5 one-minute habits for a better start to your day
By: Career Launch Africa
Tags: Habits, Careers, Career Advice, Morning Routines, Morning

So you want to achieve your career goals, get healthier and feel happier but don’t know where to start? Begin in the morning — these one-minute switches that are easy to implement can help you increase your energy, fine tune your focus and overall, set you up for a productive day:

Get out of bed immediately

Does the snooze button call your name as soon as your alarm goes off? Or do you spend the first hour of your day scrolling through Instagram in bed? While it may seem like a harmless habit, you lose out on the valuable 10, 30, or 60-minute morning routine before you open your laptop for work. Similarly, the extra sleep that you can get by hitting snooze isn’t good quality — since the snooze session doesn’t last long enough for you to finish a complete sleep cycle, chances are you end up feeling super groggy for the first hour and a half of your day. So how do you break the habit?

Get out of bed as soon as you wake up and fill your mornings with as many peaceful, productive, and fulfilling minutes as possible. Your WhatsApp chats, Instagram stories and Twitter updates can wait.

2. Make your bed

Not only will it feel AMAZING to get into a made bed at night, it’s also important for the success of your day. Making your bed first thing every morning means one small win before you even have a cup of tea, which subconsciously motivates you to achieve hundreds of small wins throughout the day (and you know what they say about small wins: they lead up to big ones). And as Gretchen Rubin found in her research, it’s the easiest and most common daily habit you can do to boost happiness.

3. Drink a glass of water

The six to eight hours of recommended nightly sleep is a long time to go without water consumption. Drinking a glass or two of water right when you wake up is a good way to quickly rehydrate your body and because hydration is important when it comes to daily productivity, get your day started on the right foot. While drinking water is of course a daylong process, starting with a glass of water is a step in the right direction.

4. Begin with positive affirmation and intention

Everyone has an intention, whether we’re aware of it or not. It’s that one phrase you constantly hear in your head, or the story you tell yourself repeatedly. Many times, we’re plagued with phrases like “I’m not good enough,” or “What if something goes wrong?” However, what if we replaced these thoughts with phrases that are not only better for us, but can help us be more confident, feel less stressed, and live our best lives?

Every morning, pick an affirmation or intention and write it in your daily planner so you don’t forget it. If you find one phrase you particularly relate to, repeat it to yourself whenever you’re feeling stressed, scared or not enough. So, before going about with your day, connect with your intention.

5. Practice and express gratitude

Keep your vibe light by filling yourself with gratitude each morning (and throughout each day). If you don’t know where to start, start here. And if you don’t believe us, believe the several studies on the positive effects a daily gratitude practice has on the mind, body, and spirit. Whether you jot down what you’re grateful for or choose to write a “thank you” message to someone you appreciate, remember that gratitude will help you feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve your health, deal with difficulty, and build strong relationships.

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