5 morning habits that will kickstart your productivity

The way your morning takes course, makes an impact on your whole day. Just imagine getting up with the wrong foot, feeling tired all day, not getting your head focus on the important things – this will ruin your work day completely (a leisure day, too, of course).
Your morning routine though offers you a great opportunity for a successful day – for more energy, creativity and a better handling of stress. No matter if you are an early bird getting up with the sunset or if you prefer sleeping a little longer: After you get up, set your mind right.

These five things are a great way to shape your morning, and make you a more successful person in your job and your life. These points are shared in routines by a lot of successful people and things that I for myself found out to feel good for me.

Don’t snooze

Even if it’s tempting to snooze away just 5 more minutes (and 5 minutes more, and another,  and another..) try to avoid it. Not only won’t you feel any more recovery as when you get up on the first ring, you will also kill your motivation for the day completely. Just to compare: Imagine having a goal or a plan and you decide to delay it over and over again.  You are well aware that you probably will not achieve it, right? It’s the same with snoozing. Deciding not to get up in the morning already disturbs your mindset for the day. If you can’t even get up, how are you supposed to have the will to succeed your goals or tasks?

Getting up with the first alarm or the moment the sun wakes you up (even better!), will put your mind on overcoming your weaker self.

Focus on yourself and personal goals

We tend to lose the focus on caring for ourselves and improving our lifes when working for others. We manage to get our tasks done and push our projects and might feel great about it, but our own life remains static. Never, ever forget to care about yourself.

It might take some time to get used to it, but try to get up a little earlier than you usual do. Instead of waking up, getting ready and going to work, find some slot in your schedule to focus on yourself. It’s a little time for youe mind before you focus on tasks at work. This means doing something for your soul and heart which will raise your self-consciousness, your own worth and – most important – your mood and motivation for the day. This can be a little walk, time outside, meditation – or taking time to listen to your inner self. You could be defining your own goals, finding something you really want to do in your free time after your job. It doesn’t matter as long as it is something only for you, not for your job.

Exercise

No need for a big workout. Not everyone is a morning sports person (I am not, that’s for sure). It’s not about pushing your physical limits in the morning. It only means “Get moving!”. Seriously. Your body and brain are well connected and your mind will thank you A LOT. If you feel depressed, low on energy, can’t focus – this is probably because of a lack of movement. Get your energy flowing by a little exercising – for example a morning yoga routine , walking ,jogging or a bike tour, longboarding, surfing – your personal fitness routine. Even a short training will earn you a better focus, more concentration and a higher spirit. Try it.

Take your time with loved ones

Do you have a family or special someone? Even if it’s only 5 minutes, connect with your loved ones. Cuddle, with your kids or your special one, talk about your plans for the day, just do something personal – and appreciate the time you have together. Of course, this is beautiful for your personal relationships. Furthermore, this reduces your stress level enormously. Hard tasks during the day will be easier to handle.

Start the night before

Okay, this is actually a step before your morning routine. We all know how a bad night of sleep can destroy your morning. That’s why it is important to prepare yourself for a good nights of sleep. Find out how many hours make you feel the best in the morning (in general, it’s about 8 hours of sleep) and stick to bed times. Don’t use your phone or computer before you go to bed. Make sure your room is well aired. Before sleep, define how you want you want to achieve tomorrow – what are you plans, what are things you can’t delay any further, what would make you happy – and write them down. We tend to lose focus when the next day gets a little stressful or because we dreamed very actively. This way, you’ll remember and be able to keep these things in mind.

Create your own routine

Routines are overcoming bad habits. They will help you perform better, focus on things that are important for yourself. Normally, it takes three weeks to get used to new routines – so figure out your own start in the day, write it down and practice it until it feels natural. Define for yourself which things done in the morning improve your working day and stick to them. It needs to be your own routine, because we tend to not stick to ones we don’t implement ourselves.

An example:

1. Getting up with the sunset and letting the natural light in
2. Have a glass of water
3. Do a 20 minute morning yoga session on the balcony
4. Take a shower
5. Have a healthy and nutrious breakfast together with your special someone
6. Commit to 20 minutes in an online course to learn something new
7. Make a small entry in your journal to define your daily goals
8. Go to work