The way we start our day can have a profound impact on our emotional, psychological, and physical well-being. It’s not easy living a stress-free life nowadays, and many of us wake up every day feeling less and less energized, until one day we notice that we are just going through the motions. One day, you might even realize that you’re stressed, anxious, and even sad. Don’t worry, it’s normal to feel this way nowadays, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t live your best life every day if you make some powerful changes.
Specifically, you should focus on improving and optimizing your morning routine to start the day off right. By improving your morning routine, you can set yourself up for a whole day of positivity and productivity, but doing this consistently will have a profound effect on your long-term health and happiness. With that in mind, here are the best ways to make your mornings as productive and healthy as possible.
5 Ways to Boost Your Morning Routine
1. How you wake up is important
It’s important to get a good night’s sleep every night if you can help it, but no matter how you slept, it’s vital that you wake up in the healthiest way possible. Firstly, do try to go to bed every night at around the same time, unplug from your devices, and get eight solid hours of quality shut-eye. This is your foundation.
Photo by Ava Sol on Unsplash
Now that you have enough hours of sleep behind you, you’re set to wake up feeling energized. However, even eight hours of sleep don’t guarantee a productive day. If you constantly snooze your alarm, if you don’t wake up with the sunshine but keep the windows covered, and if you grab your phone immediately upon opening your eyes – you will feel drained and stressed afterward. Make sure to get out of bed after the first alarm, pull up those blinds, and get moving.
2. Be mindful of what you eat
To start the day off right, you need to have a morning routine, and that means knowing exactly what comes first on your list. Firstly, it’s off to the bathroom, of course, but after that, you want to start prepping your first meal of the day. Now, it’s important to start prepping breakfast first thing in the morning because that’s the way you make sure you don’t skip it when the time comes to go to work.
Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash
Prep that first cup of hot morning coffee and choose to have a healthy meal instead of picking something up on your way to the office. It’s important to balance your micro and macronutrients, but avoid overeating so that you can stay energized. Once breakfast is almost done, it’s time to energize your body.
3. Squeeze a workout every day
Working out is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle, and it’s one of the best things you can do to energize your body first thing in the morning. That said, we’re not going to kid around and say that working out in the morning is easy. Most of us are far too busy to work out before we start the day, so we need a more efficient plan of attack.
Photo by Dane Wetton on Unsplash
Instead of working out once or twice a week, you should work out every morning for a shorter amount of time. You can also energize your body with the best pre-workout drink for an empty stomach and your taste so that you wake up quickly and do your yoga or HIIT session with energy and zeal. By working out quickly and getting it out of the way, you’ll not only have more time for everything else, but you will also start your day off feeling vibrant and strong.
4. Have the day all planned out
To stay consistent with a healthy morning routine and a healthy daily lifestyle, you need to have your days planned out as much as you can. It’s impossible to predict everything that’s going to happen, of course, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t plan ahead and create a daily routine where every chore and every task has its time slot.
Photo by Brad Pearson on Unsplash
This level of organization will allow you to prep yourself for a day of productivity and minimal stress, and in the long term, it will prevent life from jeopardizing your health. To achieve this, make sure to create a schedule for the upcoming week, and in the evening, you can revise the schedule for the upcoming day and optimize your timetable. Stick with this and you will immediately see your quality of life starting to rise.
5. Tidy up and leave the house clean
Lastly, don’t leave the house in a mess before you set off for work or wherever it is you have on your to-do list. Cleaning up and tidying up after yourself before you leave the house is an important psychological cue, and it makes you feel like you have already accomplished something before the day has even begun.
Photo by Laura Chouette on Unsplash
On the other hand, if you allow yourself to come back home to an untidy bed or a pile of dirty dishes, you will slowly start feeling more stressed and drained, like chores just keep piling on without an end in sight. Be smarter and fight the urge to do it later, and make sure to tidy up so that you can come back to a clean and organized home – just like your whole life should be.
Wrapping up
The way you start your day can have a powerful impact on your physical and psychological health. It can also make you feel drained or energized. Be sure to make the most out of your mornings by including these tips into your routine, and watch as you become more energized and happier.
Who is the author?
Sophia Smith is a lifestyle blogger, graphic designer, and a food enthusiast. She is very passionate about eco-friendly and green topics, eco beauty, and conscious business. Sophia’s other hobbies center around her love of yoga, wellness rituals, and living in balance with nature. She loves sharing meaningful content that inspires people and has covered topics ranging from organic beauty products and sustainability to self-care and mental health.
Sophia has contributed to a number of publications including Eco Warrior Princess, Naughty Nutrition, Herbs Mother Earth Living, Sivana Spirit, Urban Naturale, Carousel, and Cause Artist.
You can find out more about her writing by following her on Twitter (@sophia_bri)
