When you wake up, the actions and activities you decide to do can influence your day ahead. Your mood, energy levels, mindset, and concentration can all be determined just by what your routine is every morning!
That is why having a routine, which can benefit you and ensure you can make the most out of your day is absolutely fundamental, whatever lifestyle or intentions you have.
Having a terrible routine can be seriously impactful on someone’s daily life, because of the neglected consequence it can have on your mental and physical well-being.
A poor morning routine can even impact your ability to maintain productivity for your day ahead and can be the difference between you procrastinating and you accomplishing personal goals, achievements, or even personal growth opportunities.
These are just some of the major impacts of a poorly thought-out morning routine, and all of these can directly damage your overall well-being and hence productivity.
All these consequences link to procrastination in one way or another, which is the topic we’re going to focus on.
With a huge number of people globally suffering from procrastination, it’s important to assess the causes and figure out a way to maximize your productivity. With your morning routine being a major reason for procrastinating, it’s fundamental that we figure out the right activities and practices to maximize your productive potential.
So sit back and read what’s to come. You won’t regret it!
It’s easy to have a bad morning routine. This is because creating a consistent habit to optimize your morning time for your benefit requires consistency, discipline, and the willingness to exit your comfort zone, something that isn’t easy but one that can make you stand out from the majority of people around you!
For these exact reasons, overcoming laziness and sharpening your discipline to jump out of your comfort zone is essential to taking advantage of a great morning routine.
Doing so is the key to achieving your productivity goals and hence your personal goals and achievements, whether it be making more money, increasing your social circle, or aiming to buy that car you’ve dreamt of getting your hands on!
Just to get an idea, these are some of the benefits of a strong and healthy morning routine.
We will go through the best actions and activities you can partake in to reek these rewards and why they come about from doing them…
With these benefits in mind, here is my best morning routine which you can try to improve your productive potential!
A better morning routine ALWAYS starts with what you do the night before you go to bed!
This is a common reason why people simply can’t create a consistent early morning routine.
Stop going to bed at 3 am and think it’s completely healthy and normal to wake up at 6 am to have a productive day. I can assure you that for 99.99% of people in the world, this is not possible to achieve and is the ultimate reason for not having the energy, focus, and concentration to go about a productive day.
Instead, going to bed at a time such that you have at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep and can still wake up early is key!
I find going to bed at 10 pm to 11 pm and waking up at 5 am to 6 am to be the best schedule for me to have a smooth but positive and productive morning to prepare for a productive day.
Going from a schedule where you’re used to going to bed at 2 am and suddenly going to 10 pm the next day can be difficult, because of how strange it feels to do it. This is because your body simply isn’t programmed to usually go to bed earlier. After all, you’ve got it used to a later sleep schedule.
Instead, for a week, try moving your sleep schedule back in small increments to make it feel more and easier for your body. For example, one night you may go to bed at 2 am. Try going to bed at 1 am the next night, then midnight the next night, and so on so forth!
Doing so will get you into the habit of achieving that early sleep schedule so that you can wake up earlier the next morning!
So why is waking up earlier a great way to begin a healthy and strong morning routine?
Well, it all has to do with getting ahead of everyone else and making more time to undergo personal practices and activities that can prepare you for the day!
For instance, waking up earlier gives you time to go to the gym, which can be convenient as it’s generally less busy in the morning. You can get an efficient workout in because you won’t have to wait for gym machines or equipment to be used, which can waste time!
It also allows you to meditate and or do some early morning work to get you ahead of your schedule for the day!
Whatever it is, ensuring that you wake up early is essential for planning out your day ahead and getting ready for what’s to come, because waking up later is far less ideal.
This can prevent you from exercising, eating a proper breakfast, meditation, all of which can make you feel unprepared for a productive day!
Now you’ve woken up early, it’s important to prepare your mind and body for the day.
Meditation can often involve breathing exercises and stimulating the body to become relaxed.
This may be done by sitting in front of the nice view from your balcony at home or crossing your legs and sitting outdoors with nature! Such practices are great for taking your mind off any overwhelming thoughts you might have for the day ahead because the meditation focuses your mind on breathing and admiration of your environment.
Doing meditation can be quite impactful on your day ahead because calming your mind can make you feel prepared and ready to tackle your day. The release of pressure on your mind from anxiety and stress created by any negative thoughts or thinking is what helps your body release endorphins, helping to lift your mood and confidence.
This is fundamental for those of you who strive to reach your productive potential as you’ll undoubtedly be in a working mood too!
On the other hand, exercise also offers its fair share of mental, cognitive, and physical benefits to your well-being! One important factor that helps stimulate productivity is creativity – creating ideas, and solutions to problems and overcoming important obstacles to accomplishing hard work, personal goals, and achievements.
