Mornings set the tone for the whole day. Here are some simple ideas to help you never wake up on the wrong side of the bed.
A smooth morning really starts the evening before. You’ll certainly feel your best if you take a few steps before hitting the sheets to set yourself up for success the following day.
Don’t overindulge too close to bedtime
Eating and drinking too much right before hitting the hay may limit your body’s ability to digest properly. Give your body ample time to process what it has just consumed to allow you body to focus on one task at a time, and in this case, it’s sleeping. Though alcohol may help us fall asleep, it actually leads to lower-quality sleep after the liver is done metabolizing it. If you do imbibe, make sure you switch to something non-alcoholic about four hours before bed so it doesn’t affect your sleep.
Go to bed at a decent hour… for you
The “eight hours of sleep” rule is really an average that may or may not apply to you specifically. Some people need a little less, some people need a little more. So if you’re regularly getting eight hours and still feel tired, maybe you’re a nine hour person. But if you’re constantly waking up an hour before your alarm and lying in bed trying to go back to sleep, it’s okay to admit that perhaps you only need seven hours. Getting too little sleep is bad for everyone, so make sure you’re listening to your body and getting the amount of sleep you require.
Get Ahead
Go ahead and combat early morning decisions that cumulate into decision fatigue. You could do this by deciding what you’re going to wear the next day and laying it out. Or you could pull a Steve Jobs and wear the same outfit every day regardless, therefore simplifying this a step further. You do you. You could also get a jump on things by preparing your coffee in the morning, so all you have to do is press start. Little tasks like this that you can accomplish the night before will free up some time for you the next morning.
Now that you’ve set yourself up for a great night’s sleep, you can focus on what to do after your alarm goes off.
Drink water
Yes, coffee is great, but have you tried being hydrated? Some people swear by lemon water in the morning, but the most important thing is drinking a big glass of water, regardless of citrus garnish. (You can have coffee, too!)
Don’t rush
How tempting is it to stay in bed until the very last minute? But we all know how easy it is to hit a snag, and all of a sudden your adrenaline is pumping because you’re trying to make up for lost time. That’s no way to start the day! Give yourself ample time in the morning to do everything at a leisurely pace that still gets you to work on time, even if you lose your keys.
Make your bed
This simple step has many psychological benefits, including a feeling of accomplishment, intention setting, reduced stress, and improved goal-setting. Plus, your space looks nice, which is a nice mood lifter when you come back home.
Stretch
Not a morning gym person? That’s okay. All you need to do is a little stretching sequence to get your circulation flowing and work out any muscle soreness left over from sleeping. Try these three simple stretches:
- Reach your arms overhead, interlace your fingers, and extend the palms towards the sky.
- Roll the spine down into a standing forward fold. Hands can hang loosely, touch the floor, grab opposite elbows, or you can keep the fingers interlaced and drape the knuckles forward for a shoulder stretch.
- Come down to your hands and knees for a few rounds of cat-cow.
Review and refine your to-do list, and eat a frog
Take Mark Twain’s advice to “eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day” by tackling your most daunting task first, so it’s all smooth sailing from there. You’ll avoid procrastinating, harness your early-morning willpower, and start the day off with an accomplishment.