"The key to an effective day is to start it right", we’ve all heard this before but how true is it? If you look into the lifestyles of successful people, they all swear by their morning and night routine. The key to these routines is to develop one that suits your needs and lifestyle. If done properly, you should feel better and work and function more effectively. If you don’t have a proper routine yet, try start one today. Build the habits and over the next few months make changes to the routine where necessary. If you already have a routine, you’ll find some useful things here to add or change in your routine.
The key to a proper routine is to start it the night before; we won’t go over a proper night routine in this post (I’ll save that for another Post found Here) but make sure you go over that while developing your night routine as well so you can receive all the benefits. We’ll go over the different things to add to your morning routine in a way to help your body, mind and spirit. Add the things you think you would benefit from, you won’t want to add them all unless you have hours to commit to this process. Once you choose the things you want to complete, place the amount of time you think it would take to complete this item beside it. Now pick and choose different ones until you have the same allotted time as you want.
For example let’s say you have 1 hour and 40 minutes to get ready in the morning, it might look something like this:
Wake up
Drink some water: 5 minutes
Stretch: 15 minutes
Walk the dog: 25 minutes
Shower and get ready: 30 minutes
Have coffee and breakfast: 20 minutes
Breathing exercises: 15 minutes
Total time to complete morning routine: 1 Hour 50 Minutes (we went over by 10 minutes)
We went over the allotted time we wanted to spend on our morning routine, we can either cut something out, wake up earlier or change the time spend on a certain step to make our routine fit the allotted time we have.
Before we get started, I’ll include a FREE PDF Printable of a Morning & Night Routine Template below. Simply fill in what you want to add to your morning routine and add the times in.
I suggest you wake up at the same time each morning; this will help your body with its internal clock and ensure you’re wide awake and not groggy when you wake up.
Now rise and shine, here are the ways to develop your best & most effective morning routine.
Body
Wake up early
Waking up early will put you a step ahead of the rest. Get out of bed earlier than everyone else, it will get your day going sooner than the others in your household. This extra time to yourself will make sure your day starts productively with no distractions. This step alone could save you a lot of time each day. There are many highly successful people who wake up around 4 - 5:00am, these people accomplish more by 8:00am than others accomplish in their entire day.
Wake Up Immediately – NO SNOOZE!
Under no circumstances should you hit snooze on your alarm, hitting snooze will make you feel groggy, give you brain fog and have other negative effects on your health and life*. I’ve even noticed I feel sick during the day after hitting snooze. If you’re prone to hitting snooze, you’ll find some great options to kick this bad habit Here.
Water
Keep a glass of water next to your bed, when you wake up drink the entire glass immediately. You’ve just been sleeping for 7-9 hours, your body is dehydrated. The water will help wake you up, hydrate your body, make you feel better and make you feel not as hungry which means you won’t overdo it on breakfast as well. If you fast in the morning it will help keep you going until you eat later in the day.
Stretch
Stretching should be a part of everyone’s day, especially in the morning. While sleeping we aren’t moving much, your muscles get a bit tense. Sleeping improperly can also lead to sore and tight muscles, let's face it, most of us sleep in bad positions. Adding stretching routines into your day will help keep you limber and reduce the chances of injury throughout your day. Invest in a good quality fitness mat and pick up some resistance bands to get the most out of your stretching routine.
Exercise
Doing some light exercising first thing in the morning will help get your body moving and help you feel refreshed for the day. It’s a great way to wake yourself up and strengthen your body as well. Doing some light cardio or strength training in the morning also helps your body feel strong all day. Even going for a walk is all it takes. If you have trouble staying motivated, lay out your gym clothes the night before and keep your shoes beside your bed, change directly into them in the morning. Another alternative would be to sleep in your gym clothes.
Get ready
It’s time to get ready for the day, a good hygiene routine will help keep your body in great condition. Make sure you:
Brush your teeth – no one likes bad breath or rotting teeth
Floss – keep the small things out of your teeth, your dentist will love you
Shower – keep your body clean
Use deodorant – your co-workers will thank you
Go to the bathroom before work, your boss will thank you
Get dressed – put your clothes out the night before
Coffee or Tea
If you drink coffee, Do Not order another double-double until you read this post found Here. 80% of the adult population drinks coffee regularly; chances are you are one of them. Coffee is the world’s most popular legal drug, some claim there are benefits however once you read this Post, you’re probably going to consider quitting or at least cut back immediately.
Food
“Breakfast, one of the most important meals of the day” this term has been used for decades. Is breakfast really that important? There are different sides to this.
Breakfast will replenish your body of essential nutrients. It has been shown to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol, normalize blood sugar levels and lower risk of diabetes and heart disease**. Breakfast leads to a better functioning brain and muscles.
On the other side of this, skipping breakfast and intermittent fasting until lunch has shown some great benefits such as, reduced inflammation, lower stress, normalized blood pressure and improved cardiovascular health***.
Breathe deeply
Our homes are some of the most toxic atmospheres to be in. Air pollution in our home air is greatly worse than the air outside. This means while sleeping you’re breathing in air that may have harmful contaminants. Once you’re outside for the day, I recommend trying some breathing exercises. Take in deep breaths through your nose and exhale out of your mouth. Doing this for a few minutes will leave you feeling refreshed and awake. If you feel overly light-headed after a couple minutes of this try slowing down the pace or you may need to consult a doctor.
You may also want to consider buying an Air Purifier, they’re a great way to keep your bedroom and household air clean while you’re sleeping or at home, especially if you have pets. I have one and it helps me breathe easier at night and I’ve noticed I don’t get allergy-like symptoms as often. Remember to change your furnace filter often as well, get a high quality one to filter out as many contaminants as you can.
Mind
Make your bed
Once you get out of bed, immediately make your bed, this will start your day right, give you discipline and help keep your room looking clean. It will give you a better sense of organization and accomplishment; I always find this step helps me feel like I’m starting the day right. Once you go to bed, you come home to a nice organized bed; you’ll get into what feels like a fresh bed. Studies have shown bed makers are more likely to exercise, feel well rested, own a home and like their jobs than those who don't make their bed****.
Read
Reading can be a great way to start the day; it gets your brain going and relaxes you. Try to read something educational as it will help your mind grow. Learn something that’s useful in your life and you’ll be able to use this knowledge at a later date. If you're looking for positive, motivational and faith based information to read, make reading posts from this site a daily routine.
Journal
Journaling can be a great way to write down your thoughts and keep them organized; I find this step extremely beneficial to my overall happiness. It helps me put my thoughts on paper so I can analyze them later, view my growth and keep track of things. I use journaling to track growth personally and physically as well. This can be done at night instead. If you're looking for a faith based journal you can find one here. We also have a Free Printable PDF Journal pages found here. For a typical blank journaling book you can find one here.
Get creative
Getting creative first thing in the morning can be a great way to get your mind going and focus. I find blogging or writing first thing in the morning can help me achieve this. Use this time to do a puzzle, draw, cook something new, or take up a hobby.
Productive planning
I typically plan the most important parts of my day at night, I find it puts my mind to ease when I know exactly what has to be done the next day. I then take it a step further in the morning and plan what will be done in each of those tasks. Taking this time to write things down, make to do lists and plan will keep you focused and organized.
Listen to a Podcast, Audio Book, Music or YouTube Video
Listening to a YouTube video, audio or podcast first thing in the morning is a great way to learn and grow your mind while offering you the chance to relax or do other things. I do this often throughout the day. I try to listen to informational audio while cooking, showering and getting ready for the day. I listen to music while working out and at times while doing other tasks depending on my mood. I find listening to some great music can put me in a great mood and keep my mind relaxed.
