#RealLife: Top 5 Ways to Max Your Morning

1.) Go to sleep and wake up consistently.
When our sleep patterns vary, our body doesn’t know how to react. We struggle to adapt to an every-changing environment. Keeping our time of rest consistent from day to day teaches your body to shut down quickly as well as wake up rested. A great tool to use is the Bedtime tool in IOS’ clock app. After you set your sleep time, the app will remind you to go to bed as well as disable any alerts. It provides peaceful wake up sounds in the morning that help get you going without a jarring alarm.

2.) Don’t touch your phone.
I’m going to warn you: this will be very difficult to do in the beginning. This is a habit that almost everyone has and will require conscious effort. But after the first month, it will become habit and you’ll never want to go back. This change has an immediate impact on your morning. Not only does it allow you to approach the new day with a clear mind, it removes distractions which allows room for dream recollection and sleep appreciation. It also provides more free time in the morning, as you are less distracted with texts, emails, social media, etc. After your morning sound goes off, leave your phone where it is for at least 30 minutes and go about your routine. The affects are astonishing.

3.) Use cold water.
This is an easy add to your morning that can do wonders to your energy. Cold water is scientifically proven to awaken the senses - similar to fight or flight. It clears your mind and sets your body in motion. You can splash cold water on your face, take a quick cold shower or a walk in the cold air. This will instantly enhance your morning without the need for coffee.

4.) Be active.
I know mornings can be a tough time to motivate yourself to workout. But if you follow the above suggestions, it will become much easier. Adding activity in the morning awakens your metabolism and stimulates your mind. If you haven’t realized it already, exercising can be a mentally-taxing activity (especially if you’re doing complex lifts or movements). Whether it’s a simple yoga flow or a full-on workout, doing physical activity in the morning will energize and motivate your day.

5.) Set your plan.
What are your goals for today? What do you hope to accomplish and what must you accomplish? Write it down. Don’t log it in your phone’s note app. Physically write it. Whether it’s in a notebook, on a whiteboard or on the mirror, set your plan. “Go to work, do the laundry, work on my blog, sew on the button” Writing a to-do list and setting goals for the day helps your memory through the action of writing. It also turns abstract plans into concrete, actionable steps. Physically writing a to-do list is essential to having productive and useful days

How to Start
Changing your entire morning routine can be tough. Adding all five steps at once can overwhelming and discouraging. So start with one. Pick the one change that you find most tangible. By adding one that you find easier than the others, you will find the motivation to keep improving. From there, keep adding bit by bit.

Bonus Step
While you are adjusting your habits, I encourage you to keep a journal or a log of how you’re feeling. For example, when you don’t touch your phone for the first 30 minutes and add physical activity, write down “I had 30 extra minutes and I did a long yoga flow! Feeling awesome.” These reminders will help future you see all of the great ways that these steps have improved your mornings. If you feel like you can’t see a difference down the road, these reminders will help you see the positive experiences you had.

Queen to Queen,

Tally