I’m a morning person. No, not the cheery, bubbly morning person who bounds out of bed and doesn’t need any coffee or silence in the morning. I’m the “I know I am more productive in the morning when it’s quiet and I have my coffee, alone” kind of morning person. I love being up before everyone else, planning my day in the dark, quiet, peaceful pre-dawn hours. As a writer, I am at my most creative in the morning. So, the more I can get out of my time in the morning, the better. Because by 9 p.m. I’m open-mouth snoring on the couch and can barely get my exhausted ass up the stairs to bed.
So, knowing that everyone is not a morning person but most would probably like to be more productive in those early hours of the day because we all have things to do…I thought I’d share my strategies for getting up and having a kick-ass morning.
- Get up when the alarm goes off. I use the 5-Second Rule to get myself out of bed and you should too if you are tempted to hit the snooze button. There’s some science-y stuff behind it but essentially, if you hit snooze and go back to sleep, your body thinks it’s time to really go back to sleep (like, for 90 minutes or more) and it will be even tougher to wake up and be alert for the rest of the day.
- Don’t look at your phone. I mean it. Don’t even go there. Your morning is the only time you have to yourself (in theory). When you immediately look at your texts, emails, social media alerts, etc., you have now handed over your attention and your priorities to other people. Their problems (or pictures, comments, likes) have become your problems. And, you find yourself lying in bed for another 30 minutes. Get up!
- Put on workout clothes. If you intend to workout in the morning, which by the way, I believe is the best time to exercise. Get it out of the way. If you don’t workout in the morning, pack your bag for the gym so you don’t forget it at home. Or, layout your clothes for your evening workout when you get home. The key here – Make workout clothes a part of your morning so you don’t neglect to do it.
- Drink a big glass of water. Before coffee. Before tea. Drink water. Put lemon in it if you want but while the coffee is brewing, drink water. None of us drink enough water throughout the day and drinking 8 oz. first thing in the morning gives you a jumpstart on your water consumption, metabolism, and helps you wake up and feel alert. Then have your coffee or tea.
- Make your to-do list. With my workout clothes on. Water in hand. Hot cup of coffee nearby. I write out the things I need to do today that are not necessarily work related. I know I have a presentation to work on and meetings to attend. I’m talking about the list of things like, schedule car inspection appointment, pick up son’s contact lenses, etc. And, I do an A list and B list. A is stuff that MUST be done today. B is a list of what needs to be done this week or in the near future. I write this out on paper instead of using my phone to-do list and carry it around with me.
- Workout and move on. When all the above is done, I jump on the bike, treadmill or hit the weights. 30 minutes during the week. Longer on the weekends. Then, off to work or the rest of my day.
That’s it. Simple. Effective. Get your head straight strategies to have the best morning possible. Oh, and I don’t look at my emails, texts, etc. until I’m on the treadmill or after I workout and I’m getting ready for work. Guess what – there’s never anything that demands my attention enough to derail my morning. I dare you to try a new morning routine and see how much more you can accomplish.
Comment below what your routine is and how you maximize your time in the morning.
Originally published at roadwarriorlivewell.com