We’ve all heard the expression, if you can win the morning, you can win the day. One of the ways to do it is to set up regular routines and habits early in the day so you do not have to think about what you need to do.
This is a great way to get the momentum you need to become more proactive as opposed to just being reactive. You see, most people wake up in the morning, and the first thing they do is pick up their phone. In this way, they start reacting and creating distractions as opposed to proactively spending their time on self-care and giving themselves real direction for their day.
In this article, we shall elaborate on a set of small ways which you can improve your morning routine in order to improve your overall health. This is because it is very easy to develop some rather unhealthy morning habits over the years. So keep reading for more on this topic.
The earlier the better
It is important to keep in mind that the earlier you get up, the more time in the day you have to get yourself into the right mindset for the day. Whether that’s a work day, or a Saturday, starting each day with a clear and healthy mindset is the best way to ensure that you make the most of the day.
Another good reason to wake up earlier is that you get more hours in the day to be productive and get stuff done. Be it work stuff, or some extra time to meditate in the mornings, this is a small but very effective way to improve your mental health.
Stay away from your electronics
As tempting as it may seem to reach for your phone as soon as, or even before, you get out of bed. Don’t! This will suck you in and start taking your focus and energy from more important things to do as you wake up. Try to avoid this for at least 20 minutes after you initially wake up.
Your phone also holds a number of potential stressors including your bank account balance, news notifications which are unhealthy for you first thing in the morning.
Make your bed
This may seem like the obvious and monotonous element which has no place in this list. But you would be mistaken. If you take just two minutes. This is really powerful because it teaches you to do something routinely, and to do something really well, similarly to how the military operates. It will set you into gear for the productive day ahead.
Then, when you come back to your bed at the end of the day, you come back to a comfortable space which you can just jump into.
Journaling
This is a key element when it comes to self improvement. It is beneficial to set aside as little as ten minutes each day to fill up a few pages of your journal. There are many topics to write about like work, travel plans, and things that you are grateful for.
Writing about any one of these topics comes with many benefits. When it comes to your work, it can help to gain and improve clarity, get a better sense of focus and helps keep track of goals. Although writing things down does not automatically fix any problems you might have in your life, it helps you acknowledge and accept the difficult feelings you might be having and stop you from running away from them or pretending that they did not exist.
Breathing exercises
These are extremely useful exercises for more reasons than one might initially think. Engaging in these exercises will help you improve the act of breathing itself, as well as your posture. It teaches you to breathe deeply. That is, breathing into the base of the lungs, while in a good posture, allowing the air to flow through you freely.
A great breathing technique is the one known to classical singers and actors as the alexander technique. These breathing exercises help you exercise mindfulness which, in turn, helps you get a clear mind as you enter the day. A great app for this is the Headspace app.
Bodily movement
This can be just a few minutes early in the morning, separate from your exercise routine. Doing some light movement as well as some stretching can help you to wake your body up and get it to engage.
Conclusion
We hope you find these morning routine suggestions helpful.
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