The way you decide to start your morning sets up the rest of your day. There have been many mornings where my mind is all over the place and I go haywire by 2 o’clock in the afternoon. Here are a few tips on how to start your mornings off right, and how to make it a routine to set yourself up for a fantastic and productive day!
- A mindful morning routine all starts with the night before.
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You can’t just wake up and expect to have the picture perfect morning when you decided to stay awake until 4 in the morning. Determine how much sleep you want to get the night before, and stick to that time frame for a peaceful morning. Studies show that adults are advised to get around seven to nine hours of sleep each night, so if you needed to get up by 7 or 8 in the morning, you should try to aim to be under the covers around 10 or 11 at night. Not only is sleep important, but the things you need to prepare before heading out the door are important as well. This means packing your school or work bag minus the laptop and phone you need to charge and making sure the coffee machine is ready to go. Regardless of what you need for the morning, double check the night before that everything is a grab and go to make your mornings efficient.
- Set one alarm—don’t hit the snooze button.
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Everyone is guilty of this, and I am too. Though it may feel good after hitting snooze like it’s a Whack-a-Mole and thinking, Just five more minutes, for the millionth time, the simple tap of a button does more bad than good. Aside from the fact that hitting snooze indicates that you haven’t gotten enough sleep the night before, they hinder your overall quality of sleep. When we sleep, our brains run through several sleep cycles that each last 90 minutes and consist of five stages. Therefore if you hit the snooze button and go back to Dreamland, you are setting yourself up for another sleep cycle you have no capability of finishing. A tip if you are guilty of the snooze button is to put your phone at the opposite end of the room; you are forced to get up to switch it off, and in other words, you are out of bed and a step closer to start your morning.
- Keep the screen black and avoid scrolling on your phone when you wake up.
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Speaking of avoiding bad habits, your morning routine probably consists of scrolling through every social media platform for hours on end until you actually have to get up and zoom to class or work. According to screen-time tracker app Moment, the average phone user picks up their phone around 52 times a day and spends around three to four hours using it. Minimize that average time and avoid using your phone in the first few hours of your day. On the plus side, this sets you up for a more productive morning; your time is set to focus on yourself and ease your mind, not on the several Instagram and Twitter notifications that can wait until your lunch break.
- Have something motivating you to get up.
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If you are struggling trying to get past the last step, remind yourself of what is making you get out of bed and start your morning, aside from the usual “getting to work or class on time”. Is it because you get to have an actual balanced breakfast this morning? Is it because you can get more rewards points when you order Starbucks before you head out to wherever you need to go? Is it because you want to take time and get all dressed up and do your makeup and hair? Is it simply because you want not to feel rushed before you walk out the door? Whatever those reasons are, determine what you are getting out of bed for, and use that reason to start your morning off like every Lizzo song— for motivation and to pop off!
- Take this time to focus on yourself.
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You are most likely, if not always, interacting with many people as soon as you step out the door, especially if you are a college student and live in a building with hundreds of faces you see every single day. If you think about it, the time that you spend in your dorm room before you start your day is probably the only time you’ll have to yourself to reflect on what you need to reflect on. While getting ready, take this time to think about what you want to accomplish before the chaos of your day ensues, whether that be listening to music, an audiobook, a news briefing, or in silence if that’s your cup of tea. This is your morning; spend this time however you want to set up for a productive day. Remind yourself with some affirmations to keep you going, and you are on your way to a great day!