Good Start of The Day: 4 Rules

It is proven: people who get up early, have more time, work more productively and feel better. But it’s not enough just to wake up early – it’s important to perform a number of useful actions. What do you do in the morning? Do you drink coffee? Take a shower? Go for a run or to the gym? Are you meditating? If yes then you’re on the right track. Here is what else you can do to have a good start to the day.

Tune in from The Previous Evening

A successful morning begins from the evening of the previous day. To be able to wake up early, it is important to go to bed no later than 23:00 and most importantly with the right mood. Think about what the next day will be like, what exactly you plan to do. Close your eyes and imagine a situation in which you control everything and feel completely at ease. Imagine that this is how you will feel by the end of the next day when you complete everything that is planned.

If you feel tired every morning, then you are sleeping wrong. Needless to say, adults (from 18 to 64 years old) need to rest 7-9 hours a day. It is the cornerstone of mental and physical health. Sleep should be in a comfortable bed, in a well-ventilated dark room at a temperature of about 19 degrees.

Doing everything according to the rules but you still wake up tired in the morning? Then take note of the formula “10-3-2-1-0”, by fitness trainer Craig Ballantyne:

– no caffeine 10 hours before bedtime;

– no food or alcohol 3 hours before bedtime;

– no work 2 hours before bedtime;

– no screens 1 hour before bedtime;

–  and finally 0, the number of clicks on the “snooze” button on the alarm clock in the morning.

Act Proactively

We behave reactively when we simply adapt to events that are created by others. Proactive behavior means that we create events ourselves.

According to social psychologist Ron Friedman, spending the first 10 minutes of the day checking e-mails and answering letters sets up your brain to work reactively. Instead of every day “retiring”, reacting to the actions of other people, spend this time for the benefit of yourself. For example:

– drink a glass of water (hydration is vital for mood and health);

– read a book about business, self-improvement or just for the soul;

– meditate for 5 minutes;

– think about something pleasant.

Plan

Start each day with a mini-planning session. Morning is the best time to compile lists for the upcoming day, week and even month. After awakening, we think more calmly and most clearly.

By the way, you should include in the list all the cases, even the smallest and minor, because they usually take the most time.

Drawing up such schedules significantly relieves the brain because you no longer need to worry about forgetting something important.

Take Time to Self-development

“Most people are most productive and creative in the morning, but not immediately after awakening, and after about an hour and a half,” said Dan Ariely, a behavioral economist at Duke University. – That is, if you get up at 7:00, you will think the best from about 8:00 to 10:30. One of the major mistakes of time management is to spend the best time of the brain on things that do not require special intellectual effort (for example, scrolling down social network pages). “

Eliminate distractions: turn off notifications on your mobile, close the tabs on your computer.

In everyday vanity, we devote too little time to what is really important for the future. Choose two things that you can and want to do in the morning for your development. It can be learning a foreign language, working on an important project, writing a book or a scientific article. Enter these items in the schedule. If you cannot devote an hour and a half to these things on weekdays, allocate time in the mornings on weekends.

Before you begin, you need to eliminate distractions: turn off notifications on your mobile device, close the tabs on your computer and ask the people in the house not to bother you for the next hour and a half.

These tips may seem too simple to you, but what do you lose? On one side of the scale is a little effort, on the other – increased efficiency, productivity and a new quality of life. So, maybe it’s worth a try?