The Kiswahili saying ‘Siku njema huonekana asubuhi’ is one of the most profound yet often ignored sayings of the wise sages. Well, what it simply means is that how you start your day can determine how well it turns out.
Morning routines are meant to help you kick start your day in such a way that you will stay motivated throughout the day. Morning hours are usually productive because you are fresh and you can think through things better and get more done.
Morning routines help in setting your brain up for a productive day. They are rituals which get you started for the day without a struggle. For example, some people need to read something first thing in the morning to get their brains ready to start working.
There are many routines that have been proven to work either for individuals or for teams. Here are a few that you can adopt to help you start the day successfully.
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1. Jogging
Some people need to get active first thing in the morning for their day to go on well. Jogging in the morning not only has health benefits but it also makes you productive. Research shows that morning workout of any kind activates your brain and many joggers agree that it clears their heads, enables them to plan their day and gets them ready to face the day.
If you find it hard to get your brain working first thing in the morning, you should probably try jogging. The good thing with jogging is that you get to interact with the environment and think through things clearly. Additionally, since you have to think about things like your route and safety, you already get your brain working and so it becomes easy to plug into work when it is time to start hitting those KPIs.
2. Meditation
While some people get their brains started by being physically active, others achieve the same by being calm. Meditation has been proven to improve brain activity and clear your mind of things that distract you and make you unproductive. Meditation helps you calm your emotions, and be mentally stable, especially when you have too much on your mind.
If you are one of those people who find it hard to focus on anything or get overwhelmed due to the sheer amount of work on your desk at the beginning of the day, then you should probably consider doing some meditation in the morning.
3. Hold a Short Stand Up Meeting
Granted, most people do not like meetings, especially those that go one for hours on end. In fact, research shows that people hardly pay attention past the first 45 minutes. If you need to have meetings to align your day with your colleagues at the beginning of the day, then it is best to work with something brief and precise. So, you can adopt a ritual in which you hold a stand up meeting for 10 to 15 minutes at the beginning of the day. What this does is allow you to align with what your other colleagues are doing and get mentally ready for the day. This also eliminates the need to keep interrupting your colleagues in the course of the day as you are aware of what they are up to and can align yourself accordingly.
In the event that your team does not have such a ritual, you can have one all by yourself. During this time, you think about all your tasks for the day, organise them in order of priority and make a checklist to work with. This will get you organised before starting your day, which makes you productive as you do not spend time jumping from one task to another with no particular order.
4. Read Something
For some people, the only way to get their brains alive for the day is to feed it something. It could be a short story, a chapter in a novel or just an article that helps them get started. If you find it hard to get your mind ready for work, reading something that interests you can significantly help you get your mind in the right place. The ability to focus on something for a few minutes is helpful for people who find it hard to organise the day or even simply focus on work. You will find the transition from the article you are reading to your work smooth, as your brain will have settled down and be ready to focus on one task until you complete it and move on to the next one.
5. Have A Healthy Breakfast
This may sound like a cliche but it remains one of the best ways to get your mind and body ready for the day. You need the energy to get through your tasks for the day. We all wake up hungry and low on energy. This means that even your brain is low on energy and needs a boost.
If you are struggling to get the day started on an empty stomach you will probably be struggling for a while. Make it a habit to have a healthy breakfast before settling down to work. This will give your body and brain the energy you need to work and will significantly boost your productivity in the morning when you are still fresh, enabling you to get things done.
Starting your day the right way will have you shining through the day. It takes a few routines and rituals to get your body and mind ready for the day. These routines are simple and anyone can develop them without needing to invest too much.
What morning routine do you use to help you get started for the day?
