Many of us find it challenging enough to get out of bed on the right side each morning, but really it’s what we do as soon as we’ve opened the curtains that can have a huge impact on our attitude towards the day ahead.
If you’re looking to squeeze every bit of productivity out of your waking hours, it’s well worth genning up on this list of morning hacks, each designed to enhance your daily routine from the first ring of your alarm clock. Even if you decide to commit to one or two of these habits, that might still be enough to improve your standard morning experience. Heaven forbid, you may even find yourself looking forward to it.
Let’s see which ones might work for you…
More often than not, one of the main issues that comes with an ineffective morning routine is the tendency to skip breakfast – our most important meal of the day.
By cutting up fruit, preparing plates and making sure your favourite cup is ready to go the night before, you’re actually preparing your brain to wake up with the extra motivation of an easy, stress-free breakfast.
When our alarm clock goes off, many of use have a tendency to hit the snooze button as soon as possible. In fact, sometimes it almost seems to be an innate human reflex.
Well, it doesn’t have to be. The snooze button simply isn’t conducive to making the most of your mornings, so it’s probably for the best to cut it out altogether. One trick you can try instead is to keep a glass of water on your bedside table. Taking a big swig as soon as your eyes open can help the body and mind to wake up – or, you’ll at least feel a greater need to get yourself to the bathroom.
German philosopher Immanuel Kant once referred to music as the quickening art – and we’d be inclined to agree, especially in the context of a morning routine.
Setting up a playlist full of your favourite songs is a great way to apportion time to certain tasks. For example, you might say to yourself that by the time the fifth song ends I want to be dressed and ready to leave the house. Oh, and don’t forget that a little morning boogie can really help to get the blood pumping.
While this isn’t always advisable (especially in the UK), going outside into your garden or balcony to drink your preferred choice of warm beverage is a good habit to get into whenever the weather permits, especially in summer.
Breathing in that fresh morning air and taking a moment to observe life within your vicinity is a far more natural start to the day than immediately checking your emails first thing. You’ll have plenty of time for that throughout the day.
This is a biggie. There is nothing worse than not being able to find your car keys in the morning, largely because you often have nobody to blame but yourself.
That might sound a tad harsh, but all that stressing out can so easily be avoided by setting out a clear space to put the most important items of your daily inventory. This way, you’ll know exactly where to find them each and every morning before you leave the house – and it’s very likely that you’ll appreciate having made life a whole lot easier for yourself.
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