Written by: Jeanne Agius, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
`"Win the morning; win the day." — Tim Ferriss.
How we start the day is how we end the day. Having powerful morning habits engraved in your system and having them become part of who you are is not only exciting but something worth pursuing. If you're not convinced why waking up earlier is powerful, here are just a few benefits to start:
Less stress!
If you're not starting your day off by running around in a rush so that you're not late, you will start your day calm and relaxed, instead of stressed and anxious from the second you get up.
You're more productive!
Getting up earlier gives you a kickstart to your day, giving you more hours to get things done and helping to boost your speed. In addition, studies have suggested that when people get up early, they are more energetic and take less time to do a task than they usually would.
It makes you smarter!
Okay, maybe not precisely more intelligent, but having the extra hour to your routine in the morning makes you more efficient and productive. In addition, you can use that spare time to do something important to you that you usually overlook.
Here are some ways to help you start your morning off earlier and easier:
Start with asking yourself why you want to wake up earlier.
Your morning routine is a choice, and it comes down to your priorities. Once you know WHY you are choosing to do what you do, your priorities become more aligned with your outcome, like honoring your commitment to your morning routine.
Put your alarm clock on the other side of the room.
Put it somewhere that you have to walk by the light and turn that on your way. Once the lights are on and you're out of your comfy bed, it's a lot easier to now hit snooze.
Make a nighttime schedule for yourself.
Turn off all technology at least 1 hour before you go to bed. Your schedule may look something like this:
8:00 pm: Phone and computer off
8:30 pm: Start getting ready for bed
9:00 pm: Get in bed and read for 30 minutes
9:30 pm: Lights off
5:30 am: wake up after a total of 8 hours of sleep
Use natural light.
Leave your curtains slightly open so that natural light starts to seep in. If that's not an option for you, there are natural lights that you can buy that will slowly get brighter to wake you up.
Set your alarm to play a song that gets you excited and energized first thing in the morning.
When you hear the annoying beep of your notice, of course, your first reaction is to hit the snooze button, but if you hear your favorite song, you're more inclined to get up.
Don't transition too quickly.
Prevent going from waking up at 8 am to waking up at 6 am overnight. Slowly push it back by 30 minutes or even 10 minutes at a time so that your body can acclimate and get used to it.
Start small and work your way up to becoming better each day. The purpose is to introduce new habits and practices gradually to make a more robust routine. Start by thoughtfully designing your day so that you lay a strong foundation for a productive day.
Here are 7 powerful habits that set you to win the day for a very long time.
Habit No. 1 Beat the snooze button. Even though there is no single bulletproof solution to overcoming snoozing, you can counter the temptation of hitting the snooze button by simply experimenting with different techniques. The one that worked for me was Mel Robbin's 5 Second Rule, where you get out of bed in less than 5 seconds before your mind starts talking you back into your comfortable bed.
Habit No. 2: Get up early. As you try hard to overcome the temptation of a snooze, you must have a purpose to get up early. Understand that morning is when you are fresh, have the energy, and are away from external distractions of the world. During this time, there are not a lot of things competing for your undivided attention. When you wake up earlier, you are at an advantage. If you want to get up earlier than usual, try and do this gradually. Understand that it is a process, and your whole body has to be ready for it. You can try 30 minutes earlier than expected, then progressively increase to an hour, an hour-and-half until you eventually hit your target.
Habit No. 3: Sweat it out and immerse yourself into a positive state. Engage in a simple morning routine to help kickstart your day. Irrespective of your fitness goals, working out as part of a morning routine is an excellent way to turn on your metabolism and brain. As a result, you will feel motivated, happy, and full of energy that will steer you towards conquering the rest of the day and all activities that come with it.
Habit No.4: Write down your to-do list and goals you want to achieve today. When you write down your goals, you are increasing the effectiveness of realizing them. Incorporating this as part of your morning routine signifies that you are declaring your intentions for the day. It crystallizes your goals in your mind so that they are engraved deeper into your subconscious brain. It is a signal to your brain that achieving these goals is essential to you.
Habit No.5: Focus on each task at a time. When you allow your mind to focus on one task at a time, you are simply brainstorming ideas that might be brilliant in being productive and successful. It merely tells the mind that these tasks are a top priority, and the result should be beneficial to your health.
Habit No. 6: Visualize yourself living your dream life. Every morning, take a few minutes to see yourself living your dream. Allow your dreams to sink deep into your mind and engage it for a couple of minutes using all your senses. Yes, it may be hard to achieve ambitious life goals. You will encounter plateaus and valleys during the journey that might cause you to settle for a normal lifestyle. But you can start tapping into your mind by seeing yourself living your ideal day and life. When you start seeing yourself living your dream, you will start feeling a new rush of strength and energy that will motivate and inspire you to keep going.
Habit No.7: Work towards your dreams As part of a morning habit, you must progress towards accomplishing your most significant dreams before diving into the daily chores. Set aside at least 5 minutes to meditate on your goals. As your dreams begin to grow, you can increase the time you spend working on them. Remember that if you channel your energy on activities that do not matter most in your life, you will find yourself going down a path that does not help you achieve your set goals and dreams.
Keep in mind those morning routines are not meant to be strict and rigid. They are about acknowledging what you need that day, honoring your commitments, and doing whatever you need to feel your best and set yourself up for the day you want. Every morning committed to waking up earlier should be celebrated. When you eventually add the small wins together from the morning habits, you create a ripple of small wins that will keep powering your days. These small wins will give you more confidence and keep you equipped to handle every challenge that arises during the day.
Jeanne Agius, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Jeanne Agius is a former Corporate Escapee turned founder of Self-Care Journey Coaching, every woman's Self-Care Coach, Healthy Lifestyle Expert, certified holistic wellness, life and success coach, NLP, EFT, hypnotherapy and Time Practitioner, International Speaker, along with a wife and mom of 2 rambunctious toddlers.
She has also been featured in publications such as Yahoo Finance as one of the Top 20 Female Entrepreneurs, Top 20 Female Entrepreneurs to look out for in Benzinga, Authority, Medium, and Brainz.
Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, she spent 15+ years in the Corporate world, leading various projects in Marketing, Communications, and Risk Management, and the health and wellness space as young as 16 years old.
Since becoming a mom of two, she has been a frequent speaker worldwide on guiding women, especially moms, to prioritize themselves and their whole health without feeling guilty, despite the many hats they wear. She has been fortunate to help hundreds of women worldwide elevate their lifestyles and optimize their whole-body wellness by using self-care as their superpower to thrive. She is on a mission to help thousands more build strong bodies, confident minds, and healthy lifestyles they're obsessed with through her signature Self-Care System.
Her upcoming book will help redefine self-care for today's woman because she wholeheartedly believes tending to your basic needs is not self-care, but true self-care is essential to living a life you love.
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