How to Systematize a Lively and Productive Morning

Recently, I listened to a one-hour podcast by College Info Geek on morning routines, and it really inspired me to do some more research on morning rituals and set up my own routine.

By Michelle Rebecca

In this post, I am going to cover:

• The importance of morning routines
• Things you can add to your routine
• My perfect morning routine
• Some tips for keeping a good morning routine

Why Should We Have a Morning Routine?

1. It sets your mind and may give you some great inspiration.

Morning routines are a great way to start your day because it refreshes your mind. I always hold the belief that you shouldn’t let a bad day extends to the next day. A morning almost feels like a ‘reset’ button for me to have a new and bright start, and it’s the time for me to think positively and to effectively make plans and solutions to solve my problems. You are very likely to get a lot more inspirations from reading, meditation, journaling from your morning routine.

2. It makes you feel more energetic.

I couldn’t recall how many mornings that I had to rush to office, skipped breakfast, and couldn’t even have time to think about what to wear, let alone working out (or maybe I did since I had to run to a meeting). If you can spend probably 30 minutes to 1 hour having breakfast and working out in the morning, this will definitely make you feel so much better about yourself, and it gives you the energy for the rest of the day.

3. And more importantly, it enhances your productivity.

If you have a morning routine, you are very likely to have some time to think about your goals and to-dos of the day. Having a direction for that day, your productivity is definitely going to increase because you know exactly where you are heading to and things you need to complete.

4. Finally, it gives you a reason to wake up.

If you are a freelance professional like me, you will understand how dreadful it is to wake up in the morning. It’s so tempting to sleep in when you don’t have a morning class that day (I tend to sleep till 1 pm whenever I don’t have a morning class, and it just makes me feel really bad). Having a morning routine, however, will then give me the motivation to wake up and be productive that day since I would want to stick to my routine every day.

What Should I Add to My Routine?

I have brainstormed a few things to add to my routine (or things I think some may find helpful), and here is a list of them:

Health and fitness

• Drink a glass of water (with lemon)
• Yoga
• Run
• Walk
• Stretch
• Pushups and Situps
• Have breakfast
• Take your vitamins

Inspirational

• Meditate
• Write a journal entry
• Think about three positive things
• Note down three objects you are obliged for
• Listen to a podcast
• Read a book
• Read newspapers

Productivity-related

• Check your calendar (to make sure you know what’s your schedule that day)
• Plan for your day
• Make your bed (because this makes you feel better)
• Think about your goals

Study-related

• Reviewing your notes of the classes, you are going to have that day (I used to do this during high school, and it’s very helpful since I would know what was happening in that class).
• Go through your vocabulary flashcards
• Or any flashcards or study guides you prepared for the upcoming test (click here to know more about making your study guides)
• Take an online course

Need more inspirations? Here are 51 quick habits to add to your daily morning routine.

My (Perfect) Morning Routine

I have to admit that I am never a morning person. As I am typing this, it’s 12:13 am. But lately, I realized that this shouldn’t be continued. I am getting very tired during the day, and it just doesn’t feel right for me. So this is the perfect morning routine that I am hoping to gradually get into.

I realized it’s quite an ambitious morning routine after typing this, and it does take up around 2.5 hours to finish everything. I can probably only do all of these on days that I don’t have an immediate task delivery. I usually skip working out or just have a quick breakfast on the go if I don’t have the time.

How to Make Your Routine Last?

1. Write out the list of things you want to complete and make it visible to you.

As you first come up with your morning routine, you are very likely to forget the things you want to do in your mind. A visual reminder would be very important because it can guide you through all the things and motivate you to take action.

You can write your list or a simple reminder to tell yourself to do your morning rituals and stick the piece of paper to your wall. Place it on places you can immediately see when you wake up or just stick it on the door of your bathroom. Make sure it can be a visual reminder for you to work out your morning routine. If this isn’t your thing, you may also consider the apps I am going to recommend down below.

2. You need to test out your routine.

After having everything you want to do on a list, you would have to test it out by actually timing yourself and observe your progress. If you are thinking about actually starting a morning routine on your first day of start, you would have to test it out and start getting into it probably one or two weeks before.

If you are someone who has a regular schedule (e.g., you have to get to school by 8), you would then have to time everything and know exactly when you should wake up if you need to complete your whole morning routine.

It may not use the two apps here, but the point is you may need something to track your morning rituals. I personally use Todoist consistently for all my tasks, but Habitica is definitely a better one when it comes to tracking habits. Either way, the two are very helpful when it comes to reminding myself what I have to do in the morning, and keep track of my progress.

For Habitica, you just need to enter your tasks for your morning routine into ‘dailies‘ and check them off every day. You can also tag those tasks as morning if you like.

For Todoist, you may want to start a new project (I named it dailies here), and when you fill in the task, you will have to enter “every day” on the schedule box.

3. You need to have a night routine to have a morning routine

The night before often determines whether you can keep up with your morning routine.

• You want to have a night of adequate sleep to stir up at the point you want. I think 8 hours of sleep works best for me, but everyone is slightly different on this.
• This also means that you should set a time to put away your electronic devices because they are very likely to disrupt your sleeping schedule.
• If you need to have certain tools in your morning routine (e.g., iced water with lemon, your workout clothes or headphones, etc.), make sure you prepare them on the night before.

It probably means that you may need a night routine in order to have a good morning routine. I usually make a list of things I need to do before I get to sleep in order to make myself productive the next day.

Morning Routines are different for everyone. And there is no one perfect routine that works for everyone either.

So that’s everything! I hope all these can inspire you to think about getting into a good morning routine to have an energetic and productive day.

Michelle Rebecca is a freelance blogger who’s covered a variety of different topics – Productivity, Health, Entrepreneurship, and Marketing. At Best Mattresses Reviews, she spreads the awareness about sleep science. Before she became a full-time writer, she held various jobs, including tutoring and tele-calling, so she understands how working at home can stress you out.

Morning routine stock photo by Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock