Think about your morning routine. Whether you know it or not – and whether it is intentional or just haphazard – you do have a morning routine already. For most people, it’s not a good one either.
It goes something like this;
The alarm goes off, hit the snooze. It goes off again – hit the snooze again. Finally get up just in time to run around like a chicken with its head cut off looking for clothes, gathering up backpacks or briefcases or whatever else is necessary to get themselves and their family members out the door and make a mad dash to where ever they have to go. Usually, that means work at a job for most, and at their own business for others.
Sometimes that hectic trip includes dropping kids or spouses off or other errands. This is stressful!
If they get any breakfast at all it’s whatever they can grab just prior to running out the door – or from a drive-through window at the local burger joint franchise.
They get to work one or two minutes before the workday clock starts – if they are lucky, or a few minutes after if not.
This way of getting up is stressful and disorganized. It takes a toll mentally and physically and it is not good.
Build Yourself a Better Morning Routine
Start the night before. Here are the things I suggest that you do;
- Plan Your Morning – Think about what things you need to accomplish at home before you leave, and enroute to wherever you are going and then what you will need for the first hour you are there.
- Get Yourself Ready – Shower at night – not in the morning, this saves time. Layout your clothes the night before. If you need to put them on and then take them back off in reverse order and lay them out so that everything will be there and ready for you to put on all the way to your belt, underwear, and socks.
- Plan Your Breakfast – don’t skip your meal – have water ready and as soon as you wake up drink a glass or bottle. Have coffee on auto brew if you drink coffee (and if not – what is wrong with you?!? ; ) so that it will be ready when you get up. Have whatever else you plan to have laid out and ready on the counter or in the fridge as necessary.
- Set Your Alarm – and make a mental commitment to your self to get up immediately as soon as the clock alarm goes off. Then get up and stand up quickly when it does!
- Prepare Other People – If you are responsible for getting anyone else up. preparing their food, transporting them, etc. then make sure they know what is coming and when and that they are prepared too – then hold them accountable.
- Get up An Hour Earlier – Get up at least an hour earlier than you need to in order to have time to wake up and get your stuff done without the mad dash. Use some of that time to review your goals and journal – and before you do that do you am PT (to be covered in my next article!).
- Arrive Early at Work – Or where ever you are going. Get there early instead of just in time or late. This starts your day off on a positive note, helps significantly reduce stress and is just better in every way.
- Use a Planner – Plan and manage your time during the day using a planner as part of your overall task management system. I will cover this too in a future article.
- Take Your Lunch – and take your breaks during the day. Too many people don’t. You need the time away from the grind. Even if you just go for a walk, or sit on a park bench or even in your car and meditate for a few minutes – get away from work. You will destress and you will also perform better because you do.
- Review Your Day – Then plan for tomorrow. Use a journal and a planner to help you. Then, tomorrow morning repeat the whole process!
Keep in mind it may not go smoothly to start with. Building new habits take time and effort but it will get better and easier the more you do it to a point. The impact this simple stuff will have on your life can be profound – if you actually do it.
Try it yourself!
Then come back here and post your comments and results below!