Begin the Day

Some people wake up in the morning full of energy and eager to face the day. Most of us, though, find ourselves fumbling for the snooze button. How you begin the day goes a long way toward setting the tone for the rest of it, so it is important to find ways to get off to a good start. With proper planning, good morning strategies, and a positive state of mind, you too can begin the day the right way.

Steps

Waking Up Ready to Go

1. Start the night before. The first step to beginning the day the right way is ending the previous night the right way. Without sufficient restful sleep and some night-before planning for the morning ahead, your chances of getting your day off to a great start are much reduced.
   • Do as much of your morning preparation as possible the night before. Lay out your clothes, prepare your breakfast and lunch, or at least set your menu. Pack your bag and keep your coat, keys, etc. in the same place so you don’t need to hunt for them. Save your morning time for preparing your body and mind for the day ahead, instead of hunting for your wallet in the couch cushions.
   • For more detailed information on night-before preparation, including determining the right bedtime, reducing screen time, and putting your body into sleep mode, visit How to Be a Morning Person.
2. Get up and get moving. Your day can’t really begin until you manage to get out of bed. It is typically best to get out of bed as soon as possible after waking up, and set up roadblocks against the urge to climb back under the covers.
   • Actually rising from bed properly, by stretching your spine, then each arm and leg, all while breathing slowly and deeply before sitting then standing, can get you off to a good start.
   • Simple steps like locating your alarm clock so that you have to walk across the room to shut it off, splashing water on your face, or making the bed can help get and keep you up and moving. Again, you can consult How to Be a Morning Person for more details.
   • Leaving the room to drink a glass of water can prove doubly effective, as it gets you away from the bed and helps counteract nighttime dehydration, which can cause a lethargic body and mind.
3. Exercise before breakfast. We all intend to exercise more frequently, but the later in the day you plan your exercise time, the more likely it will be bumped aside by a backlog of work or plain old exhaustion. Take care of it first, before your daily responsibilities start piling up.
   • Exercising first thing after waking up (and before eating) not only shakes off any grogginess, it also kick-starts your metabolism for the day.
   • Even if an early morning jog, bike ride, or kickboxing session isn’t in the cards for you, taking 10 to 15 minutes doing some simple yoga poses offers health benefits and helps prepare both body and mind for the day ahead.
4. Eat a healthy breakfast. Your mother always said it was the most important meal of the day, and your food choices in the morning can indeed shape your eating habits (and how you feel) throughout the day. A good breakfast gives you more energy and focus, as opposed to when your stomach feels like an empty pit or is stuffed to the gills with unhealthy junk.
   • Smart breakfast choices can include Greek yogurt with fresh fruit and flax seeds, oatmeal with dried fruit, or a vegetable omelet, among many others. Good, nutritious, quick breakfast recipes can be found easily online.
   • Some people advocate for eating the same healthy breakfast (like that veggie omelet) every day, which cuts down on the time spent thinking about what to have for breakfast and then making it.
   • If the notion of having the same breakfast every morning can’t pass muster with you, cycling through several healthy options each day may be a beneficial compromise.

