Everyone has their own morning routine, whether it’s waking up and meditating for 20 minutes, eating a healthy breakfast or exercising. The perfect morning routine will make your day more productive by giving you the energy to meet deadlines in the afternoon.
The “perfect morning routine for students” is a blog that gives you a step-by-step guide to having the best day possible. The article has a list of things you should do before school, during your lunch break and after school.
Do you ever feel as if you don’t have control over your day? Coworkers make unexpected requests, meetings don’t go as planned, and appointments are canceled. You have the impression that you are continuously reacting rather than acting. As a consequence, not only is your overall productivity suffering, but you are also failing to complete the tasks you set out to do. You’re often irritated at work, and it’s tough for you to shake the sensation of displeasure when you get home.
It’s not every day that you can say, “Today was a good day.”
So, what’s the answer?
You can’t expect everything to go as planned. You can’t expect your coworkers to behave like robots all of the time.
But there is one thing over which you have complete control: your morning.
And it will have a significant impact on the remainder of your day.
Why Does Changing Your Morning Affect the Rest of Your Day?
Because of confirmation bias, your brain will hunt for ways to corroborate your morning experience — good or negative — throughout the remainder of the day. It might be depressing at times. Is your day off getting off to a horrible start? Your mind is plotting to ruin the remainder of the day. Isn’t it the first time you spilt coffee on your shirt? Your brain is trying to convince you that your customers will not take you seriously and that the meeting will be a disaster.
However, there is a very beneficial aspect to confirmation bias. If you have a wonderful morning, your brain will not only look beyond those apparently bad events, but it will also seek for methods to reinforce this great a.m. vibe throughout the day.
So, what does it take to have a morning that changes your life?
Fortunately, it doesn’t need getting up at 5 a.m. (or even early at all), nor does it necessitate a lengthy regimen of writing, exercise, a large meal, and so on (all the things you often find in articles about what a good morning looks like). Rather, adopting a brief and simple mindset-shifting practice is all it takes to get oneself ready for a successful day.
A Short Description of a Pleasant Day
Before we get into how to set yourself up for a good day, it’s important to understand what you’re looking for. What exactly is a good day?
If you’re anything like me, your initial idea would have been of a day spent reading a nice book in a cabin in the woods (or a cottage on the beach — to each their own!) with a platter of bacon by your side. While it would be a fantastic day, that isn’t what we are talking about.
The strategies we’ll discuss aren’t for creating any type of wonderful day; they’re for creating excellent work days (even if your work is being a stay-at-home dad or other non-traditional job). A good day in this sense is one in which you felt productive and energized, as well as as if you made progress toward your broader objectives.
This outcome does not imply that you did not work hard intellectually or physically, or that you were not subjected to setbacks, annoyances, or irritating changes in plans. Having a nice day does not guarantee that everything will go as planned.
Rather, you’re prepared to react to unanticipated “fires” that inevitably occur. You remain cool, cheerful, and in command rather than becoming agitated, upset, or defeated. You remain proactive rather than reactive, and as a result, you accomplish what you set out to do.
It all begins with how you set your compass in the morning to maintain this level of calm in the midst of adversity. You must actively put forth your attitude and perspective before the day begins in order to be ready to manage whatever comes your way.
Here’s how to do it.
Morning Routine: How to Have a Good Day
When I originally started researching this issue, I was concerned that the quantity of practices associated with getting ready for a productive day would be overwhelming. Would it be necessary for me to spend an hour merely preparing for success? But, after a few weeks of training and timing this technique, I’m happy to say that the whole routine takes less than 10 minutes. You may do it either before leaving the home each day or as soon as you settle down at your desk at work. (If you have a long commute and find that your mind begins to wander before you even get to work, I highly advise you to choose the former!)
1. Decide on your “Rule of Three”
When you’re not clear what you want to focus on, it’s simpler to allow people and circumstances throw you off track throughout the day. As a result, the Rule of 3 should govern your daily behaviors. The idea is that you should establish three priorities for the day that you concentrate on above all else. Read the post for additional in-depth techniques and recommendations, but the essence is that you should set three goals for the day that you focus on above all else. What three particular tasks can you do that will help you or your firm accomplish its objectives the most?
While it’s OK to establish your Rule of 3 the morning of, I like to do it in the end of the day before. I just like my mornings more when I can get directly to my most critical responsibilities. Do what you think is best for you.
2. Make a list of your goals.
It’s not only about laying out the correct duties for yourself in a reasonable manner when it comes to getting your day off to a good start. It’s also about giving your day a bigger picture – a bigger goal. To do so, consider Caroline Webb’s question in How to Have a Good Day: “What am I ultimately attempting to achieve?”
The following are my responses to this question:
- assisting guys in developing new talents and ideas in order to become better, more well-rounded persons
- Working together with my wife to provide for our family and the well-being of our home.
