6 Healthy and Productive Morning Rituals

How you start your day can set the tone for the rest of the day.

Getting out of the wrong side of the bed as people say, or getting off on the wrong foot, can doom your whole day from the offset.

If you want a productive day, you need to have the right mindset from the moment you wake up. You can do this by incorporating a few morning ‘rituals’ that help achieve this.

I’m not talking about loading up on coffee or other stimulants to go one hundred miles an hour all day. Or, getting up a couple of hours earlier to cram more in.

I’m going to run through some healthy and productive morning rituals that you can implement into your schedule.

By making the effort to include some, or all of these – you will become a lot more productive, and set yourself up for a happier, healthier day.

6 Healthy and Productive Morning Rituals

Make Time for Exercise

In this day and age where we are bombarded by health related information, there is no doubt that you will benefit from regular exercise. So I don’t need to preach the pros to getting some daily exercise in.

I do need to give you a reminder that you need to make time for at least 30 minutes exercise in the morning if you want to improve your productivity. Not just for the day in question, but in general as you become healthier over time.

You don’t have to make an early morning trip to the gym. Think about what you can do around your home. Yoga, exercise bike, push ups, there options are endless. Make time for about 30 minutes of light to medium exercise before eating breakfast.

Do Not Look at Your Mobile or Emails First Thing

The first thing most people do when they wake is roll over and look at their mobile phone notifications. I bet you do, right? If not, give yourself a pat on the back and count yourself in the minority.

For those who do this, you need to break this habit. The best start to the morning is to get yourself up and do some exercise as per the last point. Distracting yourself with your mobile is only going to distract you and waste time.

Set your device to sleep mode until a certain time if you find it impossible to ignore. Do whatever it takes. But remember about starting off on the right foot, there are more important things than worrying if you’ve missing something interesting online.

Eat a Healthy Breakfast

Just asking around the people who I work with if seems that around half of them skip breakfast. This is denying your body of important nutrition and vitamins it needs after a night’s sleep.

There are some quick and healthy cereal options you can eat with yogurt. Or if you have a little more time, you can prepare a fresh smoothie or shake with fruit and vegetables.

Green vegetables provide vitamins important to keeping your blood healthy. While fruits provide a wide range of antioxidants and vitamins important to your all round health and wellbeing.

Refer to the To-Do List You Made the Night Before

One of the best habits I ever implemented was making a to-do list the night before the following day. I always have some downtime in the evening, so with a clear head it’s easy to plan what I need to do the following day.

Then without distraction or confusion, I know what I have to achieve in that day. Most importantly this includes a time slot to go through all new emails. Emails are a huge distraction if you keep looking at them throughout the day.

Don’t stress too much about plans changing throughout the day, it happens. You will learn over time how following these lists fall into your day. But this is an important habit that you need to try and make stick, it’s a great

Start Meditating

I have covered some of the pros of meditation before. I have also had the opportunity to speak to people who have now started making a few minutes to meditate in the mornings, and the results are very positive.

With just five minutes a day dedicated to some quiet time, and a little meditative focus, you can change your whole day. You will feel more in tune with yourself, calmed, and more mindful.

This means sharper decision making, more productivity, and a happier mood. It’s proven particularly useful for people with a long commute. The roads can get stressful in the early morning rush.

Arrive at Work an Hour Earlier

This may sound a bit drastic. But when you look at how much easier it will make your day, it’s a pretty easy decision for most people. Getting an hour’s head start, without the distractions that happen during a busy day is.

An hour without distractions is worth a couple of hours when you’re in a noisy environment. You will lower your stress level, have a more productive day, and maybe even get some recognition from your boss.

If this causes a problem, consider asking for permission to change your work hours to coming in an hour early and leaving an hour early. I have seen a lot of people make this change, and it always works out well.