What is the first thing you do in the morning? Is it checking your cell phone? Do you run to the washroom? Perhaps, stay in your bed for half an hour even after waking up? Well, the most successful people in the world do not waste a single minute of their morning hours since they know mornings are the visions for the rest of their day. This is because the first thing you do in the morning can very much determine how the rest of your day will go.
Robin Sharma, the best-selling author of the self-help book ‘The 5 AM Club,’ reckons that once you learn to utilize the first hour of waking up in the best way, you can conquer the world. So, what’s so unique about the first thing you do in the morning? Well, your intention for the day. If you feel good about the upcoming day, chances are, that’s how it will be! So, what must you do to make your mornings great? Let’s find out?
3 Reasons to Plan Ahead Your Morning
The importance of planning your morning beforehand brings a drastic increase in your daily productivity. It has been proven and accepted by the most successful people in the world. They plan their mornings the night before for the following reasons:
- It increases their will power to do a hard task
- They know exactly what needs to be done the next day
- They get so much more done in so little time
- It creates a momentum for the day
- A detailed plan keeps them motivated for the day
Apart from the above, there are three main reasons why you should plan away your morning.
1. Orchestrating a perfect day
When your work, appointments, and other priorities are determined beforehand, there are chances that you complete them before the day ends. It brings a sense of control and empowerment within you. You feel strong and confident once you design your day beforehand.
2. It keeps you motivated
When you get a lot of stuff done in a positive way, well, you are naturally motivated to do better in life. To get the best out of your life, it is important to plan ahead. To do the same, one needs to start with planning his or her morning.
The satisfaction of exercising, meditating, journaling, practicing gratefulness, meeting deadlines and appointments, completing important tasks on time, etc, is the result of waking up in the morning with planned events. It thus contributes t0 keeping you motivated to do better in life.
3. It shows you how to prioritize life
If you create daily plans for your mornings, well, it says a lot about you as a person. When you have an exciting day, full of productivity and other adventures that build you up, would you be interested in checking social media for 500 times? Or watch TV for hours? Or gossip about other people and their problems as you ignore your own? No.
This will automatically upgrade your brain to do better things in life. Thus, when you start planning ahead your mornings, you will understand what matters and what doesn’t
All you have to do is plan your morning beforehand without pressuring yourself to conquer the task. Yes, being in the moment and praising yourself for at least taking a step ahead. A lot of things happen in a typical day with no control of yours. Thus, there are chances that you won’t be able to keep up with your schedule all the time, and that’s okay!
Benefits of ‘First Thing You Do in the Morning’
You must have come across some highly successful people talking about the importance of waking up early in the morning. Many of them constantly talk about their morning routine and how it plays a major role in their success.
So, in case you are wondering about inculcating some daily habits in your morning hours, then perhaps take into note the following considerations.
- The first thing you do in the morning should make you feel absolutely grateful for everything
- The first thing you do in the morning should contribute to upgrading your mind and thought process.
- It should make you feel great about your mind, body, and soul.
- It should include an activity that must make you mindful.
- One of the first activities of the morning must make you sweat in a way that your body releases toxins.
Now that you know about the habits to make your morning spectacular, let’s move further into learning about the first things to do in the morning.
10 Best First Things To Do in the Morning
According to Vanderkam’s study of morning rituals, morning is the most under-utilized tool to aid productivity. The first thing to do in the morning can bring a dramatic change in your life, career, and overall personality.
Thus, you must have a set of habits to follow every morning. However, many of us have no idea about these habits. To help you with the same, here’s a list of the top 10 first things you must do in the morning.
1. Wake up early and say thank you
The best people wake up at 5 AM in the morning, when the rest of the world is usually asleep. Many of them wake up at 4 and finish the most important tasks before noon. You will have to train your mind to wake up early and also say thank you for the minute you open your eyes. Saying thank you in the first second of waking up fills you with gratitude and that is the most abundant vibe on the planet.
NOTE
The best way to wake up early in the morning is to have a good night’s sleep. The best time to regenerate your brain cells is via sleep and the best time for sleeping is between 10 PM to 2 AM. You must manage your sleep time accordingly.
2. Sweat it out
Try to get your body moving within 10 minutes of waking up. Yes, doing this will increase the level of serotonin in your head and decrease the anxiety immediately. When you release toxins during the workout, it will also upgrade your thought process and keep you mentally and physically healthy.
3. Read a book for 10 minutes
Once you are done working out, even if it is for 10 minutes, the next thing you should jump on is reading a good book. Whilst a self-help book is a good option to make you ready for the day, one can read any book that makes him or her feel good about themselves.
4. Affirmations and gratitude is the way to go
Listening to positive affirmations as one of the first things to do in the morning keeps you determined to smash your goals all through the day. You need to try it to understand its power because it’s just amazing! Also, keeping a gratitude journal and writing at least 5 things that you are grateful for attracts abundance like nothing else will.
5. Meditate
Nothing prepares you well for the day like meditation. Developing a habit of daily meditation for at least 10 minutes every morning can turn your life around. It helps you release negative energy and bring more clarity in your head.
6. Spend time with family
Your family should definitely be your priority in life. Sadly, due to our schedules, we aren’t able to spend time with our loved ones. However, when we develop the habit of waking up early in the mornings and prioritize this point in our daily planning schedule, we get a lot of time to give to our family.
Make it a habit to spend at least an hour with your family every morning before you start with your activities. It will keep you in a good mood all throughout the day.
7. Check your mail
Before you start your day, get done with checking emails as well. It will set you ready for all the work that needs to be done beforehand. Make it a habit to check your mails in the morning only and then, the next day.
Do not keep checking your inbox all day. It brings better clarity and less distraction when you are working. Get done with the tasks addressed in the mails for the day and don’t do anything extra, none whatsoever.
8. Plan your day ahead
As mentioned many times in this article, keep a planner or a journal with you and plan your rest of the day. It will bring you the much-needed clarity in your head and you will know exactly how to deal with your day.
When you know how to prioritize your daily tasks, you will start winning in life. You will know that exercising is so much more important than watching TV or gossiping about other people.
9. Soak in the sun
Take out 10 minutes to walk in the sunshine and feel the rays soaking inside the skin. Sun is known for reducing depression and anxiety from your body naturally. Its light can literally chase away the darkness in you. It is also important for vitamin D in your body. So, do not forget to stand under the sun for a while every morning and see the positive changes happening in your life.
10. Visualize your day
The best way to make sure that your day goes exactly as planned or better is to visualize it. Feel it in your body that you performed better at work, you helped someone who was in need, someone helped you when you needed them to, your meetings went well, you lost the desired amount of weight, etc. Visualize and accomplish your tasks!
Closing Thoughts
Now that you know about the first things to do in the morning, it is time you start applying the same. It takes about 30 days to inculcate a new habit. So, no matter what happens, do not back down from developing the aforementioned habits in your morning routine and soon, you will be able to turn your life around in an incredible way!
