It doesn’t matter if you’re a busy professional heading to a corporate suite, a remote worker settling into your home office, a stay-at-home mum, or a high schooler prepping for another school day, everyone should figure out how to tap into the power of the morning.
The morning is a crucial time. It sets the tone for how your day will look and can help with feelings of positivity, efficiency, energy, and productivity. If you’re looking for ways to harness that morning productivity for your own benefit, here are a few suggestions to get you started.
Always Maintain a Morning Routine
If you want to be productive as soon as you roll out of bed, it’s essential that you have a routine to get you going. A good routine helps you get into gear and gain some momentum, even when you feel too tired to really focus on anything productive yet.
A typical routine should start with the basics, things like brushing your teeth, getting dressed, and eating breakfast. From there, you can add in other activities that will help you start the day on the right side of the bed. A few suggestions for high-quality, effective morning routine activities include:
- Going for a run to get those endorphins pumping.
- Taking time to meditate, pray, and foster an attitude of thankfulness and gratitude.
- Listening to music or reading a book to boost your mood and feel more positive.
Whatever your specific activities are, it’s important that you make your routine for you. Start with your basic necessities and then build a series of activities that help you thrive.
In addition, always be ready to adjust your morning routine on a regular basis. Don’t completely change it — that defeats the entire purpose of a routine. However, as your circumstances change over time, don’t be afraid to tweak your activity to reflect those changes. This can help your routine remain both appealing and effective.
Plan Out Your Entire Day
Along with having a routine to get you going, it’s a good idea to take some time each morning and plan out the rest of your day. This doesn’t mean you have to be overly structured as you consider your schedule. On the contrary, the goal shouldn’t be to control so much as to remain aware of everything that’s expected of you.
For instance, as you mull over each day, take into account things like:
- Work expectations.
- Personal responsibilities
- Meals and snacks.
- Family time.
- Exercise.
- Sleeping.
If you take a few minutes to go over your schedule each and every morning, it can be the perfect way to grease the wheels for maximum productivity as you gear up to go about your daily tasks.
Attack Procrastination
One of the worst ways to lose your motivation is by procrastinating on tough or intimidating projects and responsibilities. If you have a big job at work or you need to get something done around your house, avoiding the task and focusing on easier things will only delay the inevitable.
Sooner or later you’ll need to take on the chore you’re avoiding. Even worse, you’ll likely work even slower as you try to get things done knowing that something harder and less enjoyable is hanging over your head.
To overcome or “fix” procrastination, you must become accustomed to tackling tough projects first thing in the morning. As soon as you finish your morning routine, take some time to finally vacuum the living room. If you just arrived at the office, take that moment to start chipping away at that monster project that you’ve been hesitating to begin.
If you can get used to taking on intimidating projects when you’re geared up to be productive early in the morning, it will provide other benefits besides simply getting the tough stuff off of your plate. For instance, fixing procrastination can help you avoid negative feelings associated with certain tasks. It can also help you feel positive about overcoming a problem, rather than leading to self-blame for avoiding it. It should also be mentioned that attacking procrastination early in the morning is a great way to set a productive tone for the rest of the day that lies ahead.
Tapping Into Healthy, Sustainable Morning Productivity
There are plenty of ways to try to harness productivity throughout the day. Things like the Pomodoro Technique and taking coffee naps can certainly help you regain a little momentum when you feel your energy flagging.
The truth is, though, if you want to tap into sustainable, high-energy productivity, it’s important that you do so from the get-go. Put your best foot forward every morning by following a good routine, planning out your day, and tackling the tough stuff first.
If you can get the productivity going early on, you won’t have to lean on artificial energy or productivity techniques as often as the day progresses. You’ll also feel great from the moment you rise to the instant you close your eyes each night.
