1. Plan your morning the night before
Remind yourself of what you have to do the next day, or where you have to go, and plan out what you want to wear. You can lay out the outfit somewhere, or simply remember it in your head. You won’t waste time the next morning trying to put an outfit together. To get the recommended 8 hours of sleep, try going to bed at a reasonable hour as well. Because if you don’t get enough, you’ll probably wake up feeling sluggish and cranky.
2. Don’t snooze
There are a lot of studies done that show that hitting snooze can make you feel more groggy. Why force yourself to wake up more than once when waking up the first time is hard enough? We all know it’s a very risky game as well…don’t take the chance, train your body to get up and out of bed once the alarm goes off.
3. Try waking up at the same time everyday
We all have an “internal clock,” and this means that if we practice waking at the same time every day, our body fixes on a proper rhythm function so we feel productive and healthy.
4. Stretch or exercise
Start off your day with a nice stretch! Do it on the bed or roll out a mat on the floor. Even 5 minutes of stretching can help you feel more alert, healthy, and productive. If you have the time, try doing a workout or simply going for a walk. Begin your day feeling productive and less stiff!
5. Stay hydrated!
You have to rehydrate your body after having 8 hours of sleep and no liquids. You can throw in some lemon in your glass of water as well, as it helps maintain the pH balance of the body, helps detox, not to mention, it maintains your digestive health as well! Having water right from the morning kicks off your metabolism, helps balance your appetite, and charges your brain.
6. Make your bed
This may sound like something small and unimportant, but it’s actually a good habit to make your bed right after you wake up. If your bed is unmade, there’s not much stopping you from just crawling back inside. But if you made your bed, you might feel guilty about messing it up again. It keeps your space less cluttered and encourages good hygiene as well. Your room usually looks more put together, simply when your bed is made. People find it easier to keep the rest of their room clean when their bed is made as well, and this is helpful for good mental health.
7. Avoid social media & listen to music instead
Yes, yes, we all know how tempting it is to look at your phone right when you wake up. But this can easily keep you in bed for the next half an hour or even more…getting stuck using your energy to read emails or surf social media is not the best thing to do, right after you wake up. Get motivation to wake up by telling yourself you can’t check your phone until you’re properly awake. Pop in earphones or play music out loud – it will lift your mood and make you feel energized. After you feel like you’re really awake and have proceeded to do other important things in your morning routine, you can check your phone.
8. 5-10 minute meditation
Meditating in the morning is so helpful to declutter your mind and realign your thoughts. So many people have said that by simply taking 5-10 minutes to meditate, they feel as though they have given themselves those 5-10 minutes to just focus on themselves and nothing else. That time is their time. Nothing else needs to be given attention to. This type of mindset will easily give your day a productive and healthy boost.
9. Eat a balanced breakfast
There’s a reason why people say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right? It kickstarts your metabolism, which then helps you burn more calories throughout the day. You need to fuel your body if you want to be productive and healthy. Try incorporating high-quality proteins into your breakfast, eg. eggs, salmon, and oatmeal.
10. Make or review a to-do list
You could either do this the night before when you’re planning the next day, or the day of. I like to write out my to-do list in the morning to remind myself of what I need to accomplish throughout the day as it somehow feels more refreshing. There is something so satisfying about writing out all that you have to do, and then ticking them off one by one as you do them.