually do the work. Just aim to be consistent, and you'll soon see the results you want.
Allot Enough Time for Preparation
Whatever your job or your tasks are, a morning routine is beneficial if you aim to wake up early to give yourself more time to prepare. That’s why it's essential to give yourself an hour or two to just prep yourself.
Be intentional so that you have a reason to actually get out of bed in the morning. In addition to your 8 hours of sleep, the spare time in the morning gives you enough moments to brace yourself for the busy day ahead.
Having time for preparation alone allows you to proceed without rushing and forgetting things in your daily routine, so your transition from one important task to the next goes seamlessly without trouble.
Drink Water
Drinking water should be a part of your morning routine. As you’re sleeping for a long period of time, your body needs hydration.
Drinking water activates your stomach from its fasting state. Doing this thing in the morning shakes off the weariness, allowing you to officially start your day.
A full glass of room temp water is enough to get hydrated. Always do this before you start drinking coffee or tea because these can dehydrate you even more.
Get Your Favorite Coffee or Tea
Now that you’re set, you can proceed to drink your favorite coffee or tea. They're some of the world's most favorite morning go-tos, and they’re great energy boosters as well.
If you’re the type who gets cranky and lazy in the mornings, any of these two will go a long way in boosting your energy levels and making your daily routine more enjoyable.
This part of your routine can also be the time where you spend time bonding with your family, pets, or even plants. You can also practice mindfulness and gratefulness here as you sip and face the warm sun.
Prepare a Healthy Breakfast
One of the things to do in the morning that people look forward to is breakfast. So, why not grab this chance to prepare a healthy one? Self-care also includes proper nourishment, and there’s nothing better than a full, nutritious breakfast.
Take this opportunity to not only bond with your family but eat breakfast with them in the morning too. If you’re a lone wolf, it’s equally relaxing to eat your favorite oats or smoothie bowl as part of your routine.
Do a Self-Care Routine
Another thing to consider is having a self-care routine that involves beautifying or making yourself look presentable. You don’t have to be extra here. Showering and combing your hair can already go a long way to boost your confidence.
This is one of the good habits that you should include in your morning routine because it helps set the mood for the rest of the day. When you feel refreshed and presentable, you’ll feel more ready to tackle your tasks for the day.
Squeeze in a Workout
A light workout does wonders for your body. Whatever form of exercise in the morning is beneficial because it keeps your body pumped up. Unlike when you’re feeling lazy, you’re likely to be sluggish for the rest of the day.
When you exercise, you decrease mental fatigue and even better your sleeping pattern at night. Some forms of excellent exercise include jogging, stretching, or biking.
Say Your Positive Affirmations
If you say positive affirmations daily, you’ll already see a difference in a week. It sets your mindset into a positive tone, so you’re likely to be motivated for the entire day. Positive affirmations can be very powerful as they can release you from worries, anxieties, and negativities.
This doesn’t require much time, and it helps combat self-defeating beliefs which are not healthy at all. When you do affirmations, you can say them out loud or even write them as you speak. When done consistently and repeated over and over again, you'll notice that these positive affirmations will start taking charge of your thoughts and changing the rhythm of your day.
Have a Me Time
A lot of healthy morning routines also include a “Me Time.” This is where you find the time for the things which are personal to you. It makes your morning more distinct, so it becomes something people will look forward to in the long run.
Me time is common in the morning routines of successful people. Here, they jot down their ideas, plan ahead, meditate, and even just daydream. Give it a try, and you’ll immediately see how having personal time gives you a moment to just breathe and relax.
What Makes the Perfect Morning Routine?
A perfect morning routine is possible, and all would boil down to self-discipline. However, don’t beat yourself up if some mornings don't go as planned. It’s just not possible to have a perfect one every day. What makes a morning perfect anyway? You can call it that:
When You Have a Deep “Why”
Spare yourself the frustration and reduce stress every morning by knowing why you’re doing this in the first place. If we don’t care enough about the 'why', we find more reasons to abandon the pursuit when it becomes challenging.
That’s why it’s essential that you learn how to create a morning routine that reaches you on a personal level. For instance, if you want to have an extra hour or two in the morning to tend to your plants or go out for a quick run, then these would be great foundations for retaining your daily routine.
What makes the perfect morning routine is when you know you’re doing this with a purpose in mind. So, sit down and jot down the things that you’re aiming for. Whatever these are, make sure they’re good enough to keep you going.
When You Start Small
If you badly want the results of a great morning routine, you may go all in and get impatient. This can easily overwhelm and burn you out, so it’s advisable to go slow and steady.
You're always free to take baby steps. These minor changes may make you feel that you’re not doing enough, but if this is the more stress-free and doable way, it can be the healthiest route for you. New habits take some time to form, so be patient and focus on the little acts. Small steps won’t feel so overwhelming, so you’re likely to stick to them.
When You’re Consistent
To understand how to start a morning routine, you have to embrace consistency. Small steps done with consistency will sooner give your results. However, this doesn’t come so easily because it takes a lot of effort and time.
That’s why you’re encouraged to be patient too. You’ll not see direct changes first even if you’re being consistent, but keep going until you wake up one day and just feel like your routine seems so natural and effective.
When You Plan Ahead
If you aim for an ideal morning, planning should be a part of the whole thing too. Again, you won’t always have a perfect morning, but having a plan ahead should be helpful when you don’t feel so motivated.
If you’re striving to be productive here, set a time where you can list down tasks you’d like to tackle in the morning so that you’ll have an organized guide that can help you complete the many tasks you're set to do.
When You Have Balance
Your morning routine will be wonderful if you have a sense of balance. How do you achieve this? Well, it simply means that you should strike a balance among mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual factors and overall health.
Find something you can relate to from each factor and incorporate them into your routine. You’ll then start feeling fuller and more satisfied because you’re hitting all the important aspects of what makes early morning routines wholesome.
A morning designed for success and productivity seems like a challenge for some. Sure, some days we wake up on the wrong side of the bed, and it immediately affects our whole day, but it's the wonderful morning routines that can help us find the rhythm we need to make each day less chaotic and more intentional. Give the above-mentioned tips a try, and you’ll soon find yourself happier and much more productive and capable.