Exercise, whether it be a nice morning jog, lifting weights, cycling, or engaging in fun sports such as a morning swim is great for promoting blood flow to your brain, allowing oxygen and nutrients to be taken in for your mind to thrive and think clearly!
Neurogenesis is also a proven benefit of exercise, meaning the growth of brain cells in the hippocampus in your brain. This opens up your brain to learn more and absorb information, giving you a higher mental capacity, and hence more productivity!
With the never-ending choices of breakfasts you can have on offer, it can be difficult to decide what is good and what is bad for you!
Most people will probably pick cereal as their go-choice, either because they think it’ll give them energy for the day ahead, or simply due to how addicting it can become.
The truth is, this is a complete lie, and from experience being addicted to the likes of Weetabix in the past, cereal can lower your energy levels for the day ahead!
What makes the ideal breakfast for you to stay productive is one that has high satiety – it keeps you full for longer without having your belly rumbling. A good source of energy as well as nutrition to keep your brain sharp and focused is also equally crucial!
Eggs – The go-to staple in the breakfast culinary world! They’re easy to make and can be eaten with so many great foods, including toast, brown sauce, or in a tasty, buttery croissant, a favorite for me!
What makes eggs really popular for breakfast is their benefit to your brain health. Vitamin B12, B6, and choline are the key nutrients behind ensuring your cognitive health is optimized, by providing a steady source of energy, allowing you to stay alert, focused, and ready to put in some productive work!
Greek yogurt – Offers a steady source of energy, unlike heavily processed breakfasts such as cereal or Pop-tarts which can cause you to suffer from a sugar rush and hence the need to fall asleep.
I would recommend this little food hack too – Pair your Greek yogurt with some cranberries, and raisins, dark chocolate chunks, and some peanut butter and you’ll have a super-healthy breakfast that tastes like you’re having a cheat meal when you’re not!
The antioxidants and vitamins from the cranberries offer fantastic benefits to your focus and concentration while flavonoids in the dark chocolate can boost your attention and cognitive function to think efficiently for the day ahead. Don’t forget, the peanut butter is great for protein intake and taste too!
Having breakfast is great as a post-workout meal, allowing you to maintain the nutrients and energy you need for the day ahead. Don’t hesitate to try these amazing breakfasts, you’ll love them, especially the Greek yogurt recipe!
Exposing your body to a nice, crisp cold shower, cold plunge pool, or ice bath is the perfect way to activate your body and mind for the day.
Cold temperatures can significantly activate your nervous system and hence alertness as every nerve in your body can feel the coldness of the water or ice. Doing this can help keep your body and mind alert for the day, a perfect substitute for those who don’t like caffeine.
In terms of concentration and focus, developing a consistent routine of experiencing cold therapy, whether through an ice bath or cold plunge tub, trains your mind to focus on one thing – Resisting the pain and overcoming the pain of the cold, uncomfortable temperatures.
This is a great way to sharpen your mental fortitude and ability to concentrate in daily life, especially when it comes to being productive and minimizing procrastination!
I’d recommend taking advantage of your cold therapy experience after a physically challenging workout, as not only can you reek the rewards of mental fortitude, but also the physical benefits, specifically reducing muscle soreness and inflammation as well as recovery. This is essential if you’re someone who might get distracted by physical discomfort throughout your day…
Reading is a great way to start your day. It can help to prepare your mind for the day ahead by practicing its thinking and creative skills, all of which can make you flourish in whatever work you’re completing.
Simply spend 20 to 30 minutes every morning, whether it be during or after breakfast, or after your meditation to relax the mind and dive into an exciting story, biography, or perhaps even a newspaper. It’s a nice, simple way to keep your brain active and thinking, ensuring you’ll have a sharp mind for the day ahead.
Reading is also fantastic mental therapy!
It’s a great way to calm your thoughts and prevent over-thinking, a serious reason why people struggle to be productive. Reading helps take your mind off things, training your concentration skills and releasing the pressure of negative thoughts, stress, and anxiety in the process.
Feeling pressured and overwhelmed is a major impact of having a poor morning routine, especially one where you wake up late, leaving you little time to prepare for work and having to rush!
Making time for meditation and reading is the perfect practice to offset that overwhelming feeling and calm yourself down so you can focus on your day.
Whether it’s making time for a peaceful reading session, meditation, an early morning workout, or making a nutritious breakfast to give you the energy and concentration for your day ahead, combining all of these practices is a fantastic way to optimize your productive potential!
And I understand that it may be difficult at first to get into the habit of doing all these activities but remember what I said, do everything in increments! If it takes you a week to move your sleep schedule back, that’s fine.
If you’re trying to get into the habit of having a cold shower, use short intervals where you use cold water, and start increasing this day by day!
By practicing these activities in small increments and adding onto them with a slight challenge each time, you’ll naturally fall into the habit of embracing this morning routine in no time!
