Morning Habits to Success 

By Sandra M Rahman
“It is well to be up before daybreak, for such habits contribute to health, wealth,
and wisdom.” – Aristotle
 
Every time you wake up in a delirious state, rushing and hustling to make it to
work on time, you find yourself panicking over the minor details, skipping
breakfast and eventually failing to cope; it feels as though your whole day has been
twice the burden and your capability to reach your normal productive level just
does not exist. You feel extremely out of body and under the weather, getting
irritated over the littlest of things and putting up a mean and arrogant demeanor to
your colleagues.
 
Steve jobs, late Apple CEO, had once said “For the past 33 years I have looked in
the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life,
would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has
been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.”

What you cultivate in the morning influences how you feel, act, and think during
the rest of your day. Studies have shown that it takes you exactly twenty one days
to form a habit and what better habit than a positive one that gets you up and at it
for the day. Consistent progress is a progress worth making. Positive habits are
habits of a happy brain. I believe inheriting a healthy short productive morning
routine and putting in effort to make it a second nature is beneficial for the long
run. 
 
Routines give you structure, it gives you control and keeps your eyes on the prize
helping you to become more productive saving your valuable time; as we know
time to be a luxury. People that are successful have a morning routine. Make sure
the routine and goals you set for the morning are short and quick which puts your
mind in a state of Zen other than sending it in confusing directions. Know to work
quick and efficient. 
 
Start your morning by drinking a glass of water. You might not realise the loss of
water your body goes through whilst sleeping. Stay hydrated. 
 
Here is a list of things you should incorporate in your routines and things you
should eliminate every morning:
 
Getting up early and having an upper leg in the competition
The one thing every successful people have in common is that they wake up very
early. Sometimes even before dawn. Waking up at 5 in the morning and having
that extra three hours on your hand to clear your mind, have a good breakfast and
stay in your zone is very therapeutic. This is calming for your mind and gives it
time to process new information with a greater interest and stronger capability.
 
Meditate
Meditation is a true form of art. Put your mind at ease and let your inner peace feed
off of it. Illness is stress related ninety percent of the time so sit back and learn to
relax. Praying helps soothe the mind as well as keeping it calm. “Quieting the brain
is a time-honored way to be more creative, more contemplative and more in touch
with oneself,” Goodwin says.

SNOOZING
STOP snoozing your alarms. Snoozing gives you that tiny bit of pleasure of
sleeping for a few minutes repeatedly but it is equally not so for you if you’re
trying to maintain a morning routine. Now the question is. “So how do I make
myself wake up?” Well the answer to that is very simple: go to bed early. Most
importantly, make a deal with yourself and fulfill it. Habits don’t disappear
overnight and aren’t developed over night either.
 
Don’t use dark shades of curtains
Now you may not like the light creeping into your room early in the morning and
disturbing your sleep, but that’s the idea here. Your body expects sunlight in the
morning, sunlight acts as a natural alarm for the body. It indicates your body to get
started and the health benefits of sunrays in the first hour of morning are countless.
Although light curtains sometimes might not suit your “aesthetics”, I would
recommend you keep the curtains open, but, but your windows closed. We don’t
want burglars now do we?
 
Exercise! Exercise! Exercise! 
Morning workouts give you a burst of energy that lasts throughout the whole day
pumping your senses and jumpstarting your body to tackle problems thrown your
way more effectively. The feeling of you get after a morning workout is so much
more pleasing than the feeling of sleeping in. Motivate yourself by starting slow, a
five minutes yoga session or a couple jumping jacks. Get those adrenaline rushing
because trust me you’ll get WAY more compliments for working out rather than
sleeping in. 

Take a shower
People often skip taking a shower in the morning and go on about their day which
is not a major problem but for a productive morning routine it is utmost important
to take a shower in the morning. If you’re feeling stressed right after waking up a
warm shower will relax your senses and calm your mind. And a cold shower is as
soothing right after a great workout. Don’t forget to put some deodorant on
because smelling good is as important as staying clean. Remember not to be in the
shower for too long, since it’s not only a wastage of water but it’ll also increase
your water bill. 

Eat a Hearty Breakfast

Never, and I repeat, never skip your breakfast. Breakfast is the most crucial meal
of the day. It fuels your brain and provides you with a stronger ability to focus on
your work. A healthy breakfast that keeps you full and energetic is the best way to
start your mornings. Do not consume unhealthy food as breakfast. It will interfere
with your immune system, slowing you down. 

