Athletes warm up their muscles through light exercises before starting a sporting event. The morning routines for productivity also function as a charging-up process stimulating people to become more productive by improving mode and well-being, making them productive throughout the day, and improving their quality of work.
There is a proverb that says small change big deal. This proverb aptly describes the requirement to maintain and continue a morning routine. Following a morning routine only requires adjust your regular bedtime which means get accustomed with sleeping one or two hours earlier than your regular bedtime and waking up one or two hours earlier than your usual wake-up time.
These one or two hours at the start of the day are sufficient for sticking to the average person’s morning routine or crafting and maintaining a personalized routine. Here, the average person’s routine refers to waking up, drinking coffee, showering, eating breakfast, and preparing for the working day. The personalized routine, on the other hand, refers to in addition to doing the average people’s routine, adding one or two additional tasks like meditating, praying, writing, or journaling.
It completely depends on you whether you follow an average morning routine or a tailor-made one. Upon continuing either of the routines, your productivity would soar which is guaranteed.
Routine 1: Exercise or Physical Activity
Scientific studies have demonstrated that morning exercises have many benefits for your health including more energy and alertness, better sleep, better mood, prevent chronic diseases, and faster weight loss. All of these benefits enhance your productivity. During the morning quiet hour, simple exercises that require no equipment yet offer many health benefits are ideal. A few of these minimalistic exercises are Yoga, Stretching, and brisk walking.
If you want me to name a simple exercise that benefits you physically, mentally, and emotionally, I emphatically suggest that exercise is Yoga. This ancient Indian exercise involves a combination of different physical postures, breathing, and meditation that improves your balance, flexibility, and strength. Yoga is like a jack of all trades in exercising offering many health benefits including weight loss, muscle building, and composure in your mind that helps you make better decisions.
Walking up in the morning is a challenge, and if that involves ripping your slumber with your smartphone’s alarm. However, after shrugging off initial unease, a simple stretching of your body if it involves extending your arms above your head, and twisting your body left and right offers several health benefits that you can’t ignore. Stretching is an effective starter that helps relieve sleep-related stiffness or pain, improve blood flow and flexibility, boost mood, and reduce stress and tension.
Have you ever wondered why there are many morning walkers around your neighborhood, on the streets, or in a park? They enjoy morning walking because the exercise improves cardiovascular health, lowers blood pressure, and cholesterol levels, reduces stress and anxiety, and boosts mood. A brisk morning walk is particularly beneficial for patients with type II diabetes.
Physical exercise at the start of the day boosts mood and enhances concentration is a scientifically supported idea. Researchers found that physical activity stimulates the brain to release and increase the amount of three chemical messengers Dopamine, Norepinephrine, and Serotonin which are responsible for enhanced focus and attention.
Routine 2: Planning or Journaling
Morning is when our thinking is loaded with so many thoughts, emotions, and planning. Our thought process is jumbled which often leads to making wrong decisions which becomes a matter of regret. However, a morning journal may help you avoid making and regretting incorrect decisions.
A morning journal is writing a diary about yourself, what you want to achieve, and your plan to achieve your goal. You can even make an everyday plan to reach your target. A practice of writing at the start of a day outlining your daily routine makes you more focused and increases your chance of success.
Routine 3: Mindfulness or Meditation
People, in general, experience stress and anxiety in everyday life. Morning is the best time to practice mindfulness or meditation to charge up your mind and get ready to confront a probable stressful day ahead. Mindfulness practice involves gently focusing on yourself to understand your internal state and analyze issues involving you.
Practicing and making a habit of meditation or mindfulness exercises gradually decreases the amygdala size, an almond-shaped hormone-secreting gland. The hormones released from the amygdala are responsible for regulating emotions, and emotional memories. As the size of the amygdala decreases, the secretion of the stress-releasing hormones also decreases which makes us unresponsive to stressful events over time.
An example of a mindful exercise is deep breathing. The process involves controlling the inflow and outflow of air into your lungs by yourself using your diaphragm which refers to a cycle of breathing, and gradually decreases the cycle of breathing. Deep breathing exercise is often overlooked, however, the exercise is quite beneficial for physical and mental health.
Meditation is another example of a mindfulness exercise. Start your day with meditation, which is a good habit since it offers an immediate soothing effect and lets you pass the day with a composed and clear-thinking mindset.
A lack of knowledge about meditation often confuses beginners discouraging them from including it in their daily routine. There is no shortage of beginner meditation apps in the market. These apps teach users how to meditate. Breathing exercises are common in all beginner meditation Apps. These apps also include different forms of meditation exercises. Meditation Apps are significantly useful whether you want to sleep better or reduce stress at work or in everyday life.
Two popular beginner-friendly meditation apps are Calm, and Headspace. The Calm App, for example, is easy to use, and packed with different meditation exercises. It includes short 10-minute introductory meditation courses where users get the basic idea of meditation and advanced courses that cover more complex issues such as sleep, anxiety, and self-confidence.
Routine 4: Healthy Breakfast and Hydration
Nutrition is essential in maintaining energy and cognitive function. Similarly, hydration plays a critical role in maintaining energy and cognitive function because the human body is primarily made up of 45% to 75% water. In comparison, the percentage of water in the brain is even higher, close to 77%.
There are numerous healthy breakfast ideas around you. However, during morning rush hour breakfast ideas that take less time to prepare, do not load your stomach with food yet give a fulfillment feeling, and are energetic are ideal. Oats, eggs, quick breads, and smoothies are all excellent breakfast choices for people of all classes.
People with no sleeping difficulty invariably spend 7 or 8 hours sleeping at night. When you are asleep, you are fasting which means you are not drinking or eating anything. After spending 7 or 8 hours or perhaps even more without food and water, your stomach becomes empty. When your stomach becomes empty, your body absorbs more water which causes dehydration in your metabolic system. So the first thing you require when you wake up in the morning is quick rehydration because dehydration may damage your vital organs such as the brain, kidneys, and heart. Drinking water in the morning, on the other hand, has several important health benefits including better skin, better hair, weight loss, enhanced immune system, cleansed bowels, and increased energy.
Routine 5: Avoid Early Distractions
Today’s era of digital age is full of distractions and omnipresent social media and e-mails are making it further complicated. Although both are essential parts of your life, checking them at the start of the day may distract you from your main tasks and negatively impact your mood, productivity, and well-being.
It is highly unlikely that you will start your day with the five routines described above. A good start is starting with the two most beneficial routines- exercises and planning- before gradually adding other routines. You will certainly be encouraged when you see you have completed more tasks as an outcome of adopting one or two routines in your morning activities.
