The power of morning routines is still underrated.
There’s so much written about them, so many people have tried one and claim to have turned their life around. And it seems to be the one thing that can affect every other area of your life.
But you’ll never know until you get up early and try it out for yourself.
A morning ritual is basically a few actions taken immediately upon waking up. It’s how your day starts and it also affects how it’s going to end.
The things you do in the first hour of your day can be stuff like being in a hurry, getting up in a bad mood, sleeping in, skipping breakfast, or eating junk food.
But it can also be planning out the day, getting ready for it, enjoying your cup of coffee without being interrupted, stretching, reading, meditating, and so on.
You see the difference.
And it doesn’t come as a surprise that the person choosing the first morning routine is quite unhappy, unproductive and never gets the results he wants.
While the second who decided to get up early, starts the day energized and inspired, isn’t stressed or overwhelmed, and gets a lot done until the end of it.
But in order to be like him, we first need to realize how this can change our lives exactly. So here are the things I’d encourage you to do every morning:
The Morning Habits That Can Turn Your Life Around if You Get Up Early
1. Wake up really early.
I know it’s the hardest thing to do, but I also know the benefits.
Here I explain why becoming an early riser is so beneficial and why it’s an absolute must when it comes down to our self-improvement transformation.
How it changes your life: You have more time every day. Just imagine what you can do with around 700 extra hours per year.
You have the chance to truly experience the early morning. You’ll connect with your inner self on a deeper level just by spending time alone with your thoughts and being calm and quiet.
It’s when others are still sleeping and no one bothers you.
Start getting up early and your day will begin peacefully and you’ll be less stressed.
And if you struggle with getting out of bed in the early hours of the day – like me and so many other people – check out these tricks on how to succeed with that.
Of course, you can’t always (or ever, for that matter) do that naturally. You’ll need a tool to do the job for you and wake you up.
Using your phone isn’t a good idea, though, as it leads to using it before bed, and first thing in the morning.
The standard alarm clocks also aren’t the best option as they are too noisy and get you out of a deep sleep cycle, which might lead to starting the day feeling groggy, even though you’ve slept enough.
2. Keep morning pages.
Right after you get up early, get a pen and paper or open your laptop and start writing.
Write down whatever comes to mind first – describe your dreams if you want, generate ideas, say what you want to achieve today. Or share things you’re grateful for, and a few positive affirmations. Think about what makes today such a great day.
How it changes your life: This quick exercise has unbelievable results.
Not only does it let you be creative in the early morning without the usual fear of failure, worries and negative thoughts that we all share during the day, but it also lets you clear your mind, get inspired, get to know yourself (self-analysis is crucial for personal development), and focus more easily.
In the long term, this is the one habit that can help you stay sane.
3. Meditate.
Some don’t even give it a try as it sounds like too big of a deal. When, in fact, it just means staying still for a couple of minutes and trying to let go of all thoughts and clear your mind.
It’s not that easy, but doing it just for a minute or two in the beginning makes it an action that requires no effort and time.
What you do is sit down, or even stay in your bed, breathe deeply, relax, and try to stop thinking. It’s easier if you focus on your breathing. You can also add one positive affirmation and just repeat it in your mind for as long as you can.
How it changes your life: You learn how to concentrate, and that’s a powerful skill these days with all the distractions around. In the long term, you’ll be able to be focused when reading, learning, working, etc. And thus double your results.
Also, you bring peace back into your life. And your days are free from the pressure you’re used to.
4. Have the same healthy breakfast every day.
That’s one of the habits I’m currently developing and it’s working out great.
How it changes your life: The big picture looks like this: You’ll never lose time trying to figure out what to eat for breakfast, you won’t skip it or even think about it anymore. There will be one meal each day that you’ll need to have some time after you get up and soon you’ll do it on autopilot.
Also, that will kill your appetite for most of the day, you won’t crave junk food and will have started the day in a healthy way. In time, it will help you get in a better shape and will affect your whole eating plan.
5. Plan out your day.
Another thing that takes less than 5 minutes but can be extremely helpful and save you a lot of time and worries later in the day.
Make a to-do list (and a not to-do one), see what needs to get done today, figure out if it’s better to leave some stuff for another day as more important tasks deserve your whole attention. Then define the 3 things that are key and focus on them first.
How it changes your life: That’s a productivity habit that can make you more organized, let you finally take control of your time and always be aware of what you’ve done and what else is left.
After some time you’ll stop being late and will get ready for stuff earlier, will be more productive and focus on your most important tasks and this will affect your achievements.
You won’t let others waste your time anymore, and will say ‘no’ more often knowing there are things to be done that concern your future.
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Great habits, right? And yet so simple.
Again, nothing will ever happen if you don’t try them out and see how they work. You’ll never be motivated enough to achieve more in life if you keep hearing it from other people. The best way is to just get up early tomorrow and do a few or all of these.
Let me know about the results.
What other morning habits can you add to that list? And do you believe that little changes like this, once you get up early, can turn your life around in the long term?
