How your morning goes sets the tone for your whole day. If you start your day right and have positive intentions for you day, you are far more likely to have a great successful day.
How many things have you skipped breakfast or not able to do certain tasks in the morning and it just throws off your day? I know if my morning doesn’t go well, it changes my whole mood. By setting a good morning routine can help create a positive mood to approach tasks. I have definitely found a better morning not only makes me feel better but that I feel more productive.
There are certain tasks that you can do in your morning that will allow you to feel like you are owning the day even by 10am. I have been practising my morning routine, I certainly find it helpful to have more structure to my morning. In addition having my morning built in with mindful activities as well as productive tasks, allows me to create a successful mindset.
These are 7 things that you can do before 10am to own the day:
Photo by Steph on Unsplash
1. Make your bed as soon as you get up
By making your bed every morning you will have accomplished your first task of the day. It will give you that sense of pride and can encourage you to do more tasks.
Simple tasks like making your bed in the morning can be overlooked, if you are in a rush. But slowing down to do a task like making your bed can create a calmer mood. Also, it gets you moving and stretching, which wakes up your body and muscles.
I certainly feel better when my bed is made, it makes my room look tidier and I instantly feel more organised before my day has even started.
2. Have breakfast
Eating breakfast affects your energy levels according to studies. So, if you want to have a productive day, you are going to need to nourish your body. You will want to fuel your body to keep you going until lunch time.
It is essential to eat and drink something in the morning to kick start your metabolism. In order to be your most productive you need to feel energised, so a good breakfast is important.
I never really used to eat breakfast, I would struggle and opt for nothing – which is not the best decision. However, for Christmas I was gifted a personal blender as I love smoothies. As I am changing what I put in my body, I have chosen to haver a smoothie in the morning. So, that can be an option for you if like me you can’t always eat straight away.
3. Get dressed
You should get dressed everyday even when you work from home. Before you decide to live in hoodies and comfy joggers, studies have shown that there is a link between dressing up for work and your levels of productivity.
According to science, your clothing can impact the way you think and feel through the routine it puts in place. It can also boost your mood and confidence which will reflect in your work ethic and your day.
4. Practise your affirmations
Whether you like to physically voice your positive affirmations or write them in your journal, doing them every morning can enable you to look for the positives in your daily life. That then allows you to approach your day from a positive attitude.
There are so many different affirmations that can be beneficial for your confidence and self love. I often find that having a pep talk is really beneficial for a positive and motivated mindset.
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5. Read a few pages of your book
By reading a few pages every morning can improve your memory and critical thinking skills. Activities like reading have been linked to a lower risk of Alzheimer’s Disease. It helps you to stress less and relax, so it is a super mindful activity to enjoy first thing in in the morning.
6. Daily Journal
Daily journaling is something I love to do. I have made daily journaling part of my daily routine. It makes me feel good mentally, I have the opportunity to overload everything I am thinking or feeling. You can gain so much clarity and focus from writing in your journal. If you struggle with what to write or so you are new to journaling journal prompts can be a great starting point. It is another opportunity to slow down your morning an start your day mindfully.
Related to: Journal prompts for the new year
7. Establish your to-do list/tasks for the day
In order to be productive and have an efficient day you need to know what tasks need to be completed. So, whether you use a planner or not, creating a to-do list can determine your day. Writing a list can hold you accountable and motivate you to complete all of the tasks. I always feel so much better when I have established my tasks for the day.
Creating a functional yet attainable morning routine can really enable you to feel like you are owning the day before you even start your main tasks of the day. I have started these things in my morning instead of reaching my phone and it certainly is helpful especially when I am in a lot of pain I will continue with my routine and then I will re-evaluate how I feel it is working for me at the first quarter.
What tasks do you do every morning? What makes you have a better day? I’d love to hear in the comments.
My daily routine, in the last 30+ years, is:
Wake up at 4 am,
Making my bed,
Meditation, mindfulness, and Qi Gong/Yoga/Tai Chi until 5 am,
then, reading or studying until 8 am,
Only after 8 am I turn on electronic devices and start working
That sounds like a great start to the day!
Good post Lauren, as I start the morning late 😶🌫️
I do agree being organised and taking the time to prepare and get in the right mindset does make a difference. The one thing I have problems with is breakfast as I can’t eat first thing – I feel sick. But I start with a glass of water and usually a cup of tea
That’s good you start with hydrating your body. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Although I don’t do all of these things in the morning, I am totally with you on how your morning can affect your day. I hate waking up too late and always feel off when I do because I feel like I’m behind on everything. I’m more productive in the morning, so the later it gets, the more I slack! My perfect morning consists of breakfast, some YouTube, reading my book, a walk and some Yoga. Then I’ll shower, get ready and start my day.
That sounds like a great morning routine. Yes I hate feeling behind. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Thanks for the morning inspiration!
