Are you one of those people who hates mornings? Do you wake up with low energy, feeling like a zombie? These are all symptoms of someone who “is not a morning person”. While it’s true that you may not be a morning person, I bet another reason for your disdain of mornings is lack of a routine.
Treat yourself like an athlete and treat everyday like Game Day. If you were an athlete, you wouldn’t just roll out of bed, all disheveled and start playing right? So then why do it in your professional career?…Start your morning off with a consistent routine, and you will perform at the top of your game all day!
Start your day w/ MCTs and coffee
1) Start Your Day w/ MCTs
Add fat to your coffee, you say??…I’m sure by now you’ve heard of bulletproof coffee and those who swear by it. I am one of those people. One of the key ingredients to any bulletproof coffee recipe is MCT oils (medium chained triglycerides). Among the many benefits of MCT oil, is that it is much more easily converted to caloric energy than other fats. This provides you a significant boost of energy in the morning when you need it the most.
Combine all those benefits with the caffeine in coffee or tea??….BOOM! I put MCT oil in my coffee every morning, and I can tell you there is a significant boost in my mood, focus, and energy. Not sure how to use MCT oil in your coffee?…Here is my personal morning coffee recipe packed w/ MCTs.
2) Journaling
“Once we get those muddy, maddening, confusing thoughts on the page, we face our day with clearer eyes.”
Take 5 minutes to journal in the morning
This quote perfectly encapsulates why journaling is so important. Journaling helps clear your mind. It helps you get rid of those nervous and erratic thoughts in your head. By putting those thoughts to paper, you confront them, and have a a much greater sense of clarity and focus when beginning your day. Spend 3-5 minutes at the beginning of your day journaling all the thoughts that pop up in that brain of yours. Emphasize stressors and anxious thoughts.
When journaling, the point isnt to write for someone else. The goal isn’t to make the words poetic, or really even make sense. You are writing for yourself. As long as it makes sense to you, thats all that really matters. Personally, I find myself more anxious and uneasy during days I don’t journal.
3) Wake up and Exercise
This one seems obvious right??…In addition to the health benefits, starting your day with exercise has a great mental effect as well. By starting your day off with accomplishment, you start your day off with momentum.
Momentum is defined as the quantity of motion of a moving body, measured as a product of its mass and velocity. Now for our purposes, we are not too concerned with the physics-y part of the definition. But what does concern us is the “motion of a moving body”. Simply getting your body moving and finishing a workout gives you a sense of accomplishment, and makes it easier to start the day off right.
Personally I like to walk up, have my coffee, then immediately head to the gym. I save the full breakfast till after I’m done.
4) Make Your Bed Like Mama Said
It turns out your mom was right all along. Making your bed in the morning can lead to a more productive day. In a survey of over 68,0000 people, 71% of people who make their bed say they are happy, while 62% of people who don’t make their bed are not. Research has also shown that bedmakers are more productive, and more likely to stick to a budget than non-bedmakers.
Making your bed provides a structure and help declutter your room. Also, similar to exercise, it provides you with a micro sense of accomplishment, and starts your day off with momentum. For those of you who do work or homework in your room, clearing the clutter will allow you to focus more and be more productive.
For some of you, I know the thought of waking up earlier In the morning sounds ludicrous. Time and sleep can be at a premium. But I can tell you that the payoff is well worth it. There’s no better feeling than waking up and dominating your morning!