Say no to coffee
Our body naturally produces the hormone cortisol which is found in coffee at 8 am
in the morning. Consuming coffee before 8 am inhibits your body of making less
cortisol which makes you sleepy. Hence coffee lovers, please take your daily dose
of coffee at 9 am. 
 
 Don’t start your mornings staying in bed for too long
The idea is to wake your body up as fast as possible before it gives in to the
cravings of laying down and staying there till you procrastinate and keep on
procrastinating over and over again. Therefore, getting up after 2-5 minutes of
waking up is advised. Although there are some beliefs that waking up and getting
out of bed almost instantly causes you to have a heart attack but that’s not entirely
true. Our brain needs time to process our surroundings when we are awake, it takes
roughly a minute or two to adjust. Not more than that. 

Enjoy your Silence

Keep your distance from your mobile phone and go out to watch the crack of
dawn. The beautiful wonders of nature will automatically set your mood right for
the day. Catch the sunrise and the smile that follows with it. Reflect on yourself
and the goals to achieve for the day. The way that you choose to express yourself
actually has a tangible effect on your state of mind and your level of motivation.
You can practice meditation to stabilize your mind. Visualize positivity to attract
positivity. 
 
Practice Gratitude 
Be grateful for whatever you have. For your arms, your legs, a roof over your head,
reflect on everything you are grateful for and smile for it. Instead of waking up
early and complaining, why not think about what you have to be grateful about and
you can be positive about, if you dwell on these things, you will overall be a
happier person. Smiling more often releases serotonin which lifts your mood up
and sets you off on an optimistic mindset. Tell your parents how much they mean
to you. Be nice to your siblings or your roommate. Shoot a smile at your neighbour
who lives across the street. A smile has a magical power, it makes everyone smile
back. 

Talk to your Loved Ones

Obie Mackenzie, the award winning business executive spends 84 minutes every
morning chatting with his wife on their morning commute. He says, “It keeps us
connected all day”. It is important to have a heart to heart with your dear ones,
especially at the beginning of your day, it makes you feel desired and happy which
releases the happy hormone serotonin boosting your energy levels and making you
more productive because of the good mood you’ve put yourself in. Also keeping in
mind to stay at a distance from stagnant conversations with your loved ones.
 
Avoid Technology 
Social media can easily hit you with negativity eventually causing you to become
lazy against your will. One bad news at the start of your day could make all of your
plans for the day go to waste. Remember time is money and time went to waste is a
shame to success. Tailor your feeds so they contain positive and interesting news.
Make yourself earn it. Set a goal. A tit for a tat. For example, if you read two pages
of a book you get 5 minutes of social media. Set realistic goals which are easy to
achieve. 

Don’t read your emails

The founder of Tumblr David Karp believes no matter how demanding his
schedule is, Karp makes sure he doesn’t check his email until he gets in the office
around 9:30 a.m. He once quoted in Inc. Magazine “Reading e-mails at home
never feels good or productive. If something urgently needs my attention, someone
will call or text me.”
 
Make a “to-do” list 
It is very important to not start your day on a clueless note. If you have work at 9
am, as we have said early; wake up a few hours back so that you don’t have
IMMENSE amount of unnecessary tension railing behind you. Anna Wintour, the
chief editor of Vogue, wakes up an hour early just to perfect her signature bob and
that is not even a part of her job. So the key to success is to do as much of work
you can while keeping yourself neat and tidy as efficiently as possible. Noting
down your schedule a night before saves you time and shows you a way of what
you should and should not do.

Watch the news before you get out of your house 

When I mentioned to avoid technology I did not suggest to remain ignorant. Our
world is developing in minutes nowadays, and us being normal human beings we
don’t normally have breaking new delivered to us in a silver platter. Safety is very
important for working men and women since their kids and family are dependent
upon them. You could watch the news in television or read the newspaper for half
an hour.

Get Enough Sleep

It is as important to get a good night’s sleep as it is to wake up early. If your body
does not get the desired amount of rest, it will fail to reset and provide you with the
needed energy to set you up for success in everything you want to achieve. If
having trouble sleeping, resort to having a cup of chamomile tea, or rub some
essential oils (preferably lavender or rosemary) behind your ear or under your
nose. The smell of the herbs is a great way to ease your mind. Give your body the
upper hand to feed you back.
 
 
Success is only achieved when you have faith in what you do and believe in
yourself with hard work on the side acting as your fuel. Be focused on your goals
and make your life goal-oriented. So make sure to keep your habits consistent. If
you don’t stay consistent and persistent on what you want, your life will go on the
same loop that it has been going on. Stay committed to yourself and you’ll see
yourself progressing to success. Imagine and visualize yourself being successful.