Do you have more bad days than good days? Do you want to make your days better? Then you just need to do one thing: follow a good morning routine and watch how it changes your life.
Are you always rushing through your day? Struggling to keep up with deadlines? Getting the bare minimum done instead of doing your best to achieve your goals? Then it’s high time that you begin your day with good morning habits. If you are always reacting, instead of acting, then sticking to a morning routine can give you the leg up you need right now.
“You can’t make everything go according to plan. But you can change one thing that’s wholly under your control: your morning. And that will change everything about the rest of your day,” explains author Jeremy Anderberg in an Art Of Manliness article.
Here’s what science says
In a TIME magazine article, K. Aleisha Fetters writes “Whether you’re an early bird or the definitive opposite of a morning person, a mounting body of research shows that exactly what you do (or don’t do) during the first few hours of your day makes a huge impact on your happiness, productivity levels, and even your overall health.” And it is even backed by science.
According to a 2018 study, creating habits and routines can significantly help us in the long run. The research states “Routine is consistently found to be important for children. However, the importance of routine is not unique to children. Observational research indicates that individuals in good health engage in highly routine health behaviors.”
Another 2016 study, revealed that following good habits and routines on a daily basis, especially during the early stages of life, can determine success in adult life. Another study conducted in 2018, revealed that sticking to a morning routine can significantly reduce sleep inertia, increase morning activity levels, boost energy levels and improve performance.
Read 3 Ways Incorporating Routines Can Benefit Your Mental Health
5 Strategies for the best morning routine
So if you are keen on having a good workday, move towards your goals and have a better life experience, then here are some strategies that you need to follow, according to the Art Of Manliness:
1. Establish the Rule of 3.
When we lack clarity about what exactly we need or want to work on ourselves, it can become a lot easier for us to get derailed due to unforeseen circumstances or other people. This is why it is crucial that we use the Rule of 3 to guide us through our day. Author Chris Bailey describes the concept as:
“At the beginning of each day, before you start working, decide what three things you want to accomplish by the end of the day. Do the same at the start of every week.”
Hence, you need to start your day by setting 3 specific tasks that you will focus on for the day, despite whatever the circumstances are. These 3 priorities will help you get closer to your long-term goal one day at a time. Although you can set your priorities when you wake up, Jeremy Anderberg suggests it is best “to do it at the end of the previous workday.”
Read 5 Things You Should Do If You Feel Depressed In The Morning
2. Determine your intentions.
Another crucial morning routine is deciding what tasks you need to get done. This ensures a good start to a good day. But that’s obviously not enough. It is also important to set your intentions and know what your purpose is for the day. What is your overall goal for today?
According to author Caroline Webb, setting your intentions requires you to review your progress every single day. This is especially important when you are going through a long, challenging day when things are not going the way you wanted them to. “On days like these, keeping your intentions at the forefront of your mind will keep you from getting derailed,” writes author Jeremy Anderberg in the Art Of Manliness.
These intentions will greatly help in guiding your three priorities and your everyday decisions and actions. Moreover, reviewing your intentions will help to build the right attitude in the morning that will shape your entire day. In fact, your intentions will effectively guide you in navigating through unfavorable and negative situations. With the help of your intentions, you will be able to look at the bigger picture even when minor, inevitable obstacles try to block your path every day.
Jeremy explains “Knowing that each day contributes to a larger purpose helps ground your actions and motivates you to cut out distractions and not waste any of the precious time you have.”
3. Create contingency plans.
Things go bad when we least expect it. But you know that already. So it’s best to plan ahead for what can go wrong in your day. This will help you stay mentally prepared for any inconveniences you might face in the day. It is also important to avoid unnecessary or even important distractions. This can be a sudden urgent email, phone call, or something useless like social media notifications when you are focused on being your most productive self.
These distractions can hamper our concentration and prevent us from completing our top 3 priorities. “So, take a few minutes in the morning to anticipate what might come up and distract you. Troubleshoot before you need to troubleshoot,” adds Jeremy.
4. Get moving.
“Adults aged 18 – 64 should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity throughout the week or do at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity throughout the week or an equivalent combination of moderate and vigorous-intensity activity,” suggests the World Health Organization (WHO).
A 2006 study found that regular physical activity can not only help us stay fit and active, it can also boost our productivity, keep us safe from chronic diseases and reduce the risk of premature death. The study states “the greatest improvements in health status are seen when people who are least fit become physically active.” Moreover, it can also boost your motivation and help you deal with stress and anxiety as well.
So whenever you can manage the time, make sure you go for a 15 to 20-minute exercise routine, especially in the morning. You can opt for a basic cardio routine, lift weights, do yoga, or simply go for a walk outside.
Author Caroline Webb explains “researchers found that on days that people exercised before work or did something active during their lunch break, they were far better able to concentrate and handle their workload. Exercise also boosted people’s mood and motivation (by 41 percent) and their ability to deal with stress (by 27 percent).” This is another important morning routine you need to adhere to.
Read 8 Morning Routine Habits That Will Kick Off Your Day With Positivity
5. Reward yourself.
Make sure to give yourself a reward for all the work you have done at the end of the day. This can be especially helpful when you have a long, difficult day to go through. Your reward can be anything that makes you happy – from food to watching a movie or having an extra hour of sleep.
Jeremy writes “knowing you have something to enjoy at the end of it all can push you through the challenging hours you’re staring down in the morning.”
Bonus morning habits:
Here are some other strategies from author and ICF Certified Leadership & Executive Coach (PCC) Melissa Eisler. This will help you to develop the best morning routine so that you can have a good day every day:
- Stay detached from technology (smartphone, social media, texts, emails etc) for the first hour of the day.
- Make sure to drink a glass of water immediately after you wake up in the morning.
- Have a positive mindset, practice gratitude and start your day with optimism.
- Make your bed as this can make you feel accomplished at the start your day.
- Incorporate mindfulness meditation and breathing exercises into your regular morning routine.
- Make an effort to dress and look good as it will build your self-confidence.
- Eat a nutritious breakfast as it can give you the boost you need in the morning.
How a morning routine can help you
Routines and habits prime you to be prepared and strive for success instead of getting entangled with challenges and obstacles. These enable us to think clearly, take the right action and achieve a lot more than we would have otherwise. Routines empower us to ensure that we focus on the most important things and get them done instead of struggling with our day.
Read 11 Morning Rituals That Can Change Your Life
But how can a morning routine help you? The answer is confirmation bias. It is a cognitive and psychological tendency that makes our brain seek and interpret information in a specific way that confirms our preconceptions and perspectives. So when you have a good or bad experience in the morning, your brain will search for ways to confirm that particular experience throughout the day. Hence, when you have a bad morning experience, your brain will seek confirmation and spoil the rest of the day.
However, when you have a good morning experience, “your brain will not only look past those seemingly negative experiences but search for ways to confirm this positive a.m. vibe throughout the rest of the day,” adds Jeremy.
A good morning routine creates a good day
Add the above-mentioned strategies and habits to your morning routine and follow them diligently every single day. Soon you will start experiencing how it makes a huge difference in your life. This will enable you to start off your day proactively instead of reactively.
Here is an interesting video that you may find helpful:
