10 Morning Habits That Are Ruining Your Entire Day
By: Dhruv Sharma
Tags: Morning Routines, Advice, Habits, Productivity

10 Morning Habits That Are Ruining Your Entire Day

We are creatures of habit. As much as we love to perceive ourselves as free-willed beings, we are mere puppets to every little habit that we pick up.

Bad habits loosen or break the strings that bond us to the puppet master, while the good ones make these bonds stronger. Loose or broken strings make us wayward ragdolls. Whereas, the strongly bound strings cause seamless movements, giving us a sense of control over our lives.

The puppet analogy above might seem like a bit of an exaggeration. But it’s true. Our habits make us who we are — they have the potential to change our lives.

That’s why starting your day with toxic habits can completely ruin your day. And in the long-run, they can snowball into disastrous consequences. On the flip side, good habits can drastically improve your day — and life — in ways you had never imagined.

1. Hitting snooze

“It’s time to go to war with yourself.” — David Goggins

Hitting snooze sets you up for failure, first thing in the day. While the world calls out to you, you choose to procrastinate your goals just to get in a few more minutes of sleep.

How it ruins your day

When you hit snooze, you unknowingly convince your mind that your goals for the day are insignificant. You set yourself up for failure by prioritizing laziness.

How to change it

Sleep on time : Sleeping on time is the best way to wake up on time. When you sleep early, you allow your body to get adequate sleep. And in turn, you don’t feel the need to hit snooze.

: Sleeping on time is the best way to wake up on time. When you sleep early, you allow your body to get adequate sleep. And in turn, you don’t feel the need to hit snooze. Don’t hit snooze before you leave your bed: Instead of setting up your alarm clock beside your bed, keep it far away from you. So when your alarm starts ringing in the morning, you have to get out of the comfort of your bed to turn it off. And well, once you’re out of bed, you’ve already overcome your urge to be lazy.

2. Checking your phone

The “infodemic” on your phone is enough to make you feel exhausted right after you wake up.

How it ruins your day

When you wake up from a peaceful slumber, your mind needs time to slowly build momentum for the day ahead.

But when you bombard yourself with unread emails, messages, and to-do lists, you get overwhelmed even before your day begins. Not to mention, you hijack your precious time and prime your brain for distraction.

How to change it

Flight mode it the night before: Put your phone on flight mode before you go to sleep and avoid getting distracted by early morning notification overloads.

Put your phone on flight mode before you go to sleep and avoid getting distracted by early morning notification overloads. Limit your phone usage during the day: Our toxic morning relationship with our phones is only a consequence of a bigger underlying issue — gratification addiction. This addiction is developed over the course of several days. So to limit your phone usage in the morning, limit your phone usage all day, every day.

3. Not hydrating enough

Eight hours of recommended nightly sleep may or may not dehydrate your body. But when you reach out for a cup of coffee instead of a glass of water, you choose to deny yourself of fuel that is vital for your body’s functioning.

How it ruins your day

Setting aside the benefits of hydrating in the morning, a glass of water even trains your brain to make better choices. When you start your day by choosing water over caffeine, you subconsciously prioritize your health.

As trivial as it may seem, this tiny morning decision can later impact all the other decisions you make throughout your day.

How to change it

Make water accessible: Set up a jar or bottle of water on your bedside table right before you sleep. This way you don’t have to remind yourself to hydrate after waking up.

Set up a jar or bottle of water on your bedside table right before you sleep. This way you don’t have to remind yourself to hydrate after waking up. Hydrate before breakfast: You’re likely to eat less if you drink water before breakfast. Conversely, you’re likely to drink less water after breakfast.

4. Not moving your body

“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’” — Muhammad Ali

As long as you’re working out consistently, where it fits your schedule barely matters. However, working out in the morning can be far more beneficial than working out anytime else.

How it ruins your day

A lot happens to your body when you don’t work out. For starters, your blood pressure rises and your oxygen intake dwindles. Not to mention, a lack of feel-good endorphins makes you grumpy.

How to change it

Take one step at a time: Anything simple that gets your blood flowing is good enough. You can go for a walk. Bang out a few push-ups. Do a little dance routine. Or pretty much anything else you're comfortable with.

Anything simple that gets your blood flowing is good enough. You can go for a walk. Bang out a few push-ups. Do a little dance routine. Or pretty much anything else you're comfortable with. Don’t set long-term goals: Fitness is a journey, not a destination. It is nothing but a consequence of all the morning workouts you decided not to skip. So just think about how you can improve today or tomorrow’s morning workout.

Fitness is a journey, not a destination. It is nothing but a consequence of all the morning workouts you decided not to skip. So just think about how you can improve today or tomorrow’s morning workout. Journal your progress: Do not rely on daily weigh-ins. Instead, track and journal all the physical feats you achieved throughout your day. This way, you stay motivated and stick to the habit of working out.

