The way you start your morning will affect the rest of your day. A great start gets you the momentum to storm through your tasks. Getting up from the wrong side of the bed can leave you frustrated and angry.
This is why it’s important to pay attention to your morning habits. Having good morning routine ideas can make or break you. Whether you’re completing studies or going to the gym, a good morning routine will help you.
In this post, I’ll share some morning routine ideas that I’ve found to be effective. I believe we’re all different, so I’m not going to share entire, carefully planned routines. I’ll share different “elements” that you can use to build a routine that works for you.
Morning Routine Ideas to Spark the Momentum
The idea of gaining momentum means completing something as soon as possible. When you complete a task, moving to another one is easier. This creates momentum that helps you to storm through your tasks easily.
If you start your day lazily, you’ll lose momentum. If you spend the first two hours scrolling social media, you’ve already wasted some time. Thus, you’re not so eager to move to your first task.
Luckily, getting up the momentum is pretty easy. All you have to do is to start your morning with a simple task. When you perform a task right away, you’ll gain an urge to move to another. In the end, you’ll end up with many completed tasks and a sense of pride. Thus, you need less self-discipline.
Here are some task ideas to do right away:
- Make your bed
- Journaling
- Quick exercise and shower
The task can be anything productive. When you do it right away, you can tackle the bigger tasks, knowing that you’ve already completed something.
Avoid Your Cell Phone
Have you ever tried avoiding your cell phone in the morning? If you haven’t, I recommend trying it. Here’s why:
A smartphone is a rabbit hole that sucks your productivity and motivation. Social media is designed to steal your attention with its AI algorithms. It’s so easy to get hooked on Instagram or TikTok, although scrolling there doesn’t advance your goals.
If you want to kickstart your morning with productivity, avoid your cell phone for the first hour.
Another reason is your state of mind. When you look at all the negativity in the news, you’ll start your day with negative thoughts. Social media has a lot of negativity nowadays. People keep talking about CoVid, sharing their highlights, and faking a perfect life. Watching all that only hurts you, if you’re trying to be productive.
Morning Routine Ideas for Mental Health
They say that if you don’t have your mental health, you have nothing. I find this quite accurate. Mental health is a topic that’s often overlooked. Therefore, it deserves its own paragraph.
Since your morning determines much of your day, it’s important to start it well. If you spend time in the morning taking care of your mental health, you’ll get the most bang for your buck with mental health.
Some great activities for mental health include mindfulness and gratitude. You can practice gratitude by writing down things you’re grateful for. This is a common exercise to shift your mind into positive thinking. When you start your mind positively, the rest of the day becomes better.
Another great way to start your morning well is to perform a mindfulness exercise or meditation. Doing this helps you to stay present and stop worrying about the past or the future.
There are also many other great exercises to fight anxiety, overthinking, stress, and more. Whatever you do, morning is a great timeframe to do it. When thinking about your morning routine ideas, these are important things to consider.
Should You Wake Up Early to Be Productive?
This question is common among many self-help and business gurus. They all seem to emphasize how awesome it’s to get up at 5:00 AM and hustle.
Getting up early has many benefits. Benefits like no distraction, gaining momentum, and a sense of being ahead. However, there’s a catch.
Getting up at 5:00 AM is useless if you don’t get enough sleep. When you’re tired, you’re not productive. Think about it this way: Would you rather get up at 5:00 AM and perform a task that takes four hours because you’re tired. Or, would you get enough sleep, get up at 8:00 AM, and complete it in an hour since you’re well-rested. Either way, you’re ready at 9:00 AM.
The most important thing is to utilize the first hours of your day that are the most productive ones. Regardless of when you get up. One of my most productive days was when I got up at 4:00 PM and started hustling immediately. I worked late and achieved a lot.
In the end, it’s not about when you wake up. It’s about what you do when you’re awake. Sure, waking up early works for many people, especially if you need to get something done before work. However, make sure you get enough sleep.
More Morning Routine Ideas
There are also more things you can try in the morning to start your day well. First of all, drinking a glass of water is great. When you’ve slept, your body isn’t so well hydrated. Getting a glass of water fixes this immediately.
When it comes to breakfast, I recommend eating a nice combination of fruits and carbs. Anything healthy goes since it gets your energy levels high for a long time. This prevents you from working hungry and getting frustrated.
How to Build Your Own Morning Routine
Like I said in the beginning, we’re all different. Therefore, different morning routines serve us differently. This is why I didn’t give you entire morning routine ideas. I introduced you to a bunch of elements you can test to create a good routine for you.
A good morning routine prepares you well for the day. It makes you relaxed, happy, energized, and ready for the day. The sooner you get your good mood and momentum, the better your day will be.
I recommend avoiding anything stressful, frustrating, or being in a hurry. It’s always annoying to sacrifice your peaceful morning time for that.
Take a look at the element from this article, and put some of them on a test. Maybe start your tomorrow morning with a glass of water, making your bed, and quick mindfulness. Maybe get up early and jog around the block. Whatever feels good for you.
I hope these tips gave you insights into a good morning routine, and how important it is. Starting your morning well determines much of the day, so use it well. With this said, I wish you a productive day!
About the Author
Veikko Arvonen is a blogger and author with a passion for self-development. In his blog Maxed Out 20s, he shares how you can become more confident, respected, attractive, and happier. Visit his blog to learn more and get your free eBook!
