The morning routine – make the best possible start to the day

You know those days where you wake up feeling like a bear with a sore head? It takes you ages to get started and, even when you do get started, you do not have a clear idea of what you should be doing. When you start a day like this; it rarely gets any better. Days tend to continue along the lines that they started. That is why you need to make sure that you make the best possible start to the day. The problem is that when you wake, your mind is still a little scrambled from enjoying a night’s sleep. Your body is also not prepared to jump straight into work. So, what you need is a morning routine which allows you make a steady start to your day; while your body and mind slowly wake up. This way, by the time you actually start working; you are ready to make the most of your work time.

Many of the most successful and influential leaders in history, both business and politics, describe themselves as having a morning routine. They are no different than you and I; they need to get their motor started too. The morning routine allows them to be prepared for the challenges which lie ahead. It makes it a lot easier to start the day on the right foot.

Don’t be the person whose snooze button is barely working because they have hit it so hard, so many times in an attempt to delay getting out of bed. Don’t b

Whether you are a morning person or not, the reality is that the morning is when you are most likely to have uninterrupted time to focus on your most important work. One of the reasons for this is that everybody else is poorly prepared to start the day. They don’t have a morning routine so they have barely woken up by lunch time. As a consequence, they have been unable to interrupt their own slumber; let alone interrupt you. You need to make the most of the opportunities offered to you in the morning because the effectiveness of the morning determines the importance of the day.

Another reason why you tend to experience less distractions in the morning is because there has been less time for things to go wrong and; less time for people to notice the things which have gone wrong. Let’s face it; the majority of unimportant disruptions occur when things go wrong. So, you can make the best of your day by getting your most important work done before things have had the chance to go wrong. Waking yourself up with a morning routine will put you in the best position to take advantage of these opportunities. Then, even if the rest of your day is a bust you can rest assured that you accomplished at least those few important things.

​The following are some examples of things you might include in your morning routine to help you make the right start to the day. The actual content of your routine is up to you:

​Even though you have been asleep for hours; your body has been performing some valuable maintenance work to help you recover from the stresses and strains of the previous day. It is likely that you will be a little dehydrated so, why not start the day with a big glass of water to help refresh your body.

When you are dehydrated, it is not just your physical performance which suffers, Your mental performance dips too. You can’t focus or concentrate and, your ability to make smart decisions suffers. So, not only do you struggle to do the work; you struggle to determine what is the right work to be doing. Within the first hour of being awake, I have drunk 1.5 t0 2 Litres of water. I am bigger than the average man so that may sound a little high, but you do need to get yourself hydrated as quickly as possible in the morning.

I have also noticed lately that dehydration has been affecting my sleep so, I ensure that I am well hydrated before I go to bed. The quality of my sleep has improved immensely, giving me more energy for the next day.

​Drinking water is just one of the many energy building rituals which boost performance. Learn 4 more by reading Energy building rituals.

​Make sure your shower is at the right temperature. Avoid too much heat as this can make you feel tired. In fact, taking the shower as cold as you can manage will actually wake you up quicker and get you going.

Taking a shower is almost ritualistic. You wash away what has already happened, your cares and worries. In doing so, you prepare yourself for a fresh start. And that is what each day is – a fresh start.

The shower is also a great place to set your intentions for the day. You can use many little practices and mindset tricks to help you get yourself into the right mindset, e.g.:

​All these little practices help you become present and get ready for the day ahead.

Eating a healthy breakfast is crucial to start your day off well. You don’t need to have a different menu each day as this will only lead to stress and decision fatigue. You really don’t want to have to make decisions this early in the day so, have the same breakfast each day and you will be able to prepare it without even thinking about it.

Enjoy the same healthy breakfast and you will be filling your body with the energy it needs to make a good start to the day. You will need this energy so don’t ever skip breakfast.

I used to commute to Dublin from my home town in the Irish Midlands. Five days per week, I would get a train at 6:35 a.m. Along the way, we would call at several stops and, at every one of them, I would see people shoving some snack down their throat. In their effort to save time, they had skipped breakfast and grabbed something along their journey.

Skipping breakfast to save time is like not bringing your car for its service to save money. In the short term you might think you are saving but, in the end, it costs you more. Just as your car will break down; so too will your body. Your body needs to be nourished and maintained properly so that it can keep serving you. Skipping the most important meal of the day, every day, means that you are under fuelling your body when it needs it most.  

You don’t have the energy to perform your work and; your body lacks the energy to perform its daily maintenance functions. Remember that every day, your body suffers wear and tear, and your body needs the energy to heal itself. If you regularly skip breakfast, you may be leaving your body short of the energy it needs to do this.

Making sure that you have time for a healthy breakfast is just one example of putting yourself first. Read – Why you must put yourself first for some more great ideas.

