Win the Morning
By: Bob Pepe
Tags: Morning Routines, Life Hacking, Life, Happiness, Morning

Win the Morning

There are countless articles and books on the subject of daily planning. Some of them say that you should spend 15 minutes first thing in the morning to write down your “to-do” list for the day. You can buy many planners that can break down every minute of your day into bite-sized portions that supposedly will make you more productive.

Some say get up at 4 am; others will say to make sure you make your bed as soon as you get up. I am sure that many of these methods will work for some people. I am here to tell you the best way to increase the odds of you having a productive and happy day.

We all know the pitfalls of having a bad morning. It truly sets the tone for the rest of the day, and a day that begins poorly is only likely to get worse as the day moves on, as you try to make up for your lousy morning, and it snowballs away from you. So here it goes, my surefire way to a good morning and most likely a good day.

Thank God the moment you wake up, I mean literally the moment your eyes open. If you want to add a formal prayer, there are many available in most faiths that you can look up. I am just suggesting that you give thanks that you were given this chance to live another day. If 2020 has taught us nothing else, we should all know that every day is a gift, and we should acknowledge that and what better way to start the day than with the meaningful gift of time. Get out of bed slowly, just lay there for a few moments and contemplate the day ahead. Don’t stress over details or deadlines approaching or a long boring meeting that you have to endure. Just tell yourself that you have a busy workday ahead of you, and you are ready to take on any challenges that come up. Don’t worry about the minutia of your workday just yet. Just acknowledge that you have a busy workday ahead. Do NOT look at your phone; leave it plugged in somewhere, and don’t even THINK about looking at it. This is not the time to look at your emails or social media feeds, or the scores from last night’s games. Take a shower and get dressed. The hot water will wake your body slowly, and it will give you time to think. It is when you are the most creative. After you get dressed and make your way into your kitchen, start with a big glass of water. The body dehydrates at night, and it is craving some water right now. Then make and enjoy your coffee or tea, or whatever beverage you like to start your day with. While you are making your coffee, think about what you want for breakfast. A little preplanning can really help here because you don’t want to make breakfast a big deal with a lot of cooking and cleaning, that will add stress to your morning. Breakfast should be light and small. You don’t want to have your digestion system working overtime when your energy should be spent on getting your day off to a good start. After breakfast, grab your phone, quickly check your email. Don’t spend time returning any emails; just scan and see if there is anything urgent and must be dealt with immediately. Not checking your emails will lead you to stress over what might be in there, so a quick cursory glance will take that stress away. Exercise… I know, the dreaded “E” word. I know what you are saying, “I already showered, dressed, and ate breakfast. NOW you want me to work out”? I don’t mean take a Peloton class or run 5 miles. I mean a slow movement of about 10 minutes. Walk the dog, or just walk around the block. The fresh air will wake you up, and the motion of walking aids in the digestion of your breakfast. Now the most crucial part of this whole deal. Spend a few moments with a loved one. If you are married, have coffee with your spouse; if you live alone, call or Facetime with someone you care about. You need some positive interaction with another human before you head out to take on the world. It will reinforce the real reason you are working so hard. You are doing it for your loved ones. We often will do things for others that we wouldn’t do for ourselves. That is why married people live longer on average than those that remain single.

These simple and easy to do steps will give you the best chance to have a great day and remember, If you win the morning, you win the day, and if you win enough days, you win at life!