7 ways to kick-start your mornings

Not all of us are a morning person. Not all of us wake up like the television actors we watch on screen. We do not have that fresh look make-up on and we definitely do not get 8 perfect hours of sleep. Most of us sleep late after completing our errands and then reward ourselves with some screen time. This screen time harms our body and mind in more ways than one. In fact, a lot of us already know we need to sleep on time to wake up fresh and ready for the next day but it is easier said than done. Distractions, stress and various other things fight for our attention, making our mornings a dull affair.

But we need to learn how to stay motivated if we want to be at the top of our game. And mornings are composed of the best hours that help start the day right. If we imbibe some simple yet effective tips to be productive in the first few hours of the day, we can stop struggling to start our day right.

Soulveda lists some easy habits to include in your routine that will end the early morning struggle and help you begin your day just right!

Always pre-plan

Having a plan for the upcoming day is very important. Just like a child packs his school bag with subject books he will be studying the next day, one should also have a time-table to follow.

You cannot fathom the amount of time you can save by pre-planning your next day. When you begin to fret with more important things at hand in the middle of the day, your brain will be free of the added stress of what’s next in your routine. You can fully concentrate on the work at hand. For instance, when you have dedicated time slots for cooking and office work with a small break in between, that break can sometimes be used for making important work calls. This way, you won’t disrupt your usual routine.

It is some simple thinking before you go to sleep that will help you in a big way the next day.

Do things by rote

A lot of morning tasks can be pre-determined and fairly easy to tackle. Simply waking up at the same time everyday and doing a simple task like drinking a glass of warm water and watching the milk boil brings a certain calm to your senses. If it is your kid’s lunchbox that you like to prepare first thing in the morning, do it with utmost love and care. If you don’t like to talk to anyone and need to first stretch and pray a little, do that. Some rituals can be basic or mundane but are necessary to ensure a good start to the day.

You can choose simple tasks that make you feel more awake each minute without needing your complete attentive self.

Exercise or yoga

The tone of your morning sets the tone of your day. If you wake up in a rush, the whole day passes in trying to compensate for that missed alarm.

So it is an excellent idea to begin with exercising the mind and body. Thirty minutes or an hour of doing breathing exercises, yoga or a combination of exercises expand the muscles and the mind. Exercising in the morning not only gets your blood flowing and fights diseases but makes you alert for the day’s happenings.

If you are an extrovert, going to the gym and meeting people while working out will put you in an upbeat mood as well.

Choose a favourite

Ayurveda, the ancient Indian medicine system suggests having a glass of warm water with lemon juice to remove toxins from the body early in the morning. It is a soothing habit to develop for the day’s start. Another great way to start the engine of your mind and body is to practice gratitude as soon as you wake up and sit straight. Saying thanks for a new day and the blessings you have will only attract more positivity in your life.

While these are some beneficial activities we have enlisted, the sky is the limit for you when it comes to choosing something that kick-starts your day right. Simply choose an activity that you have always liked doing and include it early in your routine. Watch as that activity helps you soar each day.

Have breakfast

A study done on nursing students found that those who didn’t eat breakfast scored ‘C’ as average while those who did have their morning meal scored an ‘A’ as average. Consuming breakfast everyday is linked to several health benefits and is recommended by experts worldwide. If you are the type of person who struggles to start the day right, having a healthy breakfast daily can be a great starting point.

Having a glass of milk or tea, bread, fruits and other healthy food items in the morning time will not just build your immunity, but it also set you up for a fulfilling, highly motivated day at work.

Go easy on certain days

Know that each day cannot be the same. While you may be able to stick to a morning routine five days in a week, two days might go a little haywire. There are many reasons for a routine to get disrupted, like the gym may be closed, you may have worked late or the baby may have been up all night etc. it is important to go easy on yourself on certain days as routines go off track at times.

Do not beat yourself about it and get into the rhythm the next morning. Habits are formed with practice and as long as you can keep at the chosen path, some days of waking up groggy are not going to hijack your personal growth and motivation.

Work smart, not hard

For many people, mornings are tough because they have to take care of not just themselves but of entire families. Knowing what to cook for the kids, preparing their school bags and uniforms, setting up arrangements for senior members of the house, the list of things to do for such people goes on. Naturally, staying motivated and getting up with a lot of enthusiasm might be tough. Learning to create shortcuts is the key to having a good start in such cases.

For instance, have a weekly meal plan prepared for the family. Every Sunday, decide what is to be had for lunch and dinner for each day of the week and arrange food items accordingly. Cut and store as much of fruits and vegetables as you can. Have extra set of uniforms for the kids so that laundry can be dealt with over the weekends. Create smaller to-do lists and share with family members who can take some of the load from you each morning. For example, your spouse can help with filling the water bottles or serving breakfast while you prepare tiffin.

Pre-planning and sharing chores will save you a lot of time, energy and relieve you from the stress that you might experience if all of this work falls on you every morning. Remember you cannot do everything yourself and some help from family and friends is essential to stay motivated daily.

Struggling to get started ends when you start, believes author Pamela Burke. So get started on having great mornings and watch how life starts getting smoother and happier!