Introduction
If you want to be more productive this year, implementing a morning routine is the place to start.
Starting the day with the habits from this list will help you have a productive morning and achieve your goals.
Taking just a few minutes daily to recenter on yourself and plan your day ahead will tremendously improve your daily life.
Are you ready to implement a daily morning routine that will make you jump out of bed every single day?
If so, this post on 8 things to do before 8 am will help you!
Let’s start, shall we?
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Why you need a morning routine
If you have never followed a morning routine, you might wonder why one should actually implement one.
I didn’t follow a morning routine until I enrolled in college in 2017. And although it took me 23 years to actually create my first-morning routine, I can no longer live without one.
I usually follow my morning routine every day, but whenever I have to skip it, for whatever reason, I definitely feel like something is off and struggle to make the most of the day.
Following a morning routine will allow you to focus your energy on what matters to you and recenter on your goals.
And being productive in the early hours of the day will help you start the day on the right foot.
The morning routine I am about to describe is my actual morning routine. It represents what works for me, a 29-year-old working flexible hours, and you might need to tweak it to make it perfect for you.
Although you might need to adapt this routine to your personal situation, the points below will help you have a more productive and organized life!
Wake up early
The first habit on this list is a no-brainer.
Unless you work nightshifts, waking up early is key to getting your life under control and working on your personal goals.
You need to become a morning person to be productive and get things done. Doing so will change your entire day.
If you are not used to waking up early, don’t worry.
Becoming an early bird is not that hard. In fact, many simple habits can help you wake up early without feeling tired.
Here are a few:
- Go to bed early to increase your sleep time despite waking up earlier.
- Avoid screens one hour before going to bed
- Declutter your bedroom and make it cozy
- Take a warm bath or shower before going to bed
- Listen to a sleepcast in bed
Set your alarm clock at least 90 minutes before leaving the house so you can complete your most important tasks before going to work.
No matter when you wake up, never hit the snooze button. Doing so is probably the worst thing you can do for your productivity since you might oversleep and wake up feeling groggy.
Now, if you are not used to waking up that early, you might struggle during the first days. And you may have to drink coffee, lots of coffee, to wake you up.
But don’t worry: your body will quickly adapt itself, and before you know it, you will be able to jump out of bed as soon as your alarm rings.
A good morning routine should help you focus your energy on your goals. Because if you want to achieve your goals, you need to work on them as soon as you wake up.
Being productive in the early hours of the day, before getting to work, got me unstuck in life and helped me achieve my goals.
You never know what your workday will look like. So completing your most important tasks early in the morning is key to ensuring you work on your personal goals.
Let the natural light and fresh air in
One of the first things I love to do in the morning is to open the blinds, curtains, and windows to let natural light and fresh air in.
A simple way to wake you up fast is to go outside if you have a balcony or garden and breathe fresh air. This is something I do, no matter the season and weather.
Spending a few minutes outside will considerably improve your mood.
There’s no need to spend 30 minutes outside every morning (unless you want to) to benefit from it.
I typically do it for a couple of minutes while preparing a cup of coffee or tea.
I take a few deep breaths and recite my morning mantra. And this simple habit gives me the energy and willpower to move mountains.
If you struggle with anxiety and stress, you definitely need to add this habit to your morning routine. Indeed, spending time in nature has been proven to improve mental health, especially for people suffering from stress.
Eat a healthy breakfast or pack a healthy snack and drink water
A significant advantage of waking up early is having enough time to do things you enjoy.
Forget about waking up 10 minutes before leaving the house and having to pack your stuff in a hurry.
Waking up early will allow you to start the day exactly how you want to.
And one of the things I enjoy the most in the morning is making breakfast.
Prepare something delicious and nutritious to eat if you usually eat breakfast at home or pack a healthy snack you can eat later at work.
This simple habit will considerably improve your health because you won’t feel the need to eat junk food as soon as you sit at your desk.
No matter what you decide to cook, make sure it’s a healthy breakfast, and don’t forget that drinking water (lots of it) will wake your body up, kickstart your metabolism and make you feel energized.
Clean and tidy your space
Another way to set you up for a productive day is to ensure your space is clean and organized.
Physical clutter is a huge distraction.
Staying focused, especially if you work from home, will be hard if you see mess everywhere and waste time looking for the things you need.
Living in a clean and tidy home will considerably improve your mental health as well.
