How I built my productive morning routine: despite being a non-morning person
I’m NOT a morning person.
I’m not the kind of person who wakes up at 6 am and makes coffee. I don’t like having to wake up in the morning at all. I find it exhausting. I am one of those who loves to Snooze my alarm and that too multiple times. Because of this natural tendency, I’ve never been able to build a routine that works for me in terms of productivity and health. So when I started working on my morning routine, it was difficult for me to get into the habit of waking up early. But I did it anyway because if you want something badly enough, you will do whatever it takes to achieve your goal.
So here is how I built my morning routine out of sabotage: Remember, No one is perfect and by that no routine is. On some days we mess up our routines, but the key to building a good routine is to get back to it after it's interrupted. It's ok to forget your medicines one day as long as you don’t give them up entirely.
Wake up At a reasonable hour
What is a keystone habit?
It is something if you fix it, everything else falls into place. This habit activates the chain to other good habits.
Getting up early is the keystone habit.
Having some morning time to yourself gives you control over your day.
This time can be utilized to work on your body, mind, and soul. As Robin Sharma mentions in his book 5 am club, use the victory hour to work on your health set, soul set, and mindset.
Getting up early is a good way to start your day. It’s better than rushing through the morning and leaving it behind, which can leave you feeling unfocused and uninspired all day long.
What time should I wake up?
Now what time to wake up is entirely an individual choice. Starting your day at a reasonable hour where you have at least an hour for yourself before you submit to your daily responsibilities is always a win.
Some tips can help you wake up at a reasonable hour:
1. Set an alarm at least 15 min before the actual time you want to wake up. If you are someone like me who likes to snooze the alarm and have 10 -15 min of more sleep, you can allow yourself to do that.
2. Try waking up at the same time Monday to Friday. You always have a weekend to sleep more and rest. Getting up early isn’t always easy, but if you make a habit out of it then it becomes easier every day until one day when waking up at 6 am suddenly feels like second nature rather than something that needs to be planned out in advance.
Adequate Exercise.
As Lifestyle coach Luke Coutinho puts it “Adequate Exercise is the pillar to holistic health” Not more not less it should be adequate.
Exercise is important for your health, and it can help you feel better.
For example:
● Exercise helps you sleep better. The more active and fit you are, the less likely it is that your body will be stressed out or overworked during the day. As a result, when nighttime rolls around and all of those hormones start flooding into your system again — and they will — they’re going to be more effective at helping you fall asleep than if there was no exercise involved in getting yourself ready for bedtime!
● Exercise makes us happier than we otherwise would be because it increases serotonin production which causes us to feel calm instead of anxious.
Drink lukewarm water first thing in the morning
Water is the most important beverage for your health, and it’s also the easiest way to stay on track with your productivity. During covid, we all started having lukewarm water which is a great lifestyle change we can incorporate every day. I prefer carrying my water bottle everywhere this helps me maintain my daily water intake.
Drinking two to four glasses of lukewarm water in, early morning, an empty stomach plus a glass of hot water 1 hour after every meal plus two glasses of hot water at bedtime can heal many illnesses. (Always sit, sip and drink. Saliva should mix with the water.
— Dr Jayesh Sanghvi (Source — The Magic Immunity Pill)
Meditate.
Meditation is a great way to start your morning and it will help you be more productive throughout the day. It’s also an effective tool for managing stress, anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. Meditation makes you mindful. It's not easy to get yourself into the state of meditation like yogis. But we can at least start with 1 min a day. That’s doable. There are various apps also available that help you inculcate meditation practice like headspace. Some free guided meditation series are available on Spotify or amazon music.
Simple ways to meditate:
· Sitting with your eyes closed while breathing slowly in through your nose and out through your mouth;
· Doing guided mindfulness exercises (like those offered by Spotify) where you focus on one thing or emotion at a time;
· Even just saying “Om”( the sound Aa-auu-mmm ) out loud 5 times every morning will help get you into a state of calm before starting work!
Take a walk.
Walking is a great way to start your day and set the tone for how productive you’ll be throughout the day. It can help you wake up, clear your head, and get focused on what needs to be done. Plus, it’s good for the body!
In the book “The Magic Immunity Pill” lifestyle coach Luke Coutinho mentions the benefits of “moving” on our immune system. We have developed a very inactive lifestyle. We work out for an hour and feel it is okay to sit throughout the day in front of our computer screens. We need to walk more to be active and build a good immune system to combat diseases.
The 4 exercises for better immunity mentioned by Luke (Source — The magic Immunity Pill)
- Walking (if done consistently)
- Yoga
- Body-weight training
- Dance/Pilates
This book is freely available online, I recommend you to read this if you want more insights on building a good immune system.
Walking is an effective way of burning calories so that you don’t feel sluggish or tired after work — and if there’s one thing I’ve learned from my long hours at work (which are often spent staring at a computer screen), it’s that being tired doesn’t help me think clearly.
Eat breakfast.
The first thing you need to do in the morning is eating breakfast.
Eating breakfast is one of the best things you can do for your body and mind, both physically and mentally. It’s also important to set up your schedule so that you don’t get distracted by other things — like checking email or searching for a job on LinkedIn — that could keep you from getting started on what matters most: starting off strong each day!
There are many different types of breakfasts out there, so it might seem overwhelming at first.
Reflect
In today’s fast-paced life, we seldom sit and reflect. We start our days in so much rush and hurry that we fail to plan it in the first place. Because of this we often miss out on important things in a rush to get urgent things done.
You must plan what is your daily highlight before you start your day. Planning your day in advance makes you focused and prepared for the day. It declutters your mind. It just takes 5min daily to implement this technique and It has long-term benefits. 1 thing daily is 365 steps closer to your end goal.
Read something inspirational and personal growth-oriented.
Reading something inspirational and personal growth-oriented is a great way to start your morning. If you’re anything like me, there’s no shortage of things to read on the internet that inspire, motivate and challenge — but in order to get the most out of these articles, it helps to have some context as well.
I’ve found that reading something that was written by someone who has gone through similar experiences as myself (or even better yet, who has been through what I am currently facing) allows me to relate more easily with their words and understand where they’re coming from when they share their story.
You can build a productive morning routine if you follow these steps every day.
You can build a productive morning routine if you follow these steps every day:
● Get up early. The best way to start is by getting up at least 30 minutes earlier than usual, then working on your morning routine while it’s still dark outside and before everyone else wakes up. This will help you stay focused throughout the day, which is especially important when working from home or in an office cubicle (where there is no one around to distract you).
● Keep at it! It may take some time for your brain chemistry to adjust so that getting up early becomes second nature instead of something foreign and strange — but once this happens, don’t give up!
● Have a plan: Having an idea of what needs doing each day means that when things get busy or stressful (or both), they won’t overwhelm your efforts with complications like forgetting something important or having too much energy left over after working hard all day long without any breaks whatsoever.”
I hope this post has inspired you to build your own productive morning routine. I must admit here that it is not possible to do everything on the list in a single day. Have a combination that works for you and try changing it over time. Don’t forget that the most important thing is to start, so even if it doesn’t feel like it’s working at first, keep trying and be patient with yourself. Don’t strive for perfection, no routine is perfect. The key is consistency. With time and practice, your morning will become more productive and enjoyable, which means more time for what matters most — yours!
