Ghost-Written Blog Post: How to Power Up your Morning Routine

How to Power Up Your Morning Routine: Maximum Productivity for the Day Ahead

How’s your morning routine? You do have one, don’t you? Without a routine, it’s easy to feel like your days fly by with little to no productivity—and if that sounds familiar, it may be time to get organized. Mornings can be rough, and planning for them makes a world of difference. Here are our four top tips for powering up your mornings and making sure your days start off on the right note:

Quit Coffee.

You’ve probably been told that the only way to wake up, or at least the best way, is with the help of some good old caffeine. It’s a long perpetuated myth, but there are alternative ways to quench that morning thirst and help yourself wake up. Consider giving up that daily cup (or three) of coffee and trading it for an ice cold glass of lemon water instead! It may seem counterintuitive, but the benefits are real:

“ Lukewarm water with a fresh lemon squeezed into it has numerous benefits–but you need to drink it first thing in the morning. It starts your metabolism, which burns fat while sustaining muscle, cleanses your mouth and throat, and gives you a boost of energy. Then wait at least 30 minutes before brushing your teeth, drinking, or eating. This might be a toughie for caffeine addicts, but you can manage 30 minutes and it’s a great way to reduce the need for a coffee fix. ”¹

Boosting your metabolism first thing in the morning can positively affect your entire day. You’ll feel more energized, and eventually, more productive. Caffeine is addictive, so we wouldn’t recommend quitting cold turkey. It may require some weaning and cutting back over time, but trust us—it’s worth it.

Write it Down!

What’s the first thing that you reach for in the morning? Is it your phone? For many people, it is, and we can’t really blame them—after all, who needs a newspaper when a single tap on a screen can get you up to date with the entire world’s current events? It’s easy to get addicted to the instant gratification your phone provides, but creativity can thrive when you let yourself wake up in other ways.

Time Magazine explains it well: “In a study published in the journal Thinking and Reasoning, researchers Mareike Wieth and Rose Zacks reported that imaginative insights are most likely to come to us when we’re groggy and unfocused. The mental processes that inhibit distracting or irrelevant thoughts are at their weakest in these moments, allowing unexpected and sometimes inspired connections to be made.”²

When your alarm goes off in the morning, try ignoring your phone and reaching for a notebook and a pen instead. Those news feeds and emails aren’t going anywhere, so try taking a few moments to jot down your first thoughts.

Stop Snoozing.

The snooze button on your morning alarm is tempting, we know. For some, it’s practically a morning ritual to keep snoozing, reassuring themselves that it’s only a few more minutes. But forcing yourself to wake up when that first alarm goes off can make a world of difference!

“Don't snooze. When you hit the snooze button repeatedly, you’re fragmenting what little extra sleep you’re getting, so it is of poor quality,” says Robert S. Rosenberg, medical director of the Sleep Disorders Centers of Prescott Valley and Flagstaff, Arizona. “Instead, try moving your alarm farther from your bed, so you have to stand up to turn it off.”³

Once you stand up, it’s much harder to justify lying back down, so try moving your alarm clock a few extra feet away from your bed. Your body will adjust to being awake much more quickly, and the rest of your morning routine will easily fall into place.

Establish Rituals.

Whatever you need to do to get yourself ready each day, do it. Do it day after day; rinse and repeat. Establishing a routine will make your mornings much more manageable, and before you know it, you’ll be crossing off all those things on your to-do list.

“Rituals are considered the most effective self-empowering tools, even if they appear banal and eccentric at times. Ancient tradition understood the power of rituals in reinforcing habits and changing the way we see and create our reality. You may have your bed-time and mid-afternoon rituals, but morning rituals are the most powerful and effective in charging your day.”⁴

What you choose to do each morning influences the rest of your days, and having a routine sets you up for expected outcomes. By forming habits, you free your mind from grogginess and allow yourself to think about more important things than how many times you pressed the snooze button. Powering up your morning routine is certain to power up your entire day, and getting up on the right foot and the right side of the bed has lasting effects. It doesn’t take long to see the benefits of healthier habits, so what are you waiting for?

Sources:

¹https://www.inc.com/drew-hendricks/6-better-ways-to-start-your-morning.html
²http://ideas.time.com/2012/02/01/why-morning-routines-are-creativity-killers/
³http://www.newsusa.com/articles/article/early-morning-risers-4-ways-to-power-up-your-day
⁴http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226565