Review Calendar & Planner
Take some time to review your calendar and planner for the week and month. This will help you track progress, keep you on task and help you plan for the coming days. Looking ahead to plan things properly will keep you organized and keep you from forgetting important tasks.
Review Goals
Review your goals each day; this is an important step in a daily routine. If you can’t fit this into your morning routine, you should definitely try fitting this into your daily routine. Reviewing and planning goals will help ensure goals are met; break goals into segments of how you will complete them. Take each segment and put them into your planner to ensure all goals are completed on time. Breaking them down will make meeting them easier.
Spirit
Get grateful
Taking time to be grateful for what you have and the things in your life is a great way to live a happier, healthier and better life. Being grateful raises your mood and keeps things in perspective.
Pray
Pray and pray often. I try to pray a few times each day but try to pray first thing in the morning, it will help keep you close to God, help keep you spiritual and is good for the soul. Thank God for aspects of your life, tell him your hurts, where you need help, pray for others. Free Prayer Journal pintable's can be found here.
Read Bible
If you read each morning as part of your routine, you should consider reading the bible. It will give you that extra time with God, help give you perspective and teach you valuable lessons in life. God wants us to grow closer to Him. The bible is also one of the biggest personal development books so it’s my favorite book and how a lot of the topics for this blog start.
Give
Giving is one of the best ways to boost your spirits, keep you happy and keep things into perspective. Try taking 10% of each check to give and tithe. Tithing doesn’t just have to be for the church, it can be for other areas as well. If you go to church, make sure you give to the offering basket; churches take a lot of overhead to maintain and need our help. Giving to others as well can mean simply paying for the person’s meal behind you or giving to someone begging on the street, we try putting together Christmas baskets each year to give to those families who are struggling. Taking care of others is one of the main reasons we’re on this earth, let’s help each other out.
Listen to Worship Music
Listening to worship music is a great way to spend time with God; it makes us happy and fills our spirit. You’ll find you’re in a better mood afterward and be ready to take on the day. God tells us people will know we’re Christian by our love. Taking the time to work on ourselves and on our spirituality will help us achieve that.
The Don’t Do’s
As a final thought I’ll mention a couple of other tips,
Phone Use
Try refrain from using your phone to check emails and work on tasks that should be done during the day. Doing this will interrupt your flow and might cause you to feel overwhelmed and stressed first thing in the morning.
Overwhelming Morning
Morning routines are meant to plan an effective time where you can both get things done and grow, they’re not meant to overwhelm you. Don’t add so many things to your daily list that you can’t get it all done or are running around like crazy doing things. There will be days where you sleep in, there will be days you may have something important come up, don’t worry about these days. Simply pick up where you left off the next day.
Final Thought’s
Timer
You may want to consider using a timer or alarm for each task you’re completing. Doing this will keep you on task and ensure you’re using your morning routine time wisely.
Make it a Habit
Routines take time to implement. There's a reason most people don't have a proper routine, they take work, persistence and effort to complete daily. You might fail and you might have weeks where you simply don't feel like doing a routine, try push through these weeks and give your routine a fair chance of making your life better.
Make a Couple Versions of Your Routine
If you can’t seem to fit it all into a couple hour morning routine, another option is to have a couple different routines, Monday to Friday may be a specific routine before work, Saturday and Sunday may be a different routine before you spend time with your family and friends.
Continue Molding Your Routine
Our lives change as time goes on, your routines should change with them, you will find yourself losing interest in some things or being forced to add other things into your routine, go with the changes, alter things and continually make your routine your own.
Conclusion
Now, the final part to this list is to get productive, it’s time to get to work and make each day a great day.
Taking the time to develop a daily morning routine can change your life; it’s one reason why almost every successful person has a proper morning routine to fit their life. Make it fun, make it productive and make it a time to fill your body, mind a soul with things that are important to you. Planning this properly will ensure a productive and effective day, leading to a more successful, happy and stress-free life.
Q: What one thing helps you start your day more than anything else?
Is there something you do each morning that helped push your life forward?
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