Mornings are always a rush for many of us. Given the late night habits, conference calls, many of us may find getting up a challenge, often hitting the snooze button couple of times before you force yourself out of the bed. Then there is the rush to get ready and reach our office and before we know it, the day comes to an end and we are left wondering what we did the whole day.
So it pays to start your day right.
Here are some thoughts to make sure you begin your day well with a positive mindset and high energy.
John C. Maxwell said “What You Do Daily Improves”.
Small daily improvements are the key to staggering long-term results.
Successful people follow a ritual that helps them succeed. Here are four small changes to your morning routine that will hopefully help you transform your entire day:
1. Lemon Water
If you can skip the Tea and Coffee’s and manage to bring about one small change, by sipping lemon water first thing in the morning, this in my opinion would give you the biggest oomph to your day. It has many benefits both in the morning and throughout the day. Check this for a detailed list of benefits which includes hydration, kick starting the metabolism, controlling bad breadth, boosting immune system, etc.
2. Journaling for 15 minutes
Many leaders including John C. Maxwell, Jim Rohn, Norman Vincent Peale, and many others consistently emphasize the value of maintaining Journals. Some of the main reasons in favour of Journaling include personal development, tracking your overall direction, mental clarity, focus, and therapeutic effect.
3. Physical Activity
There are many research papers emphasizing the unlimited benefits of a Physical activity including Cardio. Personally, I love Cardio-exercises (especially elliptical cross-trainer) as it helps me get into the creative zone where I make some of my best decisions to complex issues. It also keeps me positive and energized the whole day.
4. Plan your day – Manage your To-do-list and Calendar
Planning always helps. Deciding your important tasks for the day helps you focus your energy on the right stuff.
Checking your calendars and To-do-List are undeniably good rituals. You don’t want to go overboard with a long list. But if you are like me, who prefers dumping what’s on our mind, then a To-do-list helps. Two points on planning your day:
- Leverage technology to effectively manage your To-do-list. Personally, I like using the Nozbe app which is a brain child of Michael Sliwinsky. Been using this app for over four years (app is available on web, windows, android, iPhone and iPad) and love the features of this app which includes integrating with Google Calendar, Evernote, Dropbox and Box.
- Do the most complex activity when your personal energy is at its peak. When you match your high energy with complex task, you are able to deliver your best results.
Finally, we all have the freedom to choose. You choose what works best for you. But be intentional about your choices and routines. Success is a Mindset and so be mindful of your routines, specially the morning routines, as they are known to impact our Success.
So what morning routines has paid off for you? What routines would you like to change?