Every successful person has their own individual recipe for efficiency, but everyone shares the same point of view: the morning is the most important moment of the day. It’s the first hour after waking up that the foundations for prolific work are built, and the peak of efficiency, even for people who like to sleep, occurs around 11 a.m. We know this in theory, but in practice we frequently get up after the alarm clock has rung three times, swallow our cup of coffee quickly and look at social networks. It is not surprising that difficulties arise during the day afterward.
- Getting up late and getting ready quickly
We all like to sleep longer in the morning and the temptation to put off waking up with the idea “I have time” is very great. Then we run with our eyes half-closed, put on the first clothes that fall into our hands, quickly drink our coffee, and head to our work with the risk of getting stuck in traffic and arriving late.
Arriving 10 or 15 minutes late increases stress levels, prevents us from concentrating on our work, and creates the feeling that we are going against time all day long. It’s much easier to “sacrifice” 15 minutes of sleep in the morning and get ready in peace.
- Make a plan for the whole day in the morning
Planning is a good habit, but in the morning we are not very willing to do it. If you have woken up a little tired and are sleep-deprived, then you will not want to plan a lot of activities and tasks for that day, even if you can concentrate and complete what has been planned. If after waking up you are full of strength and energy, then you may come up with an overly ambitious plan that can only be accomplished with a time machine, and not being able to complete it all may disappoint you.
For example, on Sunday, you write the major projects and tasks for the week and make adjustments to the plan as the week progresses. This is considered the most efficient way to plan.
- Lunch when you’re not hungry
We hear it said everywhere that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and that it should not be suppressed under any circumstances. If you don’t feel that hungry after you wake up, it’s not worth forcing yourself to eat.
There is a category of person who incorrectly eats an abundant breakfast after waking up. Nutritionists advise respecting the principle of the young person at regular (intermittent) intervals according to the 16/8 pattern to spend 16 hours without eating and then allow yourself to eat during an 8-hour period.
- Read the news in the morning
We see repeatedly in the movies that successful people start their day by reading the newspaper or internet news first thing in the morning. Such a habit creates the illusion that a person has everything under control, follows world events, and is ready to have a conversation on the subject with anyone.
In reality, news publications are rarely positive, so reading those increases the level of stress considerably, stress to which we are all more sensitive in the morning. This threatens us with higher levels of irritability throughout the day, more conflicts, and a poor state of mind. The world’s most important information won’t go away, and you won’t lose much if you read it at lunchtime.
- Saturate under the number of choices we have to make
Every day we make dozens or sometimes hundreds of small decisions. In the morning we also have to choose: what to wear, what things to take with us, what to have for breakfast, whether to play sports, what things to do before going to work. It sounds harmless enough, but the ability to choose is a resource that can run out. We spend energy on every decision, and we miss it for the second part of the day.
Ideally, your morning should be planned for time, and your clothes and bag should be ready the night before. This way, you will just have to follow the plan and you will save energy for the really important decisions.
- Exercise intensively after waking up.
Exercising for 15 to 20 minutes is enough to wake up, get your metabolic processes going, and concentrate to fill your day with energy. But exercising for long periods of time can be bad. After waking up, your body is not ready for intensive exercise because it perceives it as a stressful situation which then leads to enormous fatigue during the day, the accumulation of extra pounds, or even migraines.
Of course, it all depends on the person and if you have been exercising intensively for years in the morning, then your body will adapt, but it is not worth starting to train right after the alarm bell rings. If the morning is the only time you can exercise, change your start time a little and give yourself some time to be fully awake.
- Checking your mail and social network messages in the morning
Social networks and emails have long been considered “time-consuming” and watching them are almost akin to a vice. Checking your emails and social networks first thing in the morning envelops you in an atmosphere of preoccupation, prevents you from concentrating at work, and just gives you the illusion of being busy when you could spend your time in a more enjoyable and prolific way.
It’s best to look at your e-mails after you’ve completed a first big file in the morning and log on to social networks after lunch.
- Lunch with sweet things
Many people who follow a healthy diet consider sweets and sweet foods to be consumed only during the first half of the day and frequently eat them for breakfast. In fact, eating sweet foods at lunchtime causes an energy overload and then a rapid loss of energy that is accompanied by drowsiness and hunger.
If you don’t want to feel like “eating someone” before mealtime, follow a safe pattern. Until today, nothing has been invented for breakfast that is more effective than “slow” carbohydrates. You can then treat yourself to sweets at the first snack of the day or after meals.
- Perform multiple tasks at the same time
In wanting to be highly productive, we frequently fall into the multitasking trap. Sometimes the day is very short, and that’s why we want to perform several tasks at the same time. We frequently overload in the morning for two reasons:
we overslept and we try to make up for a lost time to do everything;
we have heard about the “3 most efficient hours” and we try to do the most tasks during this interval.
In reality, multitasking doesn’t work. Even if you are very agile, it is impossible to multitask with maximum concentration. Leave everything that is most important for the morning and start doing the tasks one by one.
- Do the easy and enjoyable tasks in the morning and put off the difficult ones until later.
In time management there is the concept of “Eat that frog” (Eat that frog!), i.e. to perform the most unpleasant or complicated task that you don’t want to do: for example, making sales calls or resolving a conflict situation with a customer. But putting off such tasks takes away your strength and reduces your efficiency.
Morning is the perfect time to “eat that frog”. By getting rid of unpleasant tasks, you’ll be able to tackle other subjects with pleasure, and you’ll be able to surprise yourself with all the things you’ll do once the biggest case is closed. But it is important to maintain a balance and not spend the most productive hours doing only unpleasant work.
- Drinking coffee before drinking water
Many of us drink our first cup of coffee in the morning before we open our eyes, and the advice not to drink energy drinks in the morning makes us angry. If you drink coffee immediately after waking up, you will only induce dehydration and in the long run, it can cause acidity problems or gastritis.
If you do not intend to give up caffeine, it is easier to fool your body and take a glass of water first. Ideally, drink a glass of water, exercise, eat breakfast, and enjoy your coffee.
- Neglecting to make time for you in the morning
It is not worth starting the day by socializing and doing chores. Even though you are a mother of three children who need to get ready for school, you also need time for privacy. Even if it’s only 15 minutes. Of course, it would be perfect to spend this time meditating and “centering” yourself for a prolific day, but let’s be honest: for many people, just being in the bathroom alone is already a personal “Zen” moment.
If you’re not lucky enough to be alone in the morning, try to introduce this habit even if it’s only for a few weeks, and you’ll soon notice how much your level of concentration and stress resistance increases during the day.
How do you spend your mornings? Is there anything you would like to change? Tell us all about it in the comments below!
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