Morning habits are about setting the tone for the day. If you begin your day hitting the floor right when the alarm rings, you’ve already made yourself some extra time to tailor the rest of it.
While there are no hard and fast rules here, it is absolutely indisputable that these habits have a long-term impact on your life, the mindset you keep, and the energy you bring with you.
No two people have the same routine, which is to say that there is a way for each one of us out there that works perfectly well.
Realistic morning routines you can follow
We’re not big fans of preachy things. So here’s something you can realistically do:
1. Early Wake-Up and Hydration
When you wake up early, you give yourself a jumpstart that makes you feel in control of the rest of the day. The quiet of the morning, as you sit up and drink water, gives you room to arrange your thoughts and plan your day.
Hydrating yourself is a must as soon as you wake up because the body is dehydrated after hours of sleep.
By starting your day with water, you give yourself a metabolic boost, aid digestion, and improve overall energy levels by helping your kidneys flush out toxins. The sluggish mind gets to focus better, and as lymphatic circulation gets better, the immune system gets enhanced.
2. Mindful Meditation or Journaling
Sitting with yourself in the morning, focusing on your breath, is being mindful. When you wake up at the crack of dawn, gather your thoughts to savor the sun rising up in the distant horizon, hear the birds chirp, be mindful of channeling your mind to the energy that each day brings.
Many choose to sit down for guided meditation by plugging into a programme they’ve subscribed to or just playing some soothing music in the background. It also helps to sit and journal your thoughts before getting caught in the hustle of the day.
Write down how you are feeling and what you are manifesting for the day. These practices have been proven to reduce stress over time. Keep the screens aside and devote some time to just waking up to the day. Soak in the quiet and pay heed to what your body is telling you.
Speak in those quiet moments to yourself. Follow simple routines that will help you do the day better than the previous one. Internalize and heal where you need to heal.
3. Exercise or Gentle Movement
Get movement into your days—be it gentle or more vigorous yoga sessions, stretching to get the blood flowing, or a quick home workout. Like a work nook, you could set up a little space for your exercise routines with basic things like a few weights and an exercise mat.
For when time is a crunch, think of walking while taking your calls or getting up to make yourself a cup of tea/coffee. It will not always be about following a strict regimen to keep fit. Sometimes it’s about what you can do to bring more movement to keep healthy.
If you can set aside some time, think of joining a gym. Sometimes seeing other people doing their workout routines is all the inspiration you need to make time for your own.
4. Healthy Breakfast or Smoothie Prep
Have a good, hearty breakfast that has all the right ingredients—from microfibres to protein, carbohydrates, and minerals. Think simple home-cooked versions of salad bowls, cereals, smoothies, breads, nuts and seeds, fresh fruits, fresh juices, yoghurt, and so on.
A good breakfast helps to improve focus and adds productivity to your day. Give your body the fuel it needs to be working at its optimum. Cook your meals at home or order in from trusted sources/kitchens that don’t compromise on quality. Some like to keep a record of what they are eating and in what portions. Follow a fixed time for having the first meal of your day, and like it is said, ‘make it colorful.’
5. Plan the Day
Set time aside to plan out your day in advance. Make detailed to-do lists, set reminders, and use digital planners to keep you abreast of the tasks that need to be done. Prioritize the sequence of your work and stick to it diligently. Google Calendar, Trello, Evernote, and plenty of others are good applications to keep you updated with work priorities and work statuses.
Sharing your calendar if you work with a team is a good way to keep them in the loop of time available to reach you for a call/meeting. There will be some days when plans will go awry and spill out of control. Do what you can do best to salvage what remains of your plans without hyperventilating. For such days, you should have thought of alternative plans to put work back on track.
6. Personal Development
Subscribe to audiobooks or podcasts that resonate with you. If you are a book lover, get hold of a few books that talk about personal growth and development. Learn from professional titles/business school journals that will help you sharpen your skills as an entrepreneur.
Join workshops and seminars being conducted by experts to listen to their words of experience and advice. Join clubs that have like-minded individuals to brainstorm and discuss plans with. Gain new perspectives and build better insights.
Each day, make it a practice of spending some of your time just to get better as an individual and as a professional. Read or listen or watch, but set some of your time aside for personal growth.
7. Affirmations and Visualization
Vision boards are powerful. Sit down and think about what your goals are—short-term and long-term. Prepare a vision board with pictures as paper cuttings to fix on a board or digital ones to turn into a collage which you can look at whenever and wherever you feel like. Write out your plans and goals and map out your route to them.
Make diligence a habit and adopt practices that make you feel that you are on the right path to realise all that you have envisioned. Affirm daily that you are doing the best you can and that you are another day closer to achieving your goals.
Affirmations are magical. They have the power to propel and change for the better. Make sure you are kind to yourself, are less critical of your failings, and are ready to learn and grow with every opportunity that presents itself.
Conclusion
Remember, the key to success is consistency, not perfection. Small steps over giant leaps, small wins over a period of time until it all gets consolidated as something bigger. Try different habits and make your own personalized routine that makes you work better. It will take a few hits and trials, but you will get there. Habits are routines set into motion.
They need to be nurtured.
For those who find it difficult to make their own routines, there are professionals who can tailor one to your needs. We are here to make your journey as an entrepreneur more rewarding.
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