7 Ways to start your day off right!

I’m going to share 7 Ways to Start your day off right, but first why is this important I hear you ask! The answer is because it could be the difference between an OK day and a great day! How you start your day, sets the tone for the day ahead.

Don’t believe me? Try it for a month and see the difference in your focus, your mood, your energy, your productivity, and that’s just to name a few of the benefits. I certainly feel the difference if I don’t give myself that time in the morning to get ready for the day. I see it like priming myself for the day. When I don’t, I feel sluggish, lethargic and overwhelmed.

1. Begin the night before

So the first of the 7 ways to start your day off right actually begins the night before. Start by getting a good nights sleep. You do this by stop going on your phone an hour before bedtime. Tip here is to set an alarm to remind you to come off. I don’t know about you but if I don’t set an alarm I will forget, so if you really want to make a go of it, do this! The power of the alarm is so effective!

Also no tv an hour before bed. I know a common way people lull themselves to sleep is by watching TV, however studies show that it affects the quality of your sleep and can even lead to insomnia. It disrupts your internal clock.

If you feel like you have too many things going on in your head which prevents you from sleeping, try brain dumping. Have a notebook by the side of your bed. Many times I get some good ideas popping out during these quiet moments when I least expect it. Sometimes when we relax things start to flow better.

If you are wondering what to do in this hour before bed, take a relaxing bath, read or listen to an audio book. Or you can get prepped for the next morning.

2. Wake up an hour before everyone else

Waking up before everyone else in the house gives you a chance to get yourself together before the focus turns to the rest of the house. It gives you time to set yourself up for the day without distractions. I love this time in the morning.

It took me a while to establish this habit because I finish work late and get home at 11pm. So by the time I get myself sorted for bed, the earliest is 12 to 12.30. My alarm is set for 6.30am every morning. It was a struggle at first, but the gains outweighed the cons. Now no matter how I feel, I’m up at 6.30am , 99% of the time. I will address the topic of forming habits in a later post.

3. Drink a glass of water when you wake up

After being asleep for several hours, the first thing I like to do is drink a glass of water. On average 65% of your body is water, after several hours of sleep and no water consumption, naturally you will need hydrating. Personally I like it warm, could be an Asian thing? It helps wake me up and cues the body to get going again after resting while sleeping. It initiates your internal system, and wakes up your brain.

This article may contain affiliate / compensated links. For full information, please see our disclaimer here.

4. Exercise

You knew this was going to be in here. Exercise is your fourth one. If you are just starting out, it doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you are moving. Do some mobility exercises, from top to bottom, wake up your body. Then do something that gets your heart pumping so that you are a little breathless, it could be something as simple as marching on the spot while swinging your arms or star jumps, as long as you feel a little breathless after. This produces the feel good hormones and gives you more energy for the rest of the day and helps you get a better nights sleep.

5. Meditation

Meditation has helped strengthen my mind. It has made me more present and aware of what’s happening around me. I have more focus, leading to being more intentional with what I do, and therefore being more productive. So I highly recommend everyone start some sort of meditation practice. It can be as simple or as elaborate as you wish. If you think you don’t have time for this, you definitely need this. Meditation gives you back time, trust me. It will reduce stress and make you feel less anxious about things, leading to a more fruitful day.

My practice has changed over time. You have to find what suits you. If you are just beginning, start with ten minutes every day, building up to twenty or thirty minutes. If time is an issue, split them into two lots of ten minutes, one in the morning and the other session in the afternoon or before bed.

I suggest downloading the app called Insight Timer click here. It’s a free app and has many guided meditations that you can easily follow, it’s what I use. Select a teacher whose voice you like the sound of. It gives you sessions ranging from four minutes to an hour. I love the inspiring quote every day when I open the app. All it takes is ten or twenty minutes a day, but like I said they even have four minute sessions if you are really pushed for time.

6. Brain dump

I love this. Brain dump is exactly what it says, dumping all the thoughts out of your brain. This is a must if you are constantly feeling overwhelmed. It gives you more perspective on the situation and what appears worse than you thought, may not seem as bad when you get it out of your head.

Put five minutes on a timer and start writing down the thoughts in your head. Doesn’t have to make sense. They could be thoughts of what needs to be done, thoughts of how you are feeling. Just write down what comes into your head, don’t judge or analyse any of it yet. All you are doing is “Emptying your mind”, it can be very freeing. Don’t worry if some days you don’t have much to write, use that time to reflect.

After that, set your timer for another five minutes. This time look at what you have written and set three intentions for the day. What three things do you want to accomplish today that will get you nearer to your goal? I bought a little wipeboard where I write these three intentions down and have it on display so that I won’t forget or get distracted and lose focus, which is easily done.

7. Read or listen to something inspirational

Every morning you must fill your mind with positive thoughts and ideas. Read a book or listen to something inspirational on audio, a podcast or audible book maybe. However you must avoid any kind of social media, news, texts or emails during your morning time. You must first allow yourself to gather your own thoughts before you let the outside world in.

If you open your texts or emails first, you are following someone elses agenda, they could be demanding something from you and your mind has already shifted to that task or conversation. So please honour your own time! Your time is your greatest gift and no matter what, you are in control. Every one of us have 24 hours in the day, it depends how we use it.

To Summarise

These are 7 ways to start your day off right. Even if you start by adopting one of these consistently over the next few weeks you will feel a difference. Remember they are building blocks. Don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to do everything at once, regard it as a journey, enjoy the process. Whenever you try something new, be open to the process of adjusting and tweaking things to fit your lifestyle. Nothing is set in stone, no one-size fits all. Make it your own, and enjoy creating a better you!

That just leaves me to say, start creating your better days, from now!

Stay connected by liking my facebook page, and joining my facebook group.

Keep living agelessly

Kath xoxo