Always improving…

At the beginning of this year I decided that I wanted to be more productive, increase my energy levels, and waste less time in things that don’t matter. I did some research on the best practices that have worked for others. After digging around I came across some interesting stuff from the likes of Tim Ferriss, Tony Robbins, and other “life hackers.” I basically found out that the key to feeling awesome and increased productivity usually starts in the morning, even before you wake up.

I decided to apply some things I considered useful and started paying more attention to my daily routine. Below are six things I’ve been able to incorporate in my mornings since the beginning of the year. I encourage others to do the same!

1. No snooze

I’m not pressing snooze anymore. When snoozing your alarm (and going back to sleep) you’re inadvertently tricking your mind that it can rest, but in reality you’re just adding an extra burden to your sleeping pattern — your energy levels go down and can quickly send your mood off in the wrong direction.

Once your alarm goes off, listen to it, open your eyes, and wake up! Get out of bed an stretch for a bit, it’ll feel awesome. After a couple of days (or maybe weeks if you’re a deep deep sleeper) you’ll find it easier to wake up and ready to start your day.

2. Writing

Most people nowadays wake up and check their social media feeds. Doing this right after waking up is a bad idea. Once done, you’re automatically setting your brain in reactive mode instead of a proactive one. In other words, instead of putting your mind to work, you’re putting it to consume (possibly unnecessary) information. Your mind is at its best in the mornings, and not taking that into advantage becomes a bad habit; I call it the dumb stage. Repeating bad habits too often usually transfers into your work routine. So rather than focusing in work, you’ll be more interested in what’s going out there, checking your social feeds, etc.

Instead of checking social media, I now write for about 3 to 5 minutes. Get a journal, or download a note taking app in your phone, and write anything that comes to mind. This can be dreams you had that night, ideas that came to light, or just things you observe. Save these notes somewhere you can come back to — you’ll find them amusing or rather insightful at a later moment in your life. Some of my best ideas have come from this.

3. Meditate or exercise

If you’re into meditating then do that, but if you’re into exercising then do that. However, if you’re into both, then try waking up a little earlier so you can squeeze in at least 10 minutes of meditation before or after your workout. Working out everyday may not be feasible, but I definitely encourage everyone to meditate on a daily basis.

On Meditating

Meditating for about 10-20 minutes each morning has rapidly become one of the best things I’ve done so far in my life. It helps me stay in check with those things that happen around me and in some instances, with the ones that depend on me. The first couple of weeks is quite hard. Your mind is like an idea factory so don’t intend to stop it, it’s just hard. But that’s ok, your mind has never had a chance to pause for a couple of minutes in it’s entire lifetime. I find that quite fascinating.

From experience, meditating will give you a sense of presence, a sense that you can control anything your mind thinks about. Most of the time when we fail to do something or react negatively it’s because our mind becomes weak and fails to remain calm. Meditating will help you become aware of your thoughts at any given moment, in turn you’ll be able make better decisions.

If you need some guidance to meditate then I suggest to start going to group meditation class where you can relax while a teacher guides you through it. After a few weeks, try it at home. Start short, 5 minutes, then 10 minutes, and so forth.

On Working Out

We all know the benefits of working out. I actually love it, it makes me push my body, clear my mind, and relieve stress. If you couple that with meditation, you’re then part of a group of people that are most likely to do more and feel great. Almost every successful person I know does meditation and some kind of exercise on a daily basis.

One of my favorite quotes is:

“If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self.” 
― Napoleon Hill

Meditate and make better decisions.

4. Cold showers

This is a hard one. How in the world do I put myself through this painful act in the morning? Well, taking a cold shower is not as bad as it seems. The first few times it’ll be hard but doing it actually helps you mentally and physically. According to Tony Robbins, cold “plunges”, or in my case cold showers, improves your lymphatic circulation (think of it as a cleansing for your vessels–killing waste and bacteria), it improves your cardiovascular circulation, reduces muscle pain, increases weight-loss, and even boosts your happiness by triggering a flood of mood-boosting neurotransmitters.

I’ve been able to feel how it inspires my creativity and relaxes me while increasing my energy levels to start the day.

5. What to wear

This is not something I necessarily do in the mornings, actually I never do it in the morning but rather the night before. Choosing what to wear the night before, automatically helps you make one less decision in the morning. I now wake up, journal, meditate or exercise, shower and put on my clothes that I have already selected.

Leaders, the likes of who have less time than any of us, have optimized this process. Check out what President Obama had to say about it in Vanity Fair:

“You’ll see I wear only gray or blue suits,” [Obama] said. “I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make.”

It’s one less thing you have to worry about. Make less decisions and do more.

6. Putting myself out there

I think it’s human nature that we want to be relaxed and alone in the mornings. However, I’ve started to engage in conversations early in the morning, usually with a complete stranger. This gets you out of your own comfort zone and into the mix. Just like that saying “life/innovation happens outside of your comfort zone”, I believe is true with this as well — especially if you’re able to couple it with learning something new.

So next time you walk into a Starbucks in the morning, or pass by someone in the street just say “Good morning!” or ask them how they are. Whatever you do, engage in small talk. It’s a mutual boost of confidence and energy when humans acknowledge the presence of others.