While meditation is renowned for being a great way to start your day, especially if you do it as the first thing you do when you wake up, how else do you spend your mornings?
Personally, I do meditation, and yoga, as the first thing I do when I wake up. It helps me to wake up, set my mindset for the rest of the day and to focus my mind on whatever I plan to do with this new morning.
However, there are several other things you can do when it comes to your morning routine to help you make the most of your mornings and, therefore, the rest of your day. Here’s five of them to get you started;
#1 – Go for a Walk
Typically, my mornings used to start with me jumping out of bed, meditating doing yoga for about half an hour, realising I was late for work and then running out of the door to try and get there on time.
However, starting my day in this rushed and stressful manner is a far cry from a being a healthy way to wake up. Instead, try going for a little five-minute walk to wake yourself up. This could even be as small as walking to the end of the road and back but starting your day with fresh air is a great set up for a great day.
#2 – Tidy Up
People who make their beds in the morning are renowned for being more successful and happier people in their everyday lives. If your home is getting a bit messy, this is only going to cause stress in your mind.
Furthermore, you’ll always have that little nagging voice in your head telling you that you need to tidy up, distracting you from more important things.
Instead, do one big tidy up when you have the time and then spend ten minutes tidying up every morning. This makes keeping your home tidy all the time and is a great way to keep your mind, and your environment, calm.
You can also do this with your workspace when you first get to work, helping your working environment to relax you, every time you enter your office.
#3 – Get an Enjoyable Habit
As I mentioned above, my daily routine started with a brief wake-up routine, followed by rushing out to work in the most stressful way possible. However, taking the time in the morning to do something you enjoy when you wake up is a great way to start your day and to get you into a positive mindset.
For example, you could try sitting down and having a coffee, no phone, just focusing on the taste and sitting there.
However, you might like to try doing a crossword or a Sudoku puzzle to wake your brain up. This can be anything you want, just as long as you enjoy it. Make sure you can do it for about ten minutes, eating up basically no time in your day.
#4 – Have a Cold Shower
While this may not seem like the most appealing way to start your day, having a cold shower is actually hugely beneficial to your wellbeing. In addition to fully waking you up, an old shower won’t give you the jitters, or the crash, that is typically associated with coffee.
Make sure you put a towel on your radiator though for when you get out, especially on those nippy winter mornings!
#5 – Write Something
Some days, it’s understandable that we wake up and we just don’t feel right. Maybe you feel anxious about something, or stressed out, or just not yourself. Maybe you’ve tried meditating, but you just can’t seem to find your focus.
This is understandable, and it happens to the best of us, but that doesn’t mean that you have to live like this. Instead, try writing down anything that’s playing on your mind, and you’ll be surprised with just how the act of writing it down can do wonders for your mental well-being.
In fact, a 2011 study at the University of Chicago found that students who were proactive in writing down their stresses were able to improve their overall grade score by one; not bad for not having to revise anything for that extra point!