- To be the greatest possible parent, husband, friend, and neighbor, I must become the finest guy I can be – in body, mind, and spirit.
You’ll note that this sounds a lot like a mission statement or a vision statement. That’s because it’s the case. It’s technically what you’re doing here, but it was faster for me to answer the question “What am I attempting to achieve?” than to concoct a purpose or vision statement from scratch. It just took me a few minutes to do this task.
This is what Webb refers to as “establishing your intentions.” They don’t alter much after you’ve finished them, and all you have to do now is examine them every day — when you’re in the shower, having breakfast, and/or traveling to work. When you know you’re in for a long day, this evaluation is extremely important: A large project is about to begin, and there will almost certainly be issues. You’ve got a lawsuit to deal with. Discipline is required of an employee. You’ve scheduled a meeting with a particularly grumpy customer. On days like these, it’s important to maintain your goals at the forefront of your mind to avoid being sidetracked.
These “intentions” not only influence your daily behaviors and your Rule of 3, but a simple review of them in the morning may also change your whole attitude toward the day. Knowing that your activities contribute to a broader goal grounds you and pushes you to cut out distractions and not squander any of the little time you have.
All of my activities and responsibilities related to the Art of Manliness contribute to that initial goal of assisting men in becoming better men. Every email I write, every thought I have, and every tedious administrative work I do contributes to that goal. Knowing your objectives ties each job to a bigger picture. Webb demonstrates this point with a tale about a hospital handyman who explains his job’s little responsibilities in a bigger context:
“‘I’m repairing the hinge to make it easier to open. It’s overly stiff, so it gives patients on gurneys an unpleasant shock when they’re pushed through the doors. Isn’t that not going to help them get better?’ Of course, the handyman’s employer had given him a job list for the day, and he was working his way through it. It might have been a chore, a slog. The purpose, in his eyes, was not merely to mend the door. It was to protect patients from damage. And the fact that the activities were connected to something he cared about pushed him to approach them as if they were his own intrinsic aims.”
Your objectives will not only influence your behavior and attitude, but they may also help you handle unpleasant circumstances in a good way. “These awful automobiles aren’t going to stop me from servicing my customers today,” says the person stuck in traffic. “This silly stain won’t stop me from showing these newlyweds some great properties to start their lives in,” says the man who spilled his coffee on his work shirt. In the middle of the tiny, unavoidable annoyances that arise each day, your objectives will help you see the greater picture.
3. Prepare for the possibility of a fire. Prepare for the worst-case scenario. “What might go in my way today?” you may wonder.
This was something I’d never done before reading How to Have a Good Day, and I’ve found it to be excellent advise. If we’re being honest with ourselves, we know what distracts us throughout the day, whether it’s little diversions like social media or fantasy football, or major distractions like a new fire at work or an important email that leads you down a rabbit hole. These factors have the potential to disrupt your day and prevent you from completing your Rule of 3 chores (and sour your mood as well).
So, in the morning, spend a few minutes to think about what could come up to divert you. If your child is displaying symptoms of sickness, have a plan for what you’ll do if you’re asked to pick him up in the middle of the day. If you’re starting a project, schedule time in your day for when things go wrong. Install some app blockers to nip the distraction in the bud if you’re doing the type of slow-moving, laborious activity that requires you to constantly check your phone. Before you need to troubleshoot, troubleshoot.
4. If you have time, do something active.
Do a brief exercise or a 15- to 20-minute stroll if you have time. According to Webb:
“Researchers discovered that participants were considerably better able to focus and manage their workload on days when they exercised before work or did something physical during their lunch break.” Exercise improved people’s attitude and motivation (41%), as well as their capacity to cope with stress (27%).”
She said that the results might be visible after just 20 minutes of moderate exercise (and anecdotally, I’d think that 10 or 15 minutes would enough!). It isn’t even necessary for it to be intense. Moving your body is important for your motivation, stress management, and general productivity, in addition to your physical health. Do you want to improve your work performance? Get moving! (This is especially true in the mornings.)
If you don’t have time in the morning, schedule a stroll during your lunch break or during your mid-morning coffee run.
5. Make a reward for yourself at the end of the day.
When you know you’re in for a particularly difficult day at work, try planning a treat for yourself at the end of the day. Whether it’s a dram of your favorite whiskey, a few episodes of your favorite TV program, or just a calm and pleasant 20 minutes on your favorite outdoor lounger, knowing you have something to look forward to at the end of the day might help you get through the difficult hours ahead.
If you stick to the above morning practice, you’ll be able to approach each day with vigor, remain productive, and more often declare, “Today was a good day,” as Ice Cube does.
Listen to Brett’s audio discussion with Caroline Webb for additional advice on how to have a wonderful day that goes beyond your morning routine:
The “morning routine checklist” is a list of things that you should do in the morning to have a good day. The list includes things like stretching, meditation, and drinking water.
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