Do you wish you could wake up everyday having positive and productive mornings? You’ve read all about the morning routines you need to adopt. You’ve tried all the tricks and hacks. But for some reason, you still can’t be a morning person. You wake feeling tired, you struggle through your morning, and your first few hours of work are pretty unproductive. It may have nothing to do with your mornings at all. The secret is to actually start your routine the night before.
You can have an amazing morning schedule planned. But if you haven’t setup the night before, then it won’t be very effective. Here are some of the most important things to do every night to makes sure you have amazing mornings.
Then you can create a successful morning routine.
1. Get Enough Sleep
This may seem obvious, but a lot of workaholics tend to pride themselves on how little sleep they get. It’s like a badge or scar for them. But it’s not healthy. Sure, you may have more waking hours, but the quality of those waking hours are diminished. You’re not as alert and energetic as you could be with enough sleep. So though you could work more, it’s not your best work.
Figure out how much sleep you need, and actually go to bed accordingly. Though the amount of sleep varies for each person, most studies indicate that 7-8 hours is a healthy amount, and 6 hours is the minimum. Then be sure to start your night routine before then.
2. Review Your Day & Meditate
Have you ever been restless with stress and unable to sleep? Maybe something went wrong that day, or you’re anxious about tomorrow. If unsettled, those thoughts and worries can keep you up all night.
Take some time to review your day. Celebrate in the accomplishments. Review the things you didn’t finish or things that didn’t go well, and make peace with them. You can’t change what happened, and you can’t do anything about it until tomorrow. Tonight you rest – be at peace with that.
3. Create a To-Do List
Most people create their to-do list in the morning, or at least think through what thy have to do during the day. It seems natural, but it wastes a lot of time and mental focus.
Create your to-do list at night so that you can hit the ground running. Physically write it down or use an app. Don’t rely on your memory – you shouldn’t have to think about it the next morning, but just be able to spring into action based on your list. Writing it down is also a way to “store it away” so you don’t have to think about it as your going to sleep.
4. Decide Your Outfits
This seems minor, but it takes up unnecessary time and mental energy, especially if you happen to be late. Pick out your clothes for the next day and set them aside, so that they’re ready to go. And no changing you mind the last minute – stick with what you’ve picked.
5. Decide & Prepare Your Meals
This continues along with making decisions the night before so you don’t waste time and exhaust mental energy in the morning. Decide on what you’ll eat for breakfast. If possible, set aside the ingredients and have them ready. For example, place the box of cereal on the counter, set aside two eggs, slice up your fruit – anything you can do to eliminate preparation time.
Same for lunch. If you bring your lunch to work, make it the night before and have it ready. If you go out to lunch, decide where you’re going and stick to it.
6. Eat a Light Snack
This is for those of you who tend to wake up in the middle of the night for a snack. You were probably woken up because you were hungry. By interrupting your sleep, you actually end up being more tired in the morning.
Eat a light snack before bed to hold you over. Of course, go to the bathroom. If you have your phone next to you when you sleep – turn off notifications for text messages, email and any apps. Eliminate anything that could potentially wake you up in the middle of the night – short of an emergency – so you can get a full night’s sleep.
DON’T: Use Bright Devices
A tendency for me and I’m sure for many of you is to look at bright devices. We do last minute work or browsing on our computers. We watch late night shows or movies. We stare at our phones and check social media one last time.
The light from these devices activates your brain and ends up keeping you awake longer, making it hard to sleep. At least 30 minutes before going to bed, try to avoid looking at any devices with bright screens. Also dim the lights in your house. Gradual darkness helps your brain release the right chemicals to prepare you for sleep.
By having a good night routine, you can set yourself up for an amazing morning. Of course, this requires you to time how long it takes for this process, so you’ll have start with plenty of time before you actually want to be in bed.
Once you’ve got your night routine nailed down, check out 8 Things You Should Do Every Morning.
What do you think about these routines. Are there any you would add or change? Let me know in the comments.