Since it is a new year and January is typically the month people start to organize everything from garages to themselves, I decided to reflect over some of the new things I have implemented over the past year and month and share with you what is working. I find that when I start my day with these things, I set myself up for a much more positive and productive day, even though they are very simple ideas. If you want some suggestions on how to start your day, here are 7 things you should do every morning that don’t include drinking more coffee!
7 Things You Should Do Every Morning Before Breakfast (For a Positive & Productive Day)
Get Up Early- Even though I work at home, I set my alarm to get me up at a certain time and that time used to be 11 am. I don’t have any young children, and I am a bit of a night owl, so this seemed to be reasonable. I was finding that I wasn’t getting enough done before I had to run my husband at work this way, so I started getting up around 9 am and I am so much more productive. Not only do I have more time, but the day seems much less stressful and rushed, and I can spend more time with my husband in the mornings as well.
Do Yoga or meditation- I try to do a short yoga or meditation every single morning, even if all I have is 10 minutes. Yoga gets my blood pumping and I sometimes am able to get up to a sweat in just 10 minutes as well. The yoga is also great for stretching. Meditation is a good time to clear my mind before I start my busy day.
Give yourself positive affirmations- Positive affirmations are just simple phrases you say to yourself, out loud, preferably in a mirror. They help you stay positive and build your self-worth as well as help you practice self-love. They can be as simple as, “I am worthy of love” or “I will be successful today”. You say them to yourself for a short time. If you do meditation, they are perfect for your mantra. Also, make sure to let go of mistakes you made yesterday. Today is a new slate.
Do a quick clean-up- I try to clean up before I go to bed, but often, I am just simply too tired. I try to keep things up daily, though and if I didn’t do it in the evening, I do it in the morning. You don’t have to do a lot, either. I just simply pickup stray items in the main living areas and run the dishwasher as well as take out the trash on my way out the door.
Take vitamins- I can’t stress enough how much my moods and energy changed when I started taking vitamins and supplements every morning. Our go-go-go days often include us not getting enough of the vital things our bodies need to run at peak performance. Taking good vitamins and supplements (not all of them are created equal- a post will be coming on that soon!) can be a great way to make sure we have enough of what our bodies want.
Drink Water- Many people struggle to drink enough water. I’m not really one of them, but I do often forget to do it until later in the day and I found that when I started my day with water, I did far better in keeping my energy up than caffeine alone or at all. Think about it! You go all night with no water. You may have not had any in a full 12 or 16 hours since the day before. Your body needs water to run best. Just drink 1 glass of water and you will be re-hydrating yourself.
Look over your schedule and mentally prepare for it- Take a peak at your schedule. Do you have something hard or stressful to do later? Mentally prepare for it by figuring out what you will be doing to counteract that stress. If you do this, you will find that you are least likely to forget important things as well as find theme easier to do.
All of these things take me less than an half hour to do every morning and they help me start with a positive attitude for a productive day!