Everyone could to with a boost to their daily energy levels and their ability to stay on target and get things done. With so many distractions all fighting for our time and attention, it is easy to go from straight from waking up to wanting to take a nap.
Some days, you wake up and everything goes just right. You’re up before the alarm clock rings, you’ve showered and headed out the door for a jog, or maybe dusted off that old treadmill you’ve had lurking in the garage for the past year. You are motivated, and that energy can carry on with you throughout the day.
Other days find you slumped at the breakfast table, staring bleary eyes into space, wishing you had the will power to get up and get moving.
Your energy and the will power to put it to good use are a finite resource and a bad start to your day can leave you unproductive, tired and in a bad mood.
While we can’t provide a miracle solution to those bad start days, here are 7 incredibly productive things to do in the morning that can help optimize your day.
Productive Things To Do Every Morning
1. Get A Game Plan For The Next Day
If you want the most productive day, plan for it the night before. It doesn’t need to be a minute by minute breakdown, but by mapping out the major tasks and things you want to accomplish the next day, you set yourself up with attainable achievements.
Prepare your clothes and check you have ingredients for a healthy breakfast. If you take a lunch to work, prep it now, not in the morning.
A routine of pre-planning for the next day and taking away the little stresses helps reduce the drain on your energy that leads to decision fatigue. Save that will power for later in the day!
2. Start The Day With Lemon Water
We get dehydrated overnight. Drinking a glass of water first thing in the morning helps to restore your body to its optimal hydration level and also starts your metabolism on the right foot.
For a real energy boost and an aid to nutrient absorption in the stomach add lemon juice to the water and drink this 15-30 minutes before eating.
Lemons are packed with nutrients such as potassium, vitamin C, and antioxidants. Just don’t drink the lemon juice without water, as it is hard on your teeth.
Whilst you’re waiting for that Lemon water to be absorbed, it’s time to exercise.
3. Jump To It! Time To Get Some Exercise
Exercising first thing in the morning ensures that you won’t find excuses to put it off later in the day.
Research at the University of Bristol found that people who exercise have more energy and a more positive outlook, which aids being productive.
Get your body moving for as little as 10 minutes to get your body pumping out endorphins, which are neurotransmitters that makes your brain feel relaxed, energized and in control
4. Tuck Into Brekkie
Eat a breakfast. A lot of people choose to skip breakfast, perhaps because they don’t feel hungry or that they don’t have the time. Make time! Just by eating anything at all for breakfast puts you ahead of a lot of people. Study shows that people who regularly eat breakfast will be less likely to suffer from obesity, they have more stable blood-sugar levels (therefore less prone to diabetes), and they tend to be less hungry over the course of the day.
If you need a cup of something hot and caffeinated, there is nothing wrong with grabbing a morning coffee. A lot of data shows that is really does help most people feel less groggy and considerably more alert. Just drink in moderation, as getting jittery is not an aid to a productive morning.
When you go a step further and make sure that breakfast is actually healthy, you’re opening yourself up to a wide range of additional benefits, such as improved short-term memory, increased energy, a more positive mood and the ability to concentrate better and for longer.
When you eat a healthy breakfast, the doors to a productive day swing wide open. A healthy breakfast gives you energy, improves your short-term memory, and helps you to concentrate more intensely and for longer periods.
5. Sun Screen, Not Phone Screens
Don’t dive for your phone the moment you wake up, save checking for the latest emails from work or your favourite retailers until after breakfast.
If you launch into e-mails, texts, and Facebook, you will lose focus and before you know it, you’ll be replying to messages and worrying about things that can be thought about later in the day.
Instead, get yourself outside and have the sun tell your body that it’s time to start the day.
We all have a natural body clock, your circadian rhythm, that aids your metabolism and your waking and sleeping cycles, thanks to cues from our environment, and getting out in the sun helps tell your body to stop producing melatonin, the sleep hormone, helping you become more alert.
Take your exercise outside to combine the benefits of that with simply being outside for a double whammy at the same time.
If you prefer to keep the energetic stuff out of sight of strangers, then exercise at home, but pop out for a cool down stroll in the morning sun, or take the dog for a walk.
6. Meditation and Mindfulness
To have a productive day often requires the right mindset in the first place.
One of the best ways to enhance this mindset is to be relaxed, focused and have a healthy perspective of what you can achieve and understand where you will struggle, both in terms of skill sets and also motivation. Meditation can aid you in achieving this.
Meditation isn’t about becoming a different person or even a better person, but helps you develop a more mindful ability to be present and full engaged with whatever you are doing in the moment.
If directly meditating isn’t for you, try journaling, colouring or some other creative outlet that suits you, to help you slow down, focus and think.
7. Interact with your family and friends
Before you have to head off to work, try and interact a little with the people you care about.
Ensure that your family are all sat at the table for breakfast together, not grabbing snacks as they head out the door separately. If you have friends who are also following the advice of this blog, invite them to have a run or jog with you in the morning. Call a parent, just to say hi and check they are okay.
Being with people you love boosts mood and energy levels, can serve up a big boost to your mood and energy levels and will set you up for a great day.
Just be sure to leave any stressful interactions until later in the day, as they will sap your morale and take your energy levels with it.
Summary
Try all these productive things to do in the morning and you should find yourself feeling healthy, positive and motivated, and you’ll be ticking off your to-do lists like you never have before.
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