mdolla: Why People With Morning Routines Are More Productive (and How You Can Start Yours)

In the middle of a dream you are having, you become faintly aware of a song playing in the background. The sound is familiar; you know it. It seems to go on forever, and what started as background noise is now fully in the forefront and very, very annoying. With sleepy eyes, you awake to realize the sound is your alarm, and it’s been going off for thirty minutes. Once again, you have slept through your alarm(s) and will undoubtedly be late for work with little, if any, time to make coffee and eat breakfast.

Chances are, any time this has happened to you, you drive to work promising yourself that tomorrow will be different. You’ll get up as soon as your alarm goes off and even get to work thirty minutes earlier than usual. But the next morning comes and goes, and you find yourself over-sleeping cocooned in your warm comforter. But not having a morning ritual does more than start your day in a frenzy – it impacts how successfully you approach everything in your life.

Stick to Your Morning Routine Can Make You Happier and Healthier

We’ve all heard the cliche expression, “the early bird gets the worm,” but we aren’t birds and we don’t want worms, so why rush around in the morning when we could be sleeping?

An interesting study showed that night owls are more prone to moodiness and addictive habits,^[1] while those who rise with the sun are more alert and higher-functioning. This ultimately results in a healthier immune system and a generally positive outlook on life.

Getting Up Early Can Reduce Your Stress Level

I don’t know about you, but if I can take any kind of steps to decrease my stress levels, sign me up! A University of London study showed that individuals who are up by 7 at the latest were not only at a lower risk of weight problems, but they were less stressed and depressed. In fact many of the individuals showed signs of easier weight loss.

I know sometimes I can wake up really grouchy, but if ultimately it means I could wake up smiling then I’m sure I can grin and bear it!

When You Aren’t Distracted by Stress, Negative Emotions and Poor Health, You Are More Productive.

It’s pretty simple: when all you have to do is wake up earlier to lose weight, stress less, and feel generally better about your entire life, you have so much less to worry about when it comes to meeting those deadlines at work and staying on top of your social life. You may suddenly find yourself making plans for coffee with friends rather than a late night cocktail. You could even become a morning jogger, freeing up those evenings you usually spend at the gym.

Starting Your Morning Routine Can Be Hard at First

You might be a little grouchy at first. If you live alone, this may not be such a problem, but if you live with your spouse or a roommate, you may want to give them a heads up that you could wake up on the wrong side of the bed for a while.
You may not feel like you’re being productive at first. When you start getting up earlier, you may be dragging a bit. Though it may feel like you’re a zombie while brushing your teeth or feeding your pets, it will get better. You just have to keep it up!

How to Get Up Early and Become a Productive Person

Now that you know you want to become an early riser and see your life change for the better, you have to figure out how you want to do that. The following scenarios are ideas to help you kickstart a new routine while you find what works best for you. While it would be great to wake up early tomorrow and drive to the gym, let’s take some baby steps. First we need to get out of bed and put our feet on the ground.

Hydrate, Eat, Breathe.

When you first wake up in the morning, you have to get out of the fasting mode your body enters during sleep. The best way to wake your body up is to drink a full glass of water. If you need to turn the coffee pot on, go ahead, but while it brews enjoy some ice water. This helps increase your energy while also telling your metabolism that it’s time to pay attention.^[2]
Have a healthy breakfast! While it cooks, do a little stretching to work the kinks out of your muscles. Bringing oxygen to your muscles wakes your whole body up and let’s your mind know it’s time to stay alert.

Make a List, Catch Up on Current Events, Envision Your Day.

When you wake up, set aside just a little time to catch up on current events. Wake up your brain by engaging in the world around you through the news. We’re all connected to our phones, so it’s a safe bet you can just scroll to a news app while standing at your kitchen counter.
Make a list of the things you want to accomplish throughout the rest of the day. Start small. You don’t need to change the world before 8am, but if you want to get to work before 8 and make those copies before 9, write that down! As you go through the day, check off what you’ve accomplished. If you make it feel like a personal challenge, you’re more likely to increase those completed tasks day after day ^[3].

Don’t Roll Over and Check Your Phone Right Away.

Yes, this one thing is a habit all on its own. When you’re trying to wake up earlier and change your routine, the worst thing you can do is hit ‘stop’ on your phone alarm and then fall into the Facebook hole. Before you know it, you’ve been scrolling through your timeline for 45 minutes and the time you allowed yourself to get up earlier and be productive is totally gone. When your alarm goes off, roll over, turn it off and get up!

General Tips and Tricks

Get up at the same time every day, and try to go to bed around the same time, too. This helps your body develop a natural sleep pattern that can go a long way in becoming a morning person.^[4]
Have something to look forward to. This can be anything from trying a new lunch spot later or just planning a really delicious breakfast. Find what works for you and get excited about it.
Be selfish about it. Remember that you’re waking up earlier to be less stressed and more zestful. Don’t get down on yourself if it takes a week or two to really get into the swing of things. You’ve probably been an over-sleeper for a long time. Give yourself time to break that habit.

Do you have other suggestions on how to be a morning person? We’d love to hear them! Be sure to share.

Reference

[1]	^	Fitness: 5 Reasons Morning People Are Awesome
[2]	^	High Performance: How To Turn A Bland Morning Routine Into A Productivity Powerhouse
[3]	^	hibox: 5 key morning routine tricks for better productivity
[4]	^	Huffington Post: Rise and Shine: 10 Steps to Becoming a Morning Person