I don’t know about you, but my absolute favorite time of day is the early morning. In recent years, I have turned into an early to rise, early to bed sort of person and mornings are typically my most beneficial times. The house is quiet, my family is sleeping, and I’m able to tackle my work without any interruptions which is something that is impossible to accomplish during the day.
Below is an example of what a typical morning looks like in my house and how I set up my day to be as positive and productive as possible.
Why is Having a Productive Morning Important?
Something most people let fall to the wayside in the bustle of life is measuring their resiliency and providing an opportunity for self-care. Both are integral if you are setting yourself up to be successful.
Resilience is simply looking at how adaptable you are when faced with stress. We all, inherently, have different stressors at different times of our lives. Sometimes we will be faced with financial issues, relationship struggles, poor health… sometimes those issues will hit all at once. Since stressors are something we can’t control, you can develop your resiliency by taking care of yourself as well as being thoughtful when it comes to how you view stress. A simple change to implement would be considering different stressors challenges instead of problems. Try not to think, “How am I going to get through this?” Think, “What can I do to get through this and what can I learn?
There are days where I can feel my resiliency levels falling. Maybe I have slacked off when it comes to taking care of my health. Maybe I have struggled telling people no and feel completely overwhelmed with everything on my to-do list. Since I take the time to measure my resiliency daily, I know I either need to look at how I am thinking about things (Am I being positive or negative?) or schedule some time to focus on self-care.
Self-care is a subject I think most people struggle with. I am a firm believer that family is the most important thing to prioritize. Your family should come before any job, money, person, and is in need of constant cultivation. That being said, you should never be serving your family at the expense of yourself. I don’t know anyone that is depthless wealth of energy. We all need to find ways to replenish ourselves and spend some time protecting our own welfare and happiness.
By nature, I am an introvert, so I really need time to recharge where I don’t have to deal with anyone. My battery gets drained pretty quickly in social situations and mornings are the perfect time for me to relax. Sometimes, I will spend an hour reading or researching a subject that interests me. There are days where I will mindlessly scroll through Facebook while drinking a cup of coffee. The important thing, is that I am taking a moment out of my day to invest in myself whether that means learning something new or just taking some time to rest.
5:30am – 5:45am
I try to always wake up at the same time every day; this helps me be consistent with my schedule. I also know the later I sleep the less I will get done which is good motivation not to lay in bed. I take the first fifteen minute of the morning to stretch, use the bathroom, and check on my daughter.
5:45am – 6:15am
Weird but true fact; when you wake up your body is naturally dehydrated. It’s also important to drink water upon waking to give your systems a boost. I like to drink warm water because it’s less of a shock to my system.
And, of course, I drink coffee.
I try to use this chunk of my morning to relax, whether that be by getting on social media or reading. My mind is pretty much going from the time I wake up which tends to impact my outlook on the day. It’s important for me to spend some time unwinding without mentally making a to-do list.
I also use this time to take inventory of my feelings. Am I feeling motivated, stressed, or excited? Do I need to spend extra time on self-care if my mood is lower than normal? Do I feel good about the day?
6:15am – 7:15am
This is the time I set aside to work. I will use it to write a blog post or work on the online co-op that I help with for extra income.
As a type A personality, I have found checklists to be essential to my productivity. I have a running list of reminders/tasks that I assess every morning and check off when I complete them. Like most type A’s, I am very task orientated and anything that I mark off is an accomplishment. Even though I do stay at home most of the time, I want to feel challenged and productive. Lists definitely help me with that and they also ensure that I’m not going to forget to do anything.
I try to spend five minutes of this time going through my email. Somehow, I always have over 100 junk messages in my inbox and it instantly makes me feel more organized when I take a moment to go through and delete them.
7:15am – 8:00am
I love getting to spend this time outside. I let our dogs run around in the yard, let our chickens out to free-range, make sure the garden is watered, and pull weeds if I need to. My daughter is usually waking up somewhere in this timeframe and, if she is awake, I have her go outside and help me. She usually doesn’t mind, and I try to include her as much as possible in chores to normalize that they are also her responsibility.
Why Having a Productive Morning is Important
How your morning is set up really lays the foundation for the rest of your day. It’s more than just feeling put together – having a consistent schedule and working on what you need to accomplish allows you to free up time later. By working in the morning, I am prepared if I need to run an unexpected errand or tend to an emergency.
More importantly, mornings are a great time to take stock in your own mental health and invest in it. By the time 8:00pm rolls around I am wiped. I am less likely to do anything for myself at night that excludes sleeping and self-care falls usually falls along the wayside. By knocking it out first thing, you are making sure it not only gets done but becomes a priority. This takes away any feelings of self-sacrifice and really makes a happier you.
What do you enjoy doing in the early morning hours? What does your routine look like?
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