The importance of morning routines for success
How can I get better in life without any stress and lack of motivation? How you start the day determines how your life will be.
Founder Jim Rohn once wrote that success can be achieved through simple discipline, practiced daily while failure is merely a series of errors. If that isn't enough motivation, you'll be productive every morning.
According to psychologist Richard Friedman, these initial 30 minutes are crucially crucial to productivity. In most instances, our time is three hours.
If you have a good morning routine, you'll have a productive day which will lead to less stress and happier life.
Here are 10 habits that will build a strong morning routine.
Benefits of being a morning person
Your morning sets the tone for the entire day. If you have a good morning, then you're more likely to have a good day.
- Quiet time. The mornings are typically quieter than the afternoons or nights. Depending on what time you wake up, people will still probably be asleep so you can go through your morning routine in peace.
- Get ahead. Starting your routine before people are awake means you'll probably avoid the normal "first thing in the morning" problems. You can work on new things instead of cleaning up other messes you may have later.
- Accomplish goals. Since you have more time to work on your important tasks, you'll be more likely to accomplish your goals. People typically get busy with things that are unrelated to their goals which distract them.
- Be less stressed. With a structured, scheduled, morning routine, you won't be rushed. You'll have the time you need, you'll know you can complete everything and you'll reduce your stress.
- Better mental health. Besides the mental benefits of the individual habits in your morning routine, having a structured and less stressful morning will help your mental health. You'll know what to expect, you won't be as anxious or stressed and you'll be happier as a result.
Your perfect morning routine might not work for someone else
Before we get started, it's important to note that everyone is different so what works for you might not work for someone else.
Some people may choose to wake up at 4 am but no matter how much you try to do that, you can't get started before 9. Just remember, just because someone wakes up at 4 am doesn't mean they are more productive than you.
It's about trying different habits to find the ones that work best for you.
1. Prepare the night before to eliminate morning decision making
A simple habit to have a productive morning is to actually write down your plan a day ahead. You don't want to have anything that holds you back or slows you down in the morning.
By having a plan created the night before, you'll be able to wake up and know exactly what you have to do.
You won't waste time planning in the morning, you won't be scratching your head wondering what to do, you'll be ready.
Remember, we're trying to increase the productivity and effectiveness of our mornings, the less friction we have in the morning, the better.
2. Prepare a healthy breakfast
Prepare an energy-packed breakfast and start the day with wholesome ingredients. Getting a good diet is easy and enjoyable.
Having an easy bowl of cereal or an instant smoothie can help improve your mood and reduce stress and fatigue.
If you start your day with a healthy breakfast, maybe a cup of coffee, and some water, you'll be giving your body the energy to have a strong start.
3. Fit in a quick workout
An early workout is a great way to get the blood flowing and wake up your body. Exercise is a great way to keep your body in peak physical health.
Yoga practice strengthens and relieves the body. It may be helpful to add exercise to your everyday routine if it helps with your fitness goals as they grow.
There are also mental health benefits of working out in general. It will help relieve stress and prevent depression.
You can also pair your workout or yoga with meditation as this has also been shown to have great mental health benefits.
4. Prioritize important tasks early
One of the best ways to have a productive morning is by prioritizing your important tasks early.
By doing these tasks early, you ensure you have time to complete them. It's a good habit and will help you accomplish more each day.
Also, it's a huge win to complete a difficult or important task early which will give you additional motivation for the rest of the day ahead.
5. Drink a full glass of water
Hydration plays an essential role in our wellness. Drinking water is important in our morning routine; it makes our brains sharper and helps our productivity.
Make it your routine to drink water as soon as your wake up and at breakfast. I recommend doing this before my morning coffee or tea because I don't want to forget anything. It also reduces the dehydration caused by caffeine.
6. Get out of bed, don't hit the snooze button
One of the worst things you can do in the morning is hit the snooze button. You set your alarm clock to wake you up, not notify you that you can sleep for 5 more minutes.
Waking up is going to be the first thing in the morning that you do, you need to make a strong start.
While at the moment you may want to sleep a little bit longer, hitting snooze will kill your perfect morning routine.
Avoid hitting snooze and get out of bed.
Bonus: Make your bed
It has been said by many professionals that one of the best morning routines is making your bed.
It gives you a very simple task to start your day, something easy to accomplish and the sense of accomplishment gives you a positive start.
7. Avoid your phone
Checking your phone is a terrible morning habit.
For 98% of people, your phone is a distraction. Even if what you are checking is work related. Your goal is to have a productive morning so you want to avoid mindless tasks or things that distract you.
You should focus on making at least the first hour of your day phone free, after that, you can set a specific time in your routine to check your notifications.
8. Get a good night's sleep
It is recommended that adults get 7 to 9 hours of sleep. While some people will preach about sleeping less than 6 hours a day, this can be misleading advice. Some scientists believe that people getting less than 6 hours are not as effective as they think, they are just used to the negative effects.
There are several ways you can to get optimum rest. This includes:
- Stick to a consistent sleep schedule
- Avoid screen time 1 hour before bed
- Don't eat heavy meals within a couple of hours before bed
- Don't consume caffeine later in the day
- Make sure your room is dark and quiet
- Take a shower or bath before bed
9. Say positive affirmations
Affirmation helps to overcome a number of negative thoughts that affect your self-esteem. Psychologists have found that the benefits of positive affirmations are similar to exercising but for your brain.
It may seem silly to do or you don't think it will work but it's been proven to have positive effects on a person.
What does daily affirmation look like? Here are a few examples:
- I am getting better and better every day.
- I am not pushed by my problems, I am led by my dreams.
- I am grateful for everything I have in my life.
10. Commit to Consistency
Listen to movie star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson: Success is not necessarily about greatness.
Slow and steady wins the race. If you look at anyone who has done great things, you will see they are extremely consistent.
You can apply this concept to all facets of your life but it's particularly important for your morning routine.
When you create a morning routine, it's probably going to include things you don't want to do and it may be easy to stop. Remaining consistent will ensure you're successful in creating a good morning routine.
7 bonus ways to create a morning routine
As we mentioned, like many productivity methods, a lot of it comes down to personal preference. What works for someone else might not work for you so you want to try different methods.
- Don't drink alcohol
- Upgrade your mattress and pillows to sleep better
- Schedule enough time to commute to work
- Meditate and or stretch
- Listen to motivational music
- Turn on the lights and open the curtains
- Read
Creating your morning routine schedule
To build a strong morning routine, you need structure. Since it is a routine, you need to keep things consistent.
When you pick the habits to incorporate into your morning routine, you want to create a schedule. Start from when you wake up. To when you'll take a shower, have your breakfast, leave the house, etc.
Having a schedule will make it easier to follow your routine. You can make adjustments to the times as you go.
Start small
The goal is to create better habits, be more productive, and improve your lifestyle. Whenever you make changes like this, it's important to start small.
The famous adage, "Rome wasn't built in a day", applies to this. If you start off with the simple things, like drinking a glass of water when you wake up, something very easy, you'll start stacking up the wins.
Maybe your next one will be to get out of bed without hitting the snooze button. More difficult but this would be a bigger win and have a more prominent
As things become easy, add a new habit to your morning routine. You can build on this until you have a strong morning routine.
Building a good morning routine final thoughts
It's ok if you're not a morning person, if it's something that you want to change though, you can do it with a little bit of change.
Making the necessary adjustments to your morning will help you have a productive day and ultimately a healthy lifestyle.
All it takes is baby steps to make changes, focus on your routine every morning and you'll create a morning routine that fits your life and leads to super productive days.
Now go set your alarm and get ready to have the best morning routine of your life!
Unicorn Platform