Setting a Positive Mindset

1. Awaken your senses. Does your routine involve lurching awake to a blaring alarm clock, jolting yourself into consciousness by dunking your face in a sink full of cold water, and scalding your throat by chugging down some coffee? If so, trying to engage each of your senses in a more pleasant, uplifting manner may help set a better tone for your new day.
   • Natural sunlight signals the body to transition from sleeping to waking modes, so try to start each day by opening the shades. Better yet, open up the window or go outside. Breathe in the fresh air, listen to the birds chirping, and welcome the new day (if you are lucky enough to have that as your outdoor environment).
   • Filling your room with warm, welcoming colors like reds and blues, having the color and fragrance of fresh flowers at the ready, and cueing up some uplifting music can all help engage your senses in a positive manner first thing in the morning.
2. Focus inward, not outward. With many people using their smartphones as their alarm clock, a natural first move once awakened is to check emails, texts, social media updates, news feeds, etc. Fight this urge, and make the first part of your new day all about you.
   • If you can give yourself fifteen minutes, great. If you can only manage five, take it. Start your day by practicing “mindfulness” — meditation, prayer, reflection, whatever it is that allows you to focus inward and prepare yourself for the day ahead.
   • Many people find it beneficial to spend at least some of this “me” time focusing on gratitude. Meditate on all the things you have to be grateful for, starting perhaps with the fact that you have risen to see another day. Focusing on your reasons to be thankful before getting into the day’s obstacles can make them seem less overwhelming or insurmountable.
3. Pick up a pen and paper. It may seem quaint in today’s digital world, but taking the time to actually write down your thoughts can be a refreshing exercise. It helps you visualize your thoughts and establish them as a guide for your day.
   • Some people find writing down the previous night’s dreams to be helpful, even if they don’t make much sense at the time. If that’s not appealing to you, why not go completely “retro” and write daily entries in a journal or diary?
   • If you tend to wake up already stressed out by all you need to do that day, you may benefit from jotting down a daily “to ignore” list (as opposed to the more common “to do” variety). List things that need not be addressed today — non-essential emails, cleaning the bathroom, whatever they may be — and pledge to set them aside for the coming day. Focus your energies on what you can do, not what you could do.
   • Some people find that doing an early morning “brain dump” helps set their focus and energizes their creativity. Jot down whatever ideas, schemes, or plans that come to mind first thing in the morning, no matter how strange or impractical they are. Think of it as “clearing the decks” for your creative mind at worst, and at best as a source of inspiration.
4. Do something uplifting that you enjoy. Make each morning something to look forward to by budgeting in some time to do something enjoyable just for you. Starting off your day with a smile makes it much more likely that you’ll go through the day with one.
   • Take some time to read from an uplifting religious, spiritual, or just plain enjoyable book. Do some knitting or model-building. Call an old friend, or meet up for coffee. Read a story to your kids. Make love to your partner. Make some “happy time” a part of how you begin the day.

Starting Your Productive Day

1. Start with a clean slate. Today is a new day, and you should treat it as such when you begin your productive tasks. If you have unfinished work from the previous day, set it aside for the first hour or so (it's not going anywhere!).
   • If you've begun your day the right way to this point, you should have a burst of energy and focus when you start your workday. Circling back to yesterday's unfinished business may sap that energy more quickly than starting fresh. If you have to complete yesterday's work first, try to treat it as a new task for a new day.
   • Organize your workspace so that it is ready to go first thing in the morning. This probably means you need to take a few minutes at the end of the previous workday to clean up and organize the space. You may just want to get out of there at that point, but the time is well-spent if it enables you to be more productive at the start of the next day.
2. Take time to strategize. If you have the early morning burst of energy, you may want to jump right in to work before it runs out. It will be worth your while to use a few minutes of this energy to plan out your day and beyond, though.
   • Before your focus becomes clouded by all the little things that come up during a workday, plot out what you want to accomplish that day and how you will do so. Prioritize your tasks, and budget your time accordingly.
   • Don't just focus on the short-term, however. Think about how your daily plan fits into your larger monthly, yearly, and even career goals. Are you budgeting your time in the best way to get that promotion, or to graduate a semester early?
3. Take advantage of your morning focus. Once you've taken a few minutes to plot your strategy, the time has arrived to maximize the burst of workday energy you are hopefully experiencing. Even if you aren't feeling overly energetic during your first hour or so of work, your mind is still likely to be less cluttered than it will become as the day goes on.
   • Use this time for a task that requires more intensive focus, such as writing. You will almost certainly be more productive and efficient now than at 4:00 pm (or 11:00 pm, for that matter).
   • When possible, put off meetings, scrolling through emails, and dealing with "people conflicts" until later in the morning. Direct your focus inward as much as possible until your burst of morning energy begins to wane, then let the outside world in. Once again, don't worry, these things will be waiting for you!

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Sources and Citations

See also

• Get out of Bed when You Really Can't
• Wake Up Easily
• Stay Awake When Tired
• Wake Up Early
• Get Up When You Want with Only a Few Hours of Sleep
• Wake Up Without an Alarm Clock
• Get Up in the Morning
• Feel Awake in the Morning
• Feel More Awake Without Coffee
• Wake up Quickly

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