Take a few minutes every morning to clean your space. This will give you a feeling of accomplishment, and starting off the day with a few minutes of cleaning will ensure you actually get it done.
There is nothing worse than coming home after a hard day at work and having to do house chores. Doing it in the morning will free up your evenings for things you enjoy.
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Plan your day
Starting every single day with a plan will help you make the most out of your time. This is really important, especially when you have a busy schedule.
Mastering planning helped me balance college, my full-time job as a Finance specialist, and this blog, my side hustle.
If you are determined to change your life this year, one of the first things to do in the morning is to plan your day.
Take a few minutes to review your daily schedule and define your top 3 priorities for the day.
If you did not achieve your goals the previous day, this is also the perfect opportunity to reflect on why and how you can improve yourself.
The best morning routine for you is the routine that will help you make you feel in control of your life and make time for the things that matter to you.
And planning is a great way to achieve that.
Taking a few minutes daily to plan your time will give you a clear vision of what you need to accomplish in the following hours.
This simple habit will help you feel more in control, increasing your motivation and self-confidence.
These are all excellent reasons to include planning in your morning routine!
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Meditate or journal
If you want to implement a great morning routine, you need to avoid using your phone first thing in the morning (it is too much of a distraction!) and consider one of these 2 habits.
Meditation and journaling have been proven to have many health benefits, including:
- Stress reduction
- Anxiety and depression management
- Memory improvement
- Increase of self-awareness
- Better sleep
- Better mood
These 2 habits will help you focus on your goals and live in the present moment.
Meditating will help you improve your thought process and help you better manage your emotions.
If you have never meditated before and want to try it, I recommend Headspace. Headspace (the app and Netflix series) will help you start your meditation journey with simple but effective exercises.
Journaling is another habit to consider if you don’t feel like meditating.
Journaling will help you get things out of your head and obtain clarity on your feelings. It will also help you develop your creative thinking.
One of my favorite exercises when it comes to journaling is to focus on positive thinking.
Writing a few pages every morning will help you increase your mindfulness and reduce stress.
And if you want to operate a fundamental mindset shift, writing down positive affirmations daily and focusing on all the positive things you are grateful for will help you change your perspective in life.
Find a source of motivation/inspiration.
There are countless healthy habits you can add to your morning routine.
However, finding sources of motivation and inspiration is definitely one of my favorites because it puts me in a good mood for the rest of the day.
Many things impact our mood and energy levels daily.
You can, of course, drink a cup of coffee to wake you up. However, if you want to set yourself up for a productive day, you must also program your mind accordingly.
Starting the day with an effective source of inspiration will change your life because it will help you remember why you started.
Remember how excited you were when you set your goals for the last time? How motivated you were, and how you felt like you could move mountains?
Well, this could be you every single day if you actively look for ways to stay inspired.
A lot of activities can help you find inspiration and get motivated:
- Repeating an inspirational quote as an affirmation daily
- Reading a chapter of a self-help book
- Listening to upbeat music
- Listening to an inspiring podcast
- Interacting with people having the same goals
- etc
No matter what you decide to do to boost your motivation, starting the day with it will help you remember why you must stick to your goals and get the work done.
Get ready
Last but not least, whether you work from home or not, you need to take a few minutes to actually get ready.
Follow a skincare routine, do your hair and makeup and wear whatever elevates you and makes you feel good.
If you have to leave the house to go to work, this last habit will seem obvious.
But what is not so obvious is that you still need to do it when working from home.
During the first lockdown, right after covid hit, I was more than happy to be able to work from home.
I was still going to college at the time and was working full-time. I used to leave the house at 6 am and rarely return before 10 pm.
Being able to stay home and finally having time to unwind felt so damn good. Like many others, I used to work in my pajamas. And that was pretty cool, for a couple of weeks at least.
But I rapidly realized that doing so was hurting my productivity and general well-being.
Working in my pajamas made me feel lazy and unmotivated. After a couple of weeks, it was tough for me to get into the work mindset and get things done.
If you struggle to implement a productive routine when working from home, these 15 productivity tips will help you.
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Final thoughts
Implementing a morning routine will help you structure your days and make the most out of your time.
If you want to ensure you stick to your daily goals and get things done, don’t hit the snooze button when your alarm rings, wake up early, and focus on planning and improving your mindset.
Doing so will help you stay motivated and inspired every day. And this is precisely what you need to achieve your goals and transform your life.
So, are you ready to make this year your best year ever?
