Do you ever feel like mornings are the most difficult time of the day? Many of us do this, and it’s mostly because we don’t begin our day with a good mindset. Instead, we wake up feeling foggy, snooze our alarms, and hardly have time to think about it until we race out of the house to get to work or school. After the rush, we sit at our tables nervously trying to sort out how we’re going to handle it all. By lunchtime, we’re left wondering where the morning has gone, with nothing crossed out on our to-do lists.
It’s safe to say that most of us will do a revamp in the morning. Anything that makes our mornings less busy, more fun and more purposeful. The morning sets the mood for the rest of the day, which is why it is so important to begin the day with a clear mind. Instead of running around every morning, let’s try to start our days with more clarity. Why? Because rising with insight leads to more positivity, success, and peace of mind. If you feel like the mornings are the most challenging time of the day, here’s how to start your day with calm and focus so that you can have the most productive morning ever!
How to prepare the night before bed:
If you feel like the mornings are the most difficult time of the day, here’s how to start the day with calmness and concentration so that you can have the most productive morning ever!
Plan your to do list for the next day. Have a good picture of what you need to do tomorrow by preparing your to-do list before you go to bed. Take this time to clear your brain of any thought or mission that may be swirling through your head. Once you’ve written your to-do list, pick the top three priorities from the list. These are the three tasks that need to be finished, either because of a timeline or because they can make it easier in the long run. The rest of your to-do list then becomes an ‘if I have time’ list. Now you know exactly what you need to do when your day starts tomorrow.
Minimize the struggle upon yourself. Save your time in the morning by minimizing the amount of work you need to do before you get out of bed. You may want to plan your breakfast or lunch, pick your outfit, and get your bag ready to go. You can also reduce distractions when you wake up by leaving your phone in airplane mode or do not disturb mode while you sleep.
Declutter your space and mind. If you wake up to a cluttered room, your mind is likely to feel cluttered, too. Before you go to bed, clear the room around you (put away clothes, papers, products, etc.) so that you can wake up to a clear space and a clear mind. This simple move will make a big difference in your mornings, and your atmosphere will have an effect on your mood.
What will your morning look like:
Now that we’ve defined what you should do the night before, let’s talk about what to do when you wake up and start your day with clarity. Make sure you review your goals and priorities. Break the habit of checking your phone in the morning by replacing it with a new habit: evaluating your daily plans. You’ve already done the job of organizing your to-do list, so make sure you know what you’ve set out to do. Take a minute to study your to-do list and top goals for the day before you do something else in the morning.
Start with a SIMPLE mindfulness practice. We always hear about intricate morning rituals that sound great, but in fact, they’re too time-consuming for a lot of us. Instead of an elaborate exercise, pick something that you can do for 10 minutes to help clear your mind. It might be diary, reflection, exercise, singing, having a cup of tea/coffee, saying affirmations, reading, devotion—whatever you want, it’s going to start the day on the right foot.
Identify something you’re always thankful for. Identifying what you’re thankful for is one of the easiest ways to greet your day with better clarity. You will start the day with an optimistic and grateful note by acknowledging the good things that are going on in your life. Plus, the act of thinking about what you’re grateful for is placing your mind in a concentrated state of mind. Before you get on with the rest of your day, dream about or write down three items that put a smile on your face. The trick to a stress-free morning is to be clear on your goals, reduce disruptions, and concentrate on grounding. This may sound like a lot of effort, but it will keep you from getting stressed in the morning. Now that you’ve begun your morning with no distractions, a simple schedule for the day, and a grounding exercise, you’re reading to take the day!