How you start your day has a huge impact on how the rest of your day goes. Your days reflect your weeks, your weeks reflect your years…. you get the idea. By taking control of your routine in the morning, you can change so much!

Here are some of our best tips to get you out the door feeling accomplished, in control, and ready to tackle what the rest of the world throws at you.

Don’t Check Your Phone

We know you do it. You wake up, roll over, and grab your phone. You scroll through your email, Facebook, Instagram and look to see what you missed and what everyone else was up to while you were sleeping. Think about it. You just immediately started your day by losing control of your day. You wrote back to (or thought about how you needed to) to emails which are things other people want from you. You looked at social media and thought about who liked what and what other people are doing.

Instead, take those few scrolling minutes and think about what YOU want to get out of your day. What do you need to accomplish? What do you want to get out of the day? Think about those before you think about what the world wants you to do for them today.

Some people find it helpful to leave their phone in a common area like the kitchen or living room to charge overnight. Use your phone as an alarm clock? It will be worth the couple bucks to get a new alarm clock for your room that isn’t tied to your email and social media account.

Make Your Bed

Navy Seal Admiral William McRaven, author of “Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life… And Maybe The World,” explains that the simple task of making your bed (correctly) immediately sets you up for success by instantaneously giving you something to be proud of. It is a simple task that can have huge rewards. And nothing beats coming home after a long day to a nicely made bed too!

Do Stretches or Yoga

Before you open your bedroom door or make breakfast, do your stretches or yoga. Try setting up your mat or a stretching area in your house so what you need is readily available first thing.

Our friend Erin, from Yoga Dia and the Bay Club, says daily yoga practice will not only make you more flexible and stronger but will help you quiet your mind, become more present and alleviate stress. You could do your sun salutations for just a few minutes before you start your day and see tremendous changes in your body and brain. Erin also has a video going through sun salutations on her YouTube channel.

If you don’t practice yoga, first thing in the morning is a great time to do your active care stretches like the standing hamstring and seated piriformis or grab your foam roller and roll out your IT bands!

Drink Water…. Even Before Your Coffee

You just went 8-9 hours without drinking anything! You need to hydrate. Before you have your morning caffeine, drink water to jumpstart your system. Ali, from our office, suggests adding a squeeze of lemon to your water first thing. Adding lemon can aid in digestion and get you a quick dose of vitamin C.

Layout Everything You Need the Night Before

Dr. Cait’s favorite morning recommendation is to lay out everything you need the night before. Have your clothes picked out, your lunch made, and your workday bag packed. All you need to do in the morning is take care of you, your body, your brain, and head out the door.

There are lots of studies on how our brains are wired to do the heavy lifting in the morning. Use that brainpower for better things than what to wear today. Things like clothes, food, and organizing are great activities to do at the end of the day when your brain is tired.

There you have it! These really simple tips will turn into habits and can help you have more control of your day (and weeks, and years, and life).

What did we forget? Contact us, leave us a comment on Facebook, or let us know at your next appointment. We would love to share tips that work for you with our other friends and clients!

 

Photo by Kathleen Newell