The Best Morning Routine For Success
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The morning routine you follow doesn’t just set the tone of the day; it sets the stage for success or failure.
If you have a morning routine that:
Makes you feel stressed at the prospect of what the day holds
Rushed you from one thing to another to get ready for work
Overwhelms you as you strive to catch up on emails and voice messages
Then instead of slipping peacefully into a restful slumber; you’re going to lie in bed dreading the next morning. Rather than look forward to sleep as a welcome relief from the concerns of your day, it becomes a quiet period before the next storm.
Your life becomes one long, stressful day as you pass from worrying about the day’s tasks to worrying about how you’ll confront the next day when you should be resting – with nothing to look forward to but hitting the ground running as soon as the alarm goes off.
Let’s take a look at some things you can start doing now that won’t just create a better morning routine, but the best morning routine to start the day with more energy, a positive outlook, and the personal time you need to prepare for the challenges facing you.
A Morning Routine for Success Starts at Bedtime
The best morning routine for success begins at bedtime. What are you doing right before lights out?
Are you:
Reading emails?
Surfing the internet?
Watching TV?
Catching up with work?
Planning your next day?
None of these activities are conducive to a restful night’s sleep. Let’s look at how each of these activities will ruin your rest.
Blue Light and Your Morning Routine for Success
The first three activities on the list have one thing in common – blue light. Harvard University neuroscientist Anne-Marie Chang has recently discovered that the effects of blue-light emitting screens on your biological clock extend far beyond the evening and will adversely affect your alertness in the morning.
Darkness stimulates the production of melatonin in your body – signaling to your brain that sleep is next on the agenda, but the blue light emitted by all kinds of screens sends the opposite signal; keeping you awake longer and making the sleep you get less restful.
The end-result is diminished alertness that will handicap your ability overcome the challenges at work.
You Need Some “Me” Time before Bed
Checking emails, messaging co-workers and going over paperwork, and planning how to best tackle tomorrow immediately before going to sleep is like hitting the gas hard with the parking brake on – a recipe for disaster.
You need “me” time before bed to slow down; take time to read an enjoyable book (a paper one!), have a relaxing conversation with your spouse (I know, not easy – but try), or simply stare at the stars for few minutes with a warm drink.
The morning routine that sets you up for success starts with a good night’s rest, and that means winding down, not winding up.
Get to Bed Earlier
We’re all convinced that of all the life sustaining activities that we must perform, sleep is negotiable. So we play video games, catch up on our favorite shows, hang out late after work and assume that we can quickly catch up on sleep later in the week. You end up waking blurry-eyed, unfocused, and feeling terrible.
Success in your career and personal life means being at your best – not chronically exhausted.
Wake Up Slowly
Today’s world is fast-paced. Everyone is concerned with cramming as much as possible into the day, and this usually means cutting corners.We try to make “extra” time by rushing from one thing to another. Unfortunately, for most people that begins first thing in the morning.
Is this how you start your morning? The alarm goes off; you roll over to check your phone for texts/emails. Next thing you stagger to the bathroom, get dressed, then kitchen for coffee (no breakfast of course, because you’re rushing) and into your car/mass transportation and you worry about being late the whole way there. It sounds like hell, doesn’t it? What you need is more time. But, where will it come from? Cutting down on unnecessary activities.
What do all the items on the following list have in common?
Watching TV
Hanging around the pub after work
Using social media
That’s right! They’re all unnecessary activities that you should cut down or even completely eliminate to “buy” more time in the evening so you can wake up earlier (and get more done). A morning routine for success isn’t rushed.
You’ve adjusted your schedule to get 7 to 8 hours of good sleep and now wake up with at least an hour before you begin the morning commute; start your morning by lying in bed. Just lie there. Spend a good 5 minutes coming back to the waking world. No email, voice messages, texts or social media! The best morning routine for a successful day gives you the time you need to ease into wakefulness.
A Cold Shower
Research has demonstrated the incredible health benefits of cold showers. From fighting depression to causing weight loss; a cold shower will prime your body for the day ahead, clear that foggy feeling away and focus you on the now.
The Best Morning Routine Includes Protein
Make a high-protein breakfast part of your best morning routine. You’ll start your day feeling satisfied, prime your metabolism, and banish that energy “crash” that kills your productivity and sends you running to the donut box (and out of pants that fit).
Change Your Morning Routine
Follow the tips you’ve just read;
Cut out sleep stealing activities
Get to bed early tonight
Ease out of bed
Wake up with a bracing cold shower
Take your time come morning and eat a healthy breakfast
You’ll have an immediate increase in the energy, focus, and health you need to succeed!