The morning 5 step ritual, guaranteed to set you up for daily success
6:30am — Alarm goes off. Hit snooze. Alarm goes off again. Hit snooze again. And repeat a few more times.
7:00am — Roll over. Pick up phone and check notifications. All relatively pointless.
7:15am — Get up. Get dressed. Brush teeth.
7:30am — Still half asleep. Head to work.
Can you relate to the above? Maybe it’s similar to your current routine, or it resembles the routine of someone you know.
The problem with exhibit A, is it you will be a walking zombie until at least 11am, meaning you have lost a number of productive hours that simply cannot be gained back in the afternoon — it’s common knowledge that afternoons are full of distractions — therefore having a morning routine that promotes brain function and productivity is pivotal to the overall success of your day.
With that being said, let’s explore a really effective morning routine to set you up for a triumphant day!
1. Charge your smart phone outside of the bedroom
The first step actually starts the night before, by charging your phone outside of your bedroom. Why? Firstly, you’re about to become an early riser/morning person, which means you will probably start going to bed earlier. However, your personal assistant/smart phone has the potential to prevent from your most important task; sleep.
Your bedroom is a place to switch off (excuse the pun) and having a smart phone next to your bed prevents this in a way that you’re probably oblivious to. The reason isn’t so much that phone-related activities stimulate your brain and keeps you alert, as the type of light emitted by most modern phones and lights influence over your sleep patterns.
Basically, your body absorb the blue light emitted by your phone and this can confuse the daily sleep-wake cycle which your body is used to, leading you to feel wide awake when you should be drifting off to sleep…
Charge it in your living room. and watch your sleep quality improve.
“oh but my phone is my alarm clock? I have to have it next to me!”
… Buy an alarm clock mate.
2. Rise early — “The early bird gets the worm”
Above I touched on the fact that you are about to become an early riser/morning person. Set your alarm (and by alarm I mean your alarm clock, not phone!) for 30min prior to usual. So, if you currently get up/start your snooze cycle at 6:30am, set your alarm for 6:00am.
And when that alarm goes off — Get up! Morning snoozing has proven to inhibit your energy levels, so avoid it.
But, why get up earlier in the first place? Well, our creative juices start to flow after about an hour of being awake. The earlier we rise, the earlier we can tap into our ‘juices.’
Simply put: getting up earlier = more value created = more productive day.
Do this five times a week, and suddenly you’re achieving significantly more every single week.
3. Meditate
Many people underestimate the power of meditation. Just 10 minutes a day can set you up for a substantially more beneficial day, and life.
In the short term, meditation improves ones concentration. The ability to focus and multitask increases and memory improves. And, surprise surprise, this will help us to achieve more on a given day.
In the long term, however, meditation can improve ones life in a number of different ways. Let’s explore a few of these:
- Increase happiness — Studies have shown that brain signalling increases in the left side of the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for positive emotions, while activity decreases in the right side, responsible for negative emotions.
- Reduce stress — Meditation allows people to take charge of their own nervous system and emotions. Studies have shown improved ability to [permanently] regulate emotions in the brain.
- Slows ageing — Studies show that meditation changes brain physiology to slow ageing and that meditators have more grey matter — literally, more brain cells.
If you’re not sold on the benefits of meditation now, then I’m not sure what will convince you pick up this hobby (not sure if describing meditation as a hobby is the right terminology, but let’s roll with it.) However, if you would like to read more on this, click here.
Regardless of your meditation experience, I thoroughly recommend downloading Headspace and upgrading your account. No, they have not paid me to say this, I simply love this product because it works and has personally helped me.
4. Exercise early
There are literally thousands of articles and research studies around this topic, so I’m sure this is nothing new to most.
However, there are two benefits that are the most significant when we refer to daily success.
First off, early morning exercise can be a tremendous source of energy, something many of us need at the start of our day. But beyond that, morning exercise has been shown to improve focus and mental abilities all day long. Not only will you feel awake and have more energy after your workout, but your mind will be ready to take on whatever tasks you have lined up that day.
Secondly, early morning workouts improves ones metabolism. This basically means that your body continues to burn more calories after you work out — even while sitting at your desk! Burning more calories doesn’t directly set you up for success, but it does allow you to go out for lunch with a client, or have a beer with a colleague and not worry about ‘all of these extra calories’ that you’re consuming. These social events have positive effects on the mind, which once again, will set you up for daily success.
5. Have a full breakfast!
If we refer back to the intro example — a lot of us skip out on breakfast. When we do this, we are depriving ourselves of the vitamins and nutrients that we need to optimally function. Note, when I say a full breakfast, I do not mean sausages and hash browns for Narnia. Reserve that craving for the weekend.
Back on topic — Here are just some of the benefits of a healthy full breakfast:
- Energy boost to start the day — The great thing about breakfast is there are so many common breakfast foods that can be considered super-foods because of their nutrition value. Foods such as eggs, oatmeal and mixed berries are great sources of fuel.
- Sharper focus: Whether you are in class or on the job, the last thing you want on your mind is food, because once this thought enters your mind, it is significantly harder to focus on anything else. If you have eaten the right foods in the morning, then chances are this will sustain you until lunch, keeping you on track and smashing your goals.
So, there you have it! The 5 step morning routine to set you up for daily success!
Charge your phone outside of your bedroom, get up early, meditate, exercise and eat a quality breakfast.
If you resonate with the intro example, and starting such a routine seems daunting, then start with baby steps. During week one you could incorporate exercise, week two meditation, week three getting up earlier and so forth. This is not a rule book, but a guide, so adapt it to your life where you feel you will get the largest benefit.
Now go forth, and smash your goals!
