Morning Routine
Start Your Day With Intentionality
Getting a jump start on your day is perhaps the most important thing you can do to set yourself up for success. As Tim Ferris says it, “if you win the morning, you win the day.” It comes down to intentionality and it doesn’t mean you have to wake up hours earlier to get things started off right. Here are 5 tried and true ways to make sure that you are setting yourself up for maximum success each day. I have put these into practice and have increased my productivity and morning mood by 10x. I know it may not be realistic to do ALL of these practices every morning you wake up, but I do know that if you put any one of these helpful tips in to practice more days than not, YOU WILL notice and feel a big difference.
Sleep good. This involves making sure you get to sleep, stay asleep, and wake up on your terms feeling rested and refreshed. A pre-bedtime hot beverage of 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar along with a Tbsp of raw local honey mixed in with hot water can help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. We’re not sure why it works, but try it. It works. Also setting your phone to airplane mode or do not disturb will keep you from waking up to a barrage of emails and messages. Those emails and messages can wait until you are fully awake and ready to take on the day.
Make your bed each morning. Admiral William McRaven in his famous speech to the graduating class of the University of Texas emphasizes that when you accomplish the first task of the day, it encourages you to accomplish another task. And that if nothing else goes with the rest of the day, that at least when you return to your bed you will be encouraged that tomorrow may go better than today.
Prime your body. Priming your neurological system with 10 pushups, a cold plunge/shower, or a quick yoga flow will help activate your physical body and ensure that you have shaken off the cobwebs of sleep and that you are completely ready for the day.
Practice mindfulness. Some type of mindfulness meditation for 5 or 10 minutes prior to diving into your day will prepare your brain to handle responses and communication in a more productive way. There are great apps for this and you do not have to be a zen champion to start meditating. Headspace is a fantastic app and there are 10 free guided meditations that you can use repeatedly to add this to your morning routine.
Write for 5 minutes. A great resource for this is either morning pages which comes from author Julia Cameron or the 5 minute journal. Regardless of what method you use, writing for 5 or 10 minutes about whatever is going on in your brain at the time will declutter your mind and allow you to enter a productive work-state without the noise we carry in our heads. Remember that it is not what you do, it is how you do it that matters. Don’t focus on the method as much as the consistent practice of writing each morning and evening if possible.
Now…Pick at least one of these helpful tips that you want to focus on and put in to practice this week. Write out what you noticed about yourself!
Resources
These tips were gathered from a variety of sources including the work of Tim Ferris, William McRaven, and Chase Jarvis, all of whom study productivity and how to improve efficiency. If you are wanting to change the way that you feel and function these tips are a great place to start. For more learning and encouragement checkout other articles on our Novo Life Blog or schedule a coaching or counseling session with one of our team members. If you are not sure if coaching or counseling is right for you, you can read more about it in my other article called “Life Coaching Versus Therapy”.
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Thank you for reading!
Drew