Mornings are valuable to those of us working a 9 to 5. Most of us don't know how to have the most effective morning. I know I certainly didn't. When my alarm would go off I would most often hit the snooze button for a few extra, glorious minutes of "sleep". When I decided I couldn't stay in bed any longer and risk being late, I would drag myself out of my bed, carrying myself, still half asleep into the bathroom to begin my morning routine. To cash in on a few extra moments of sleep in the morning I would shower at night (clearly, I am all about sleep). Groggily I would brush my teeth, do my hair, and stagger into my bedroom and pick out an outfit, more often than not changing 100 times because my half asleep eyes can't make something work. I was always groggy and fatigued while at work for the first part of the day.
As an entrepreneur, business waits for no one. I was losing valuable time in the mornings because I was still trying to wake up. I began reading articles and scientific studies (I'm a nerd, I know) about how to increase productivity. Most of these pieces of written gold suggested a nailed down routine that called for discipline and action. I fought my attachment to sleep and decided it was worth a go.
1. Set up an effective nighttime routine and stick to it! Nighttime has nothing to do with morning, you say. Trust me, it definitely does. To ensure a smooth morning void of rushing around I always set up the night before. I pack a lunch so it is ready in my refrigerator, in the morning, it becomes a quick grab and go. I pick out my suit, ironing if I need to so everything is crisp. I stop checking my phone and turn off the TV and my computer 90 minutes before bed. The screens on all of our modern amenities actually make it harder to fall asleep. I still shower in the evening to allow myself time to relax. Before bed, I curl up with a cup of tea and read a book, any kind of book, business book, trashy romance novel, American Classic.
2. Set a bedtime. Have a specific bed time in which you turn off the lights and finally lay down. This is completely determined by the person themselves. Some people need 8 hours of sleep, some people need less and some people need more to feel rested. I personally, need about 8 hours, 7 hours and 40 minutes to be exact (we won't go into detail on how I determined this, it makes me sound crazy).
3. Stop hitting the snooze. When you hit the snooze your body goes back into sleep mode and instead of waking you up, it actually makes you more tired. I was the queen of pressing snooze. Once I stopped, I noticed immediately how quickly the groggy morning feeling went away and how much more prepared for my day I felt. A great tip for those of us that find it difficult to stop hitting snooze, place your alarm clock on the other side of the room so you physically have to get up to shut it off, you kill two birds with one stone.
4. Have a great morning stretch. I find even after this routine above, nothing wakes me up as much as a great stretch. Whether this is deliberate stretching like touching your toes or an awkward stretch that just feels so good (you all know exactly what I'm talking about), make sure you do it. The sooner the better, really.
5. Create a morning playlist. I always start my morning with a great playlist. Find songs that will wake you up and dare I say, songs to get you singing. This is especially effective if you shower at night rather than in the morning. For me, it gets the blood flowing and helps me get more energized for the day.
Don't get me wrong, sleep is a glorious thing. I would kill to go back to my college days when classes didn't start until noon, I could wake up on my own time and take forever to complete a morning routine so I would slowly but surely wake up. But, as I have entered the working girl world I have noticed that an effective morning routine can get you through even the earliest of mornings to help you feel awake and productive for the entire day.