​Meditation is a great way to ease yourself into the day. It soothes your mind and allows it wake you up gradually. It helps you to remove any worrying thoughts and get focused for the day ahead.

Our natural state, as human beings, is a state of calm serenity and bliss. All negative feelings come from our thoughts. How you think about any incident or situation determines how you will feel about it. We tend to blame the incidents or situations for our feelings but that is not true. It is we who choose how we think about it and thus feel about it. For example:

​You cannot stop yourself from ever having negative thoughts, but you can learn to control your thinking and choose which thoughts to give your attention to; you can take greater control over how you feel. Meditation trains you to let thoughts go and to take control over where you place your attention. When you meditate regularly, you start to give less attention to your negative thoughts. Consequently, you spend more time in your natural, serene and blissful state.

​I meditate twice each day, as part of my morning and evening routines. You can learn more about evening routines here.

As you get older, your body gets more stressed and tense. As a result, your muscles tighten up and this can lead to pain and discomfort which can impact on your ability to perform to your best.

Implementing a simple stretching routine in the morning helps you to loosen up and get ready for what lies ahead; all while relieving tension and stress.

As somebody who has suffered several injuries throughout the years, I cannot over emphasise the importance of adding some stretching to your morning routine. It is not just sports which can cause muscle related injuries; The unnatural positions which we adopt for work can be very stressful on our bodies. Even sitting all day at your desk puts stress on the muscles in your upper legs, hips and lower back. If you never stretch, you can develop problems in these areas.

Add some light stretching to your morning routine and, a little more during the day. You will find your body and mind benefit from the reduced tension.

​You will find some excellent information on stretching, along with recommended stretching exercises on this site.

​You may wish to take a short walk in the morning to wake your body and mind up and think about what you are going to be working on for the day. Of course, this can be part of your journey to work so that you are combining two activities at once.

I don’t need to emphasise to you the importance for your physical health, of taking a walk. It should be easily understood. But people are always amazed when I tell them that my physical health is not the main reason for my walking. I walk for my mental health and wellbeing.

When I take a walk, I leave my problems behind and create space for me to think, plan and organise. By stepping out of my personal/professional life for the duration of the walk, I am giving myself the opportunity to look at my life more objectively. This usually leads to better ideas and clearer thinking.

A walk as part of your morning routine, regardless of how short, can be a great may to prepare yourself for the day ahead.

​I have previously written about the benefits of taking a walk. Read – The power of taking a walk.

​Affirmations are a fantastic way to build up your confidence and self-belief. The great thing about affirmations is that you just need a little privacy so you can say them just about anywhere. You can even say your affirmations while you take your shower or while you are taking a walk. There is no reason not to fit affirmations into your day.

As previously mentioned, many people don’t believe in affirmations because they only ever try to use them when they are feeling bad. But think about that for a minute. When you are feeling bad, are you going to believe some positive message you tell yourself, about yourself?

It is more difficult to believe the good about yourself when you are in a bad state. Just as when your friend is behaving badly, you may struggle to understand why he is your friend. But when he is behaving in a way you like, you think he is the greatest friend ever.

From my experience, the best time to use affirmations is when you are in a neutral or positive frame of mind. You feed yourself more positive thoughts and expand your feelings of wellbeing. Over time, affirmations will help you to be positive more of the time.

When you wake in the morning, you are usually in a neutral or positive state as, you haven’t had the time to start thinking negatively. Therefore, the morning routine is a great time to use affirmations. They will help you face the day with a more positive outlook.

​Affirmations are a wonderful way to boost your self-esteem. For more great strategies, check out – Unlock Your Self-Esteem.

You should have a plan for each day; ideally made the night before. Quickly review each item on the list and make sure that you have everything you need to get the job done.

When you don’t have a plan for the day and, you don’t know what the most important thing for you to get done that day; it is practically impossible for you to use your time wisely. Life is to be enjoyed but it you want to make the most of your time, you need to dedicate as much of your time as possible, to the most important tasks and projects – the tasks and projects which are going to allow you live the life you wish to live and; achieve the things you want to achieve.

To execute your plan for the day, it needs to be at the forefront of your mind. You need to make sure that you are prepared for the tasks and projects you must complete; that you have the necessary resources to complete them.

Reviewing your plan for the day, as part of your morning routine will take just a couple of minutes. But it can save you a great deal of time by allowing you to get your most important work done, in the least time possible.

​A morning routine helps you to make the best possible start to the day. Instead of waking up stressed and fatigued; you ease yourself gently into the day. Because it is a routine which you do every day, you don’t need to waste a lot of energy deciding what you should be doing. This means that your body and mind can wake up gradually and, stress-free. This way, when you do start your working day; you will be full of energy and ready to take on the challenges of the day.