There are a lot of successful people who attribute their success partly to the things they do before they go to work every day. They include Richard Branson, Mack Zuckerberg, Arianna Huffington, Tory Burch and a host of others. The question I’ve always asked is: how does our morning routine affect the rest of our day, and consequently, how our life turns out? Meditation and Prayer, proper planning, a healthy breakfast, Spending some time with family, Exercise. All these have been advocated as healthy Morning routines that enhance productivity.
Here are reasons why I agree:
- A Healthy Breakfast Sharpens the Mind for Optimum Performance
Breakfast restores glucose levels; an essential carbohydrate that is needed for the brain to function. Many studies have shown how eating breakfast can improve memory and concentration levels. It can also make us happier as it can improve mood, and lower stress levels.
There is a real reason it is called “break-fast”. This is because over the night we have embarked albeit unconsciously on a fast and the body needs its energy. Breakfast is brain food.
Incorporating a healthy breakfast as an indispensable part of your morning routine, makes your brain sharper and increases your concentration for the day. This unavoidably increases your productivity for the day, especially if your work involves making difficult decisions.
Your tolerance is also reduced when you skip breakfast and you could get into an unavoidable, tussle or two. No one like a hangry co-worker.
- Your Morning Workout Is Working Out More Than You Think For You
You know that sluggish feeling when you just wake up? Many of us can carry that sluggishness into the rest of the day. Exercise is the most effective way to knock out sluggishness and get your mind ready for functioning.
An early morning workout, whether it is a cycle round the block, some innovative stretches, or a quick jog, wakes up your brain and gets you thinking more positive thoughts other than the gloomy ones you woke up with.
Exercise also increases a hunger for healthy foods. You will often feel the need to eat more green foods or proteins and drink a lot of clean water when you work out. In the alternative you might just stuff your face with unhealthy carbohydrates and sugars as most people do.
The result is that you feel less stressed on getting to work and feel better about working late. Science says that people who exercise feel much better about their work-life balance
- Meditation and Prayers Put You in a More Positive Path for the Day
After waking from a healthy and restful sleep session, prayer and meditation are crucial for orienting yourself toward the positive.
Meditations and Prayers, help direct your mind to the things you are grateful for, the things you can improve on and the things you need to change out rightly. And guess what? People are magnets. What you focus on you will attract more of.
Steve Jobs mentioned in a commencement speech to graduating students at Stanford how setting his morning intentions helped him change his life strategy:
For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “no” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
Prayers and meditation focus your mind on what is important and boosts your confidence levels and your drive for the day.
- The Time Spent In Planning and Organizing Boosts Your Productivity
“Getting up and at it early gives me time to get on top of things, and chart my day effectively, I find the period of quiet, before most of the world logs on, to be great time to catch up on news and reply to emails. These early hours give me the opportunity to start each day with a fresh and organized slate.”- Richard Branson
Your day is just twenty-four hours and usually there are more vying for those precious hours than it can accommodate.
Taking a little time out before you leave the house or while commuting to work to plan your day and weed out the excess while outlining the priorities will build your focus and help you make decisions much more easily during the day.
It gives you a plan and plans well crafted gives you better productivity.
- Time Spent With Family Improves Your Work Ethic
The amount of work we do in a day can get really staggering and discouraging and this is why it is necessary to get out of the house with some degree of cheer. Family, friends and neighbors are a good avenue to ensure you leave the house smiling. Take some time to eat breakfast with the kids, chat about school and some irrelevant stuff. Kiss the Mrs., wave to the neighbor and ask about his garden.
There is not a better way to start the day than a cheerful heart.
Taking care of our mornings is the antidote for bad and frustrating days and we can do much more than these to improve our day.
Here’s to healthy mornings!