5. Not making your bed

“If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.” — William H. McRaven

Albert Einstien pointed out that “If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?” Well, a cluttered desk may be a sign of a genius mind, but an untidy bed isn’t.

How it ruins your day

An unkempt bed not only disrupts your sleep at night but also causes anxiety when you return home after a long day of work.

Making your bed in the morning gives you an early sense of achievement. Along with that, it brings more tranquility to the second half of your day.

How to change it

At most, it takes 10 minutes: Just remind yourself that it’ll take you no more than 10 minutes to clean your bed. But if you delay it for later, you’ll either lose some precious sleeping time or you’ll end up sleeping on an uncomfortable bed.

6. Not having a concrete plan for your day

Having a plan for the day does not pry away your freedom. Instead, it gives you more freedom to fit in mundane activities while taming your workload.

How it ruins your day

Without a plan, you’re mentally unprepared for the day. As you proceed with your day without a plan, you unknowingly end up wasting your energy on things that are not a priority. Consequently, the higher priority tasks of your day are left undone.

How to change it

Avoid having stringent time slots: Almost every new day brings in unforeseeable commitments and plans. So you’re bound to fail if you keep fixed time slots for every petty thing you do. Embrace some daily rituals, but for other tasks, give yourself deadlines — not time slots.

Almost every new day brings in unforeseeable commitments and plans. So you’re bound to fail if you keep fixed time slots for every petty thing you do. Embrace some daily rituals, but for other tasks, give yourself deadlines — not time slots. Prioritize: Based on their relative priority, rank each goal for the day. Then starting from the one that is of the highest priority, complete one goal at a time. This way, even if you’re not able to achieve every goal you desired, you’ll at least have the high priority tasks out of the way.

7. Having a heavy carb-loaded breakfast

Working out early in the morning is the key to having more energy throughout the day. And complementing it with a healthy breakfast is even more so.

A dysfunctional approach towards your diet in the morning can not only contribute to weight gain but can also make you feel lethargic all day long.

How it ruins your day

Most carbs (the ones with a high glycemic index) tend to boost the release of tryptophan and serotonin. Both of which are sleep-inducing chemicals in the brain. Due to this, a heavy carb intake can make you extremely sleepy, and in turn, hamper your productivity.

How to change it

Don’t abstain, only delay: Instead of having a carbohydrate-rich meal during the day, have one at night. It’ll help you fall asleep faster.

Instead of having a carbohydrate-rich meal during the day, have one at night. It’ll help you fall asleep faster. Don’t starve: You don’t have to completely cut out carbs from your diet. Just make sure that your first meal has more protein and healthy fats.

8. Putting off tough tasks for later

“If you eat a frog first thing in the morning, that will probably be the worst thing you do all day.” — Mark Twain

Mark Twain sums it up pretty well. Once you address the elephant in the room, everything else seems relatively easier.

How it ruins your day

A difficult task is like an itch you can’t scratch. The more you put it off, the more you dread it.

By not holding it off, you spare yourself from some unnecessary stress and save yourself a lot more time.

How to change it

Don’t think, just act: The more you waste your time thinking about how difficult a task is, the more you give yourself excuses to procrastinate. Stop waiting for a Eureka moment and just do it. Even if you initially mess up, you’ll at least build some much-needed momentum.

The more you waste your time thinking about how difficult a task is, the more you give yourself excuses to procrastinate. Stop waiting for a Eureka moment and just do it. Even if you initially mess up, you’ll at least build some much-needed momentum. Create a framework: A framework — rigid or concrete — allows you to go from point A to B seamlessly. It also helps you enter a state of flow where a once difficult task becomes extremely easy.

9. Multi-tasking

Multi-tasking is a recipe for disaster. Forget achieving anything, you end up wasting crucial time and screw up multiple things. ALL AT ONCE.

How it ruins your day

Multi-tasking is like a mirage. You hopefully look at it at the beginning of your day, believing that it’ll help you do more. But the more you do it, the more you realize that you’re getting nothing done. Starting your day with multiple simultaneous tasks only leads to more confusion later on.

How to change it

Turn off distractions: I’ll keep this simple — turn off distractions and focus on one thing at a time.

10. Keeping your showers too hot

I would be lying if I told you I take cold showers every morning. But that does not mean my showers are steaming hot. As much as I love relaxing hot showers, I hate the after-effects they come with.

How it ruins your day

A hot morning shower can inspire you…to go back to sleep.

There’s some science behind this. According to Dr. Dianne Augelli, “Cooling down is a signal that tells us we’re supposed to go to sleep.” Because of this, hot morning showers prompt your body to slowly cool off and ultimately trigger sleep.

How to change it