During the week, I usually get up, make a cup of tea, then do a quick check of my email. After that, I play my word games for a few minutes, and then do a workout, shower and have breakfast. I like the idea of making journaling part of my morning routine. It’s a good way to make sure you make time for it.
It sounds like you have a good morning routine already. But journaling is so helpful! Thank you for reading and commenting.
Great post and I couldn’t agree more that mornings routines are the springboard to your day. I have changed mine up to include breakfast and my bullet journal, two things I never did consistently before. Hope you got off to a good start today. Have a good one.
With such a big focus on mental health and self help within society lately, I have been seeing/hearing so much about affirmations and journaling. These are two things I would like to explore and bring into my life.
I hope you get to start these. Thank you for reading and commenting.
#7 is so important. Sure, you can manage your to-do list as you go, but nothing beats setting aside time to plan your day. I like to do it the night before, so that in the morning, when I’m groggy, all I’ll need to do is to look at the list for a quick reminder. Thanks for this post, Lauren!
That’s great you find that works for you. Thank you for reading and commenting.
I agree strongly with your first point about making the bed. I do that daily. I like to make my bed in the mornings. Having a to-do list is also important. Having some sort of idea about what you want to do or archive in a day can be encouraging. I like to make my bed in the mornings first.
Thank you for reading and commenting.
You are right about these things. I live by a good list or two. I text myself lists so I can see the reminder.
That’s great you have found something that works for you!
Cool post. A lot of this is part of my routine at the moment, while I’m off work. Today I’ve made my bed, had breakfast, defrosted my wife’s car, done the dishes, had my daily walk and checked the pitch for our Sunday morning football match. It’s frozen solid, so there probably won’t be a match! All before 10.30 so I cheated a bit!
It sounds like you had a really good productive morning. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Great list Lauren! I practice these steps every single day and it’s made such a positive impact on my mornings. My favorite is affirmations. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for reading and commenting.
I must admit I don’t tend to do much before 10am on my days off, usually!
That’s okay, on a day off you should be relaxing anyway!
Love all of these points, making a list of what I want to achieve that day really helps me!
Kathleen / http://www.madeinthe1990s.com/
Really love these tips – I agree with making your bed and having breakfast!
Thank you for reading and commenting. Can you link your blog?
These are great suggestions and I do many of these in the morning, but since I take my daughter to school in the, I don’t have time to read or journal, but that’s a good idea of practicing affirmations!
That’s great you have been able to do some of these things especially when you have a school run to get into!
Great list of things to do early in the morning. I stopped listening to the news in the morning. I pray and listen to gospel music while on my way to work.
That is a great start to your morning. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Great things, having breakfast before10 is nice and I feel good doing it. Feel more productive. I will consider these things
Thank you for reading and commenting.
I woke up around 530 am because I need to be at work before 7 am. I don’t make the bed yet coz my hubby is stil sleeping around that time. A good breakfast with coffee really helps. And, yes to positive affirmations every morning.
That’s awesome you already have some of these things in your morning routine. Thank you for reading and commenting.
These are all wonderful tips. They definitely help shape a person to have a productive day. I used to think the whole making a bed didn’t matter. But it really does seem to make you get into the mindset of being organized and productive with your day.
#bloggersconnecting
It does really help, it’s strange but true. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Love the concept and execution of this post. A great list and reminder to set each day up for a personal success. I always start my mornings with a meditation after waking up and a writing session. I will definitely add affirmations to the routine. Thank you for sharing 🙂
That’s great you start your morning with meditation. If you have a blog can you link it, so I can have a read?
Such a great post and it comes at the right time! I still struggle to find a routine since starting to work from home, so will take some of these tips to work for sure! Thanks for sharing x
I hope these do help. Definitely having more structure will help keep you productive at the right times x
I try to do all this except for make my bed. I do make my bed however, I don’t make it right away, I like to let it air it out, since we do sweat while we sleep. So I will make it about an hour or so after waking up.
That’s fair enough. Thank you for reading and commenting.
I always have to do my bed in the mornings! I find my life is in order if I do so. Not really into journaling, but I’m big on to do lists!! Nice list 🙂
I always have a shower when I wake up, then make my bed and have breakfast. I am up quite early as I start work at 7am so doesn’t feel like I can fit too much in before work!
Thanks for sharing your tips 🙂
Aimsy xoxo
Aimsy’s Antics
It sounds like you do a lot before you start work at 7. It’s good you have a routine. Thank you for reading and commenting.
I also love some meditation or yoga in the mornings too!
Thank you for reading and commenting.
A definite in my daily routine is a To-do list. It helps me plan my day and ensure that most of them, if not all are completed. The satisfaction that you get on the day you strike off all the tasks is something that one has to experience 🙂
I do all these too in my morning routine, however I don’t make my bed right away. I like to let it air out for at least 3x mins or so then I’ll make the bed.