If you start your day rushed, crappy or overly tired then how the hell do you think the rest of your day will go! I know, I know, feel free to insert your excuses here but the truth is by adjusting your mornings ever so slightly you will improve the rest of your day dramatically and surely that is worth being ever so slightly put out. Not to mention after a couple of weeks of a new morning routine you will be used to it and have nothing to complain about. I’m not saying that you are about to fall in love with mornings but you will fall in love with how you feel about mornings.
So improve your mornings with five simple steps which will leave you starting your day calm, happy and relaxed. Now surely that sounds like a much better start to your day!
Forget snoozing!
Stop hitting the snooze button, get your cute butt out of bed! Snoozing doesn’t give you any extra sleep, it’s just a waste of time. Either get up and be productive or set your alarm later and get some extra quality sleep. Either option will set you up for a better day, however, if you have a certain sexy someone in bed with you, then I am all up for you staying in bed, but that’s a whole different blog post. I know it can be hard to get out of bed but snoozing really is not the answer and can actually leave you feeling more tired and let’s face it you have enough to be tired about already. So next time your alarm goes off, just jump out of bed and jump straight into the shower. This will wake you up far quicker than snoozing for an hour. If you really do struggle with getting up then by yourself an alarm clock that adds natural daylight to your bedroom, yes they are slightly more expensive than your average alarm clock. However, if you are actually starting each and every day off as a struggle, then surely it’s a good investment. Another trap to avoid is going back to sleep because your alarm hasn’t gone off. I regularly naturally wake up 30 minutes before my alarm and at that point, I actually get up because that’s your bodies way of saying it is rested. Going back to sleep until the alarm is really just another way of snoozing so listen to your body and get up!
Eat your breakie!
There is a reason breakfast is called the most important meal of the day. Eat it, make it a special occasion like you would at the weekend. Let’s face it if you don’t eat your breakfast you’re going to have a pretty grumpy morning and by 11 am you will be reaching for something sugary, which then leads to a day of sugar ups and downs. For those of you that say you don’t have time, well you are now going to stop hitting snooze so there’s some extra time, eggs only take a couple of minutes. So that excuse doesn’t fly. You can’t eat first thing, well if you start your body WILL get used to it. However, if you really can’t then make something yummy either in the morning or the night before, get to work 15 minutes earlier and eat. You should have been awake a couple of hours by then so it’s not first thing and it’s before the 11 am cravings kick in. There is another excuse that no longer stands, believe me, I have an answer to all your excuses.
Take 10 Minutes to meditate!
Taking 10 minutes in the morning to yourself is the perfect way to start your day. Whether it’s sitting in the garden with a coffee, watching the sunrise or being lay down listening to some classical music. However, you chose to meditate is totally up to you, making sure you take the time is the most important part. Being able to have some time alone with your thoughts at the start of the day will make you much more productive. It will give your mind a chance to put the day in order and process the events of the day before. Seems silly to have to remind yourself to actually stop for ten minutes, one of my favourite ways to self-care first thing is to stretch which not only clears my head but also makes me feel amazing after sleeping all night. Now I realise this is the hardest point to do, if you have kids you can’t schedule them or if you work shifts you may struggle to find a good routine. I suggest creating a special playlist, can just be 10 minutes long but in that 10 minutes you don’t answer your phone, you don’t look at emails, basically, you don’t do anything but listen to the playlist. If you drive to work, take some time and listen to an audiobook, get lost in another world.
Add a little extra lipstick!
I am completely guilty of rushing around in the morning and not making as much of an effort as I could for work. Not that a full face of makeup is needed for work but it tends to make us feel more confident, which is not a bad thing. Buy making just the tiniest extra bit of effort will greatly improve your day, pick out something new to wear, try a new shade of lipstick or wear your hair a different way. People around you will complement you, someone may stop you to ask about your new outfit or which lipstick you are wearing. We naturally tend to walk a little taller when we feel we have made more of an effort, it boosts confidence which in turn makes us more productive in our day. Just by adding an extra bit of lipstick our entire day can change.
Digital Detox!
Do not look at your phone until the above four points have been done. We are all guilty of rolling over and spending 10-15 minutes in bed catching up on social media, news or emails. This needs to stop, you don’t need to look at your phone until your day starts. How can you possibly start the day relaxed if the first thing you do is overstimulate your mind? By looking at your phone first thing you are forcing your day to start immediately before you have even woken up properly. Leave it alone, you won’t have missed anything. Use the non-phone time to go and start breakfast.
Take back your mornings and watch how your entire day changes for the better.
