Does your usual morning feature multiple snooze button pushes before a crazed rush our of the door where you forget everything and barely arrive at work on time? We can do better than that. Here at Fabulous, we want you to wake up refreshed and ready to take on your day. Imagine how it would feel to have enough time to peacefully prepare for what lies ahead, enjoy a good morning meal, maybe meditate or exercise and leave the house on time. You can create the best morning routine for you, we’ll show you how.
Prepare to be Productive
You are far more likely to enjoy your morning if you take a few simple steps the night before to prepare. Choose your outfit before bed and pack anything you need for the day in your bag or car. Lay out your breakfast dishes, prep some oats to soak, or pre-pack fruit for a morning meal on the go. Having everything ready will help you to feel organized and in control, and reduce the day’s stress of trying to remember what you need to get done.
Write Your to-do List the Night Before
Just before bed or before you leave the office, write out your to-do list for the following day. Look back over the days work, and let go of anything that didn’t go the way you planned, say goodbye to this day. It’s over and will never be again.
Now write down your top priorities for the next day, organized by most pressing first. This way you’ll avoid distractions and can just start the day striking off items as you power through your tasks.
Get a Good Night’s Sleep
Research suggests we all need between 7-8 hours of sleep per day. So tonight commit to logging that number. Create a peaceful quiet environment, free from TV and other electronic devices, keep the room cool and snuggle down. The importance of sleep cannot be underestimated and feeling well rested is the perfect way to start your best morning routine of super productivity. If you need help figuring out how to begin powering down, try a visualization for deep relaxation like the Space for Sleep meditation.
Get Up Early
Some of the most innovative, successful minds in the world wake up early, very early. Apple CEO Tim Cook starts his day at 3.45 am, while Mellody Hobson, President of Ariel Investments, wakes at 4 a.m to work out and carve out some self-care time during her daily morning bath. You might find these wake-up times a little too extreme but by waking much earlier than you need to you’ll find you have time to start your day in a relaxed and purposeful manner. This is backed up by a 2011 study that found morning people were more proactive than night owls.
Read
First thing in the morning when the house is quiet and the daily hubbub of your day has not yet begun is the perfect time to develop a regular reading habit. You can choose non-fiction titles that aid your work or self-improvement goals or escape into a fantasy world of fiction for 10 minutes before continuing your best morning routine. Try adding the Read habit to your Fabulous morning routine.
Exercise
People often complain that they don’t have time to fit a workout into their hectic days, start early and sidestep this excuse. Exercise flushes your body with endorphins which can make you more creative and help to power innovative and problem-solving thinking in the workplace. Get outside and you can maximize the benefits even further. Fabulous has a Short Walk Mini Challenge to get you started!
Have Breakfast
Start the day with a good breakfast which will get your metabolism moving and fuel you for the work ahead. Choose a dish with protein and slow release carbs like oats and yogurt, or wholegrain bread with nut butter. Skipping breakfast has been linked to obesity and heart problems but If you really can’t face eating so early in the morning take a nutritious smoothie and a boiled egg with you and eat it on the way. Fabulous can remind you to eat something: Just add the Eat a Healthy Breakfast habit to your morning routine.
Start With the Worst Job
Brian Tracy suggested in his time management book Eat That Frog that tackling your most loathed task first is the best way to feel productive first thing in the morning. With the self-confidence that comes from getting that job out of the way, the rest of your day will feel easy!
Be Consistent
To see results you must be consistent with your morning routine and yes that means even at weekends. The most successful people wake up at the same time every day and stick to a reliable schedule. But it’s also worth noting that what works for one person may not necessarily work for you, finding your optimum schedule is a personal experience so mix and match strategies until you design your own best morning routine.
