I’m not a morning person, at all. I’ve written about this in other posts and will probably always be this way. I’m a pretty motivated person, so I’ve been known to take the first morning classes or volunteer to open at work. But I would much rather be snuggled up in bed until the afternoon.
Despite my morning disposition, I will admit that on days that I wake early, I am more productive. This has to do with how I start the day. If I move like molasses when getting up, the tone is pretty set and I have little motivation to do anything. Not to mention that getting up late means a great deal of the day is over anyway. But a major reason to why I am more productive on days that I wake early is the way that I start the day.
A morning routine doesn’t have to take ages or anything really complicated. Having a little morning routine helps to start the routine for the rest of the day and help you to keep up the momentum. Here are 5 super easy ways to start the day off right:
- Make the bed. Starting off the day with a neat bed makes the bedroom look incredibly tidier and sets the mood for the rest of the day. It’s all about creating that first mental shift towards order.
- Drink a glass of water. It’s better if it’s a glass of lemon water, but just a plain old glass of water will do the trick. Before eating breakfast, drinking water helps to ease your body into digestion while flushing out all of the toxins that your body was working on while it slept. Plus, because most people don’t typically drink water throughout the night, you are dehydrated in the morning.
- Eat breakfast. We’ve all heard this time and time again, eat breakfast. This starts up your metabolism and gives you fuel for the rest of the day. Skip the sugary empty calories that will have you crashing in an hour and stick to whole foods like toast with avocado, granola, oatmeal, or a protein packed green smoothie.
- Smile. This may sound a bit awkward at first, especially if you hate the world before noon like I do. But the physical act of smiling is another way to create that mental shift that can effect your attitude for the rest of the day. Think of it as making sure you “wake up on the right side of the bed” every morning.
- Move. I’ve written about the benefits of yoga and the morning is the perfect time to get your blood flowing. But if you are short on time, just a few quick stretches and deep breaths will do wonders to get your blood moving, endorphins flowing, and your energy at a nice level.
That’s it. Seriously. Easy peasy. Those few simple steps help so much, especially for people like me, who is not a morning person.
