6 Tips For Creating a More Productive Morning Routine

It’s often said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Who knows if the proverb is true. Maybe this was a carefully crafted marketing ploy by cereal companies.

Regardless of the phrase’s validity, it’s been scientifically proven that the morning affects the rest of our day. We can all relate to this, right? You have those mornings where you just slept on the right side, so you hop out of bed and do things with a little more vigor than usual. Pretty soon, the morning chores are done and you feel motivated by how early it is, and the rest of the day feels like a piece of cake.

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Even the Navy SEALs have long since adopted the idea of making your bed as soon as you get up, so that the rest of the day goes more smoothly. The bottom line is this: a good morning routine is the key to a good day.

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Morning routines are great because they’re difficult. The first step is always the hardest, so how can we make our opening tasks a little bit easier on the soul? In this article, we’ll break down some top tips for creating a more productive morning routine.

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Morning Routine Tips

#1 – Stick to A Schedule

Look, we know you don’t want to hear some long, yappy comment about how humans are “creatures of habit”. We aren’t going to bore you with any nonsense, but hear this: it’s not nonsense. When you keep going to bed at the same time and waking up at the same time, your body gets used to it.

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This’ll help you in ways that seem totally disconnected: you won’t feel the need to hit the snooze button. Hopping out of bed itself will feel like an automatic routine, and (pretty soon) so will the chores you do following that.

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Figuring out when to go to bed and stay awake seems like a small decision to make on a daily basis, but small decisions add up, and pretty soon you’re wasting time and energy on a bunch of small decisions instead of being productive. Have you ever wondered why Mark Zuckerberg wears the same t-shirt every day? That’s why.

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#2 – Drink A Glass of Water

You know why you’re so lethargic in the morning? It’s because you’re dehydrated. Try this: set a glass of mainly ice and a little water by your bedside before you go to sleep. You’ll wake up to a nice, refreshing glass of iced water. It’ll hydrate you, wake you up, exercise your esophagus muscles, and pretty soon you’ll already be in the bathroom getting your day started.

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#3 – Exercise

Before you groan or read onto the next tip, we encourage you: start slow. You don’t have to run a marathon every morning–in fact, you don’t even have to leave your bedroom. Start with something small and meaningful.

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This is different for everyone. Some of us could do with a quick 10 minute yoga session from Youtube. Others cringe at the thought of that and could go for 20 old fashioned push-ups.

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Whatever you’re into, just start doing it (even if it’s a few minutes of an 80s workout VHS). Exercise is proven by science to turn you into God.

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#4 – Get Off Your Phone

Or your computer, or your smart whatever. The point is: screens aren’t a good way to start the day. We don’t care if you’re checking the news for the day, getting back to emails, or doing whatever other seemingly important task that feels like it could be “productive.” It’s pretty much impossible to browse the internet without doing it for longer than you intended to, and besides, immediately flooding your brain with dopamine is just a bad way to start the day.

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You know what isn’t bad? An appropriately timed product placement. Focus Bear is a fantastic program that keeps you off of your screen in the morning. Let’s be real for a second: your morning routine would probably go just fine if you didn’t have access to electronic devices. Try it out and take back your mornings.

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#5 – Start With those Things You Have to Do

Whatever it is, (be it feeding the hogs, changing your baby’s diaper, or plugging the haunted fax machine back into its outlet after sunrise) we all have tasks in our personal lives that are going to have to be done daily, if not multiple times a day.

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Instead of using a bunch of brain power to think about these robotically repetitive tasks, automate them: get them done when you’re half asleep so you have something to be proud of.

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#6 – Put Social Outlets Last

When you’ve finally finished your morning routine, some productive work on the screen is a great way to reintroduce yourself to the rest of the day. At a certain point, you’ll have to respond to those messages, see the latest headlines, or verify your tasks for the rest of the day.

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In a blended world of work and personal life, checking in to your necessary engagements has become increasingly addictive. That’s why it’s smart to check in with the outside world after you’ve finished your necessary tasks at the start of the day. It’s also wise to be mindful of how much time you’re spending on your “productive” screen time.

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Conclusion

These tips are truly universal in their ability to enhance morning routines. Everybody has their own magic trick for staying productive, but these 6 tips are good ideas that can help everyone out, from billionaire tech executives to Swiss mountain shepherds.

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Speaking of everyone, Focus Bear can seriously help everyone with their screen time addiction. We touched on it a bit in tip #4, but you’ll find that there are many more valuable features to be had if you take a look at our main page. Have a look for yourself, and find out how you can make up for hours of time wasted on mindless screen usage every single day!