You might have missed a phenomenon: when your morning starts in a frenzy—you snooze your alarm, skip breakfast, and rush out the door—the rest of the day reflects the same chaos.
It’s safe to say the tone of your morning sets the tone for the rest of the day.
That said, planning your mornings carefully and starting them powerfully makes perfect sense.
If you are not a natural morning person, waking up early and starting your mornings right can be a tough challenge.
Navigating the first few days of waking up early can be tricky if you are not used to it.
However, waking up early is important if you want to make the most out of your entire day and if you want to deal with life as effectively as you can.
If anything, waking up early is the first thing you need to do if you want each day to be successful and productive.
The first thing you need to do to make sure your mornings are dynamic and effective is to lay the groundwork with a routine that helps make each morning constructive and rewarding.
Below are some of the proven tips to make your mornings powerful and to wake up feeling empowered and energized:
Create an intentional nighttime routine.
Waking up energized and refreshed requires laying the foundation the night before.
Establish an intentional nighttime routine designed to help you relax and set you up for early sleep.
Set aside time to prepare for the next day.
For instance, prepare the clothes you will wear to the office the night before or have your workout gear ready if you intend to hit the gym when you wake up.
Preparing what you need the night prior can also help ensure you can make the first hours productive and relaxing.
You will also feel empowered waking up feeling refreshed.
Make sure to tidy up before bedtime.
Waking up in a messy room or a sink full of dirty dishes can be very demotivating.
Set aside a few minutes to clean up your living spaces.
This is important so you can wake up feeling relaxed.
This will also help you feel like each day is a great opportunity to begin anew and start each day fresh.
Make your mornings as productive as possible.
Make sure you begin each day with a proactive mindset.
Your mornings should be designed to care for your goals and needs, so you must schedule each day meticulously.
Prepare a list of high-priority tasks that you will complete the next day.
Your list can save you precious time figuring out what you need to do first so you can easily tackle them.
Be flexible.
There is no such thing as perfect, including the execution of your morning routine.
Expect that there will be days when you won’t be able to stick to the routine you have identified.
It could be that something comes up and throws you off your schedule, and you won’t be able to do what you have set out to do.
Don’t be too hard on yourself.
Be flexible and acknowledge that morning routine disruptions can happen.
The idea is not to let it jeopardize or dictate how the rest of your day goes.
Stick to those things you can still do and start anew the next day.
Do things that are meaningful to you.
If you want to set a positive tone for the rest of the day, ensure you focus on doing meaningful things to yourself early in the morning.
If this means meditating, doing yoga, journaling, or going for a run, then make sure you do it.
So be it if it means spending quality time with your loved ones.
Keep your gadgets out of your room.
One of the best benefits of keeping your mobile phone and other gadgets out of your bedroom is you won’t be tempted to check your social media or emails first thing when you wake up.
Not checking your emails or social media can help ensure you won’t start your day feeling stressed or anxious.
Another thing is not checking your gadget first thing in the morning will give you time to focus on yourself and the things you need to get done.
Don’t take precious time away from yourself by starting your day by responding to other people’s needs.
Keeping your gadgets out of your bedroom can help ensure you start your day on your terms.
Keep your mobile phone away from your bedside.
This is still related to the previous tip.
This is something Arianna Huffington swears by.
When it’s time to sleep, ensure your mobile phone is far away.
Ariana Huffington takes it a notch by keeping her mobile phone outside her bedroom.
If you want to keep it in your bedroom, put it on airplane mode.
It is also important to remember that you are doing yourself a disservice if you check your work email or messages when you wake up.
Why? You are cultivating a reactive mindset rather than a proactive one.
This can cause you to start your day in a defensive state rather than a place of control and inner peace.
Stay detached from your phone and anything else related to technology the first hour after you wake up so you can begin your day with a positive focus.
Set aside time for reflection and gratitude.
If you want to start your mornings as serenely and positively as possible, set aside time for reflection and gratitude.
Use a journal to list all the things you are grateful for and reflect on where you are and want to go.
Starting your day with gratitude and reflection can also change your perspective and influence your decisions and how your day goes.
Make time for purposeful silence.
Don’t allow anxiety and stress to start your day on the wrong footing.
Quiet your mind by setting aside time for purposeful silence.
This moment of silence is also the ideal time to meditate and practice mindfulness.
This also allows you to just be by yourself and feel peaceful.
When you are first starting, five minutes of meditation will suffice.
You can increase the time for purposeful silence as you deem fit and as you go along.
Stack your habits.
In his book The Power of Habit, author Charles Duhiggs discusses how building habits all come down to having a cue to do something.
It is then followed by a routine and then a reward.
Ensure you build your morning routine in a way where you can create a positive day for yourself.
Your routine should not be about getting ready for the day alone.
Ideally, it should be building you up for the rest of the day.
Start small.
When creating a list of things you want to accomplish for the day, start with an easy routine that you can easily accomplish.
If you have a massive checklist, you can feel overwhelmed and exhausted even before you can check tasks off your list.
By keeping your morning routine and tasks simple, you will be able to accomplish them easily and you can end your day feeling relaxed, productive, and accomplished.
Place your alarm clock across the room.
When you move your alarm clock across the room, you will be forced to get it to turn it off when the alarm sounds.
This can help curb your need to go back to sleep as you are forced to get up and move.
Try placebo sleep.
It can be impossible to feel refreshed and energized if you wake up cranky due to a lack of sleep and proper rest.
This often happens when you constantly tell yourself that you are tired and lack rest and sleep.
Consider trying placebo sleep to combat this.
You can also tell yourself that you are energized and well-rested, and your mind will follow suit.
Create a positive morning ritual.
Many high achievers and successful people are early birds who accomplish many things on their to-do lists before most people have their first sip of coffee.
In his book The Miracle Morning, Hal Elrod emphasizes that a powerful morning should be more than just waking up early.
More than anything, it is about having a ritual that can bring you to sleep closer to the life you want.
Follow a consistent sleep schedule.
When you go to bed and get up at the same time each day, you will be training your body to know when it is time to wake up and when it is time to sleep.
You should aim to get the ideal number of hours of sleep each night—typically between seven to nine hours.
Unplug and decompress.
If you want to feel empowered, alive, and fabulous each morning, give yourself ample time to unplug and decompress before bedtime.
To do this, avoid social media and stop checking your emails at least an hour before you sleep.
Instead, reflect on how your day went and start looking forward to what you will accomplish next.
Make your bed.
Tim Ferriss, author and host of The Tim Ferriss Show, has interviewed hundreds of highly successful people with different skill sets and backgrounds, and he always asks them about their morning routines and rituals.
Along the way, he incorporated five common habits among those he interviewed, and one of them is making his bed.
While it can seem unnecessary, unimportant, and a waste of time, making your bed is a simple action that can help you accomplish something early in the day.
Completing this simple task gives you the foundation to take on more daily tasks.
Start with self-care.
Putting effort and time into your appearance can help boost your self-confidence dramatically.
When you feel “put together,” you will feel more confident to take on anything the day throws your way.
Shower, brush your teeth, floss, apply oil/lotion, comb your hair, dress to impress, and do other grooming/hygiene habits to help you feel good about yourself.
This can also include preparing, taking health supplements, exercising, doing your affirmations, basically anything and everything that can help you take care of yourself and your health, look presentable and feel confident.
Final Thoughts
The key to creating the morning routine right for you is first to experiment.
Test out different routines and find the one that makes you the happiest and most productive.
Understandably, some regimens will work better for others but not for you, so be open to creating a morning routine that works for you.