Do these 5 Things Before Going to Work: Morning Routine

How you start your day determines how you’d end it.

I’m sure there are lots of people who do this:

Wake up in the morning, jump out of bed, and head straight to the bathroom. Afterward, they pick up their briefcases and head straight for work. I was guilty of this routine for so long and like them, I had a good reason for it. — ‘I didn’t want to be late for work or for that important meeting’.

The thing is, living life in such a rushed manner always leaves you lagging. You’d only end up losing out on your self-actualization. That is, you’d miss out on having a moment to breathe and discover your true self.

Life tends to run fast when you are on the fast lane. Slow down and practice these routines I’m about to share with you.

Before I go further, I’d like to share what you can do to free up your mornings so you can get more time to practice these routines.

• Get your outfits prepared the night before. Avoid the stress of searching for what to wear in the morning. Things like your clothes, shoes, and even your undies, should be picked out before going to bed every night. That way, you don’t have to spend your mornings trying out different outfits or stuff like that. You’d already have your outfits for the next day sorted out. In my case, what I do is, I pick out 5 different outfits for work on Sundays before the new work week begins. That means, more time for me and if you decide to adopt this system as well, more time for you too!
• Set Your alarm at least an hour earlier. Setting your alarm an hour earlier than the actual time you’d like to wake up, gives you time to get more things done. For example, if you have a meeting by 8 am, instead of setting your alarm for 7 am, set it for 6 am or better still, 5:30 am. Personally, what I do on days I suspect I’d be lazy to wake up, I set about 3 different alarms, 5 mins apart. That way, if I’m lazy to get up on the first alarm, the next 2 alarms would do the trick.
• Sleep early. If you must wake up early, then you’d have to sleep early. Except you are struggling with insomnia, you should always try to sleep on time. Especially if you have somewhere to go in the morning.

“Wake up early and tackle the day before it tackles you. Be on offense, not defense.” — Evan Carmichael

When you do these, you’d create more time for the important stuff. There’s nothing as important as meeting with yourself. To some people, this might sound a bit cocky but it’s the truth. Having time to connect with yourself is necessary if you must live a productive life. Trust me the world can really use some productivity right now.

This is why I have decided to share these productive morning routines with you.

#1 Smile The Moment You Open Your Eyes

Robert K. Provine & Kenneth R. Fisch in their 2010 psychology report, Laughing, Smiling, and Talking: Relation to Sleeping and Social Context in Humans, defined a Smile as, “a change of facial expression in which the corners of the mouth curve slightly upward, usually as an expression of amusement, pleasure, or approval”.

I’m guessing you aren’t unaware of the importance of Smiling. This is just a reminder that you should start your mornings with a smile for real. It’s the best way to go. I know you’re probably thinking, “How am I suppose to wake up and start smiling when there’s nothing to smile about? that’s just insane Belinda”

Well, It’s pretty easy to smile. All you need to do is think of something nice, or someone nice, and voila! You’re smiling. There something about voluntary smiling that helps boost your mood. Paul Ekman and Richard J. Davidson in their psychological science report; Voluntary Smiling Changes Regional Brain Activity, wrote on the changes that occur in the brain as a result of voluntary smiling. You don’t need to find a reason to smile. The fact that you woke up alive, strong, healthy, and full of hope, is reason enough. Gratitude eliminates negativity and brightens your day.

On Friends, there’s an episode — Season 4 Episode 19, where Joey wakes up to his neighbor singing “Morning’s Here”. If you’re a huge Friends fan as I, you’d know this scene. What a lovely way to start your day.

#2 Say a Prayer Or Meditate

According to the Oxford Dictionary,

“Prayer is a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God or another deity”.

It doesn’t matter your religion, you should always start your day with a prayer or Meditation or both. As a Christian, the first things I do even before I’m wide awake in the morning is, I say a short prayer. After that, I take a few minutes to breathe and meditate. You too can do the same.

First, you say a prayer, In your prayer, express your gratitude for the privilege of seeing a new day. After doing that, speak into the day. I do this because I believe that words are powerful and can bring tremendous results.

Next up after praying, take a few minutes to take deep breaths and clear your head. Now, when you’re done with that, start doing some visualizations. Visualize your entire day the way you want it to go using your mind’s eye. Then say the word, ‘Amen’

#3 Drink A Glass Of Water

Doctors have always recommended drinking enough water daily. Our bodies need fluid to survive. The fluid can come from water, food, and other drinks but none compared to actual water. If we fail to take the proper amount of fluid that our body requires, health challenges are bound to arise. Drinking clean water in the morning helps boost your metabolism for the day.

What amount of water is enough for me? you might ask. According to The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine( NASEM),

Women need about 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day. While men need About 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids. So a good way to start making up for your daily fluid requirements is to start the day with a cup of water. If you can, keep a bottle of water by your bedside every night. That way, you get to drink it first thing in the morning before getting out of bed. You don’t need to put anything in the water like lemons and all, drinking water alone is great.

#4 Dress Your Bed

This may seem unnecessary to you. I know someone who thinks it absurd to connect making the bed in the morning to having a productive day. If you are one of those who are skeptical about this idea, I’d like for you to know this;

William McRaven the ninth commander of U.S. Special Operations Command gave a speech in 2014 at the University of Texas. In his speech he said these words;

“If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter.”

He said it all! Something is energizing about making your bed in the morning. If you still doubt this, why don’t you give it a try?

#5 Look In The Mirror and Say Positive Things To Yourself

This sense of self-worth arises in you when you make positive affirmations. Repeating these statements to and about yourself helps in shutting down your negative thoughts and bring out the fire in you. Take a minute, and go stand in front of the mirror. Tell yourself all the amazing things you want to become and while you are still on that, speak positivity into your day and believe every word you say.

At this point, you can use a couple of minutes to read a short portion of a book that energizes you or do some stretches and exercises. These would help put you in the right frame of mind to take up the day’s activities.

Thanks for reading this piece. Hope it was helpful?