May 3, 2024

3 Morning Habits To Help You Be More Productive At Work

Mornings are the most essential part of your day, and it's only wise to make the best use of the first few hours of the day. If there is one thing high-achieving people all agree on, it’s the importance of morning habits.

What you do in the morning is a significant determinant of whether you will have a productive day. We’ll look at some morning habits you can cultivate to help you become more productive at work.

Benefits of having a morning routine

Why exactly do you need a morning routine?

Having morning habits offer important benefits:

Helps you focus

When you have morning habits, you know you are starting the day on an intentional note, doing the things you really need to do. The clarity and focus that comes with having a morning routine will help your accomplish tasks on your daily to-do list and set you up to meet your long-term goals.

Morning habits boost your confidence

As trivial as it may seem, when you complete little tasks in the morning, you get a sense of accomplishment and confidence that carries you throughout the entire day. Knowing you’ve achieved several tasks means you’re being productive. And productive people position themselves to move up the corporate ranks and they’re less likely to be laid off when times get tough.

Morning habits are calming

Having routines generally have a way of calming the brain as it is not going through the rigors of deciding what or what not to do. Having morning habits also helps to create a sense of balance. The brain has something to look forward to, and your body and mind are in calming sync.

Morning habits that increase your productivity

There are three morning habits that can help you become more productive at work.

• Wake up early.
• Meditate and make a plan.
• Exercise.

Wake Early

The first step to a productive day is starting the day as early as possible. Beginning your day early sets a positive tone, gives you time to do a few of the things you enjoy like exercising or reading a chapter of a book, and it allows you to progress through the day at a reasonable pace.

Consider the times you dashed out of your home in the morning in an effort to make it to work on time vs. the times you went to work without the rush. Under the former scenario you’re multi-tasking (which means whatever you’re doing you’re not doing it well) and you lack focus. Under the latter scenario you’re more relaxed, you’re doing one thing at a time, you can actually enjoy the trip to work, and you set yourself up for a successful day.

One way to cultivate the habit of rising early is to get a good night’s rest by going to bed at the same time every night. In so doing, you’re training your mind and body to recognize when it’s time to get some rest. Additionally, by developing this habit you’ll find yourself less dependent on alarms to wake you up because you’re also training your mind and body when to get up.

Meditate And Make A Plan

Today’s world is filled with so much distraction; unfortunately, most people embrace distractions from the very start of their day. It ruins a day that has barely started, and people wonder why they are unproductive.

In a report by CNBC Make It, Jessica Jackson, a clinical strategy manager of mental health equity at Modern Health, says that “Checking your emails, calendar or to-do list soon after you wake up immediately starts the day off on a stressful note, and tells your brain to go into panic mode.”

When you wake up every day, instead of checking social media or emails that increase stress level, take a few minutes to relax and meditate. Meditation helps reduce stress and increase focus.

Also, this is the point where you set your goals and intentions for the day. Instead of allowing the day to happen to you, clearly map out what you have to achieve.

Make a to-do list to organize your work. Having a clear picture of your tasks helps to maintain focus and avoid feeling overwhelmed. Also, planning your day allows you to prioritize, tackle, and achieve the most important tasks first, the very measure of effectiveness.

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