For the entrepreneur, morning routines can be the difference between having such a productive day that you want to high five yourself or still in your pyjamas at 6pm wondering how you found yourself looking at sloths in space on the weird side of Youtube.
Although most entrepreneurs cringe at the idea of waking up and not jumping straight back into work, morning routines can help you to find your focus for the day ahead rather than jumping straight back into the frantic scrambling most of us are used to.
Here are 15 Mix & Match Morning Routines To Set The Rest Of Your Day On Fire!
1. Drink Water
This is the one morning routine I hope you adopt even if you ignore the rest. At night we can lose between 1.5 to 2.0 lbs of water through sweating and respiration meaning you’ll often wake up super dehydrated.
When you’re not properly hydrated, your brain operates on less fuel, and you can feel drained, or experience fatigue and mood fluctuations. This is not a good position to be in when you’re spending your days trying to conquer the world.
2. Write Something
Anything, whatever comes to mind. Write down your dreams if you can remember them. Writing first thing the morning trains our brains to anticipate that activity. Over time the habit will form and your brain will begin preparing all your writing resources and skills to be primed and waiting for you each and every morning.
3. Have A Cold Shower
Cold showers are a great way to get the blood rushing and wake the body up from a long night’s sleep.
Studies have also shown that cold showers can not only improve your mood but they also put your body in to panic mode (hyperventilating) which forces you to focus on your breathing in order to calm yourself back down. This ability is then transferable to other aspects of your daily life such as finding out there’s no dark chocolate left in the cupboard.
4. Do A Headstand
Other than being a simple way to re-connect with your childlike ways, headstands stimulate and provide refreshed blood to the pituitary and hypothalamus glands, which are vital to wellbeing. They also look pretty damn impressive.
5. Practise Gratitude
Every morning, get in the habit of writing a list of ten or more things you’re grateful for starting with the fact that you managed to wake up in full working order (I hope so anyway).
Practising gratitude has several health benefits and rewires your brain for a more positive outlook on life.
6. Journal
Journaling is a simple and effective way to have better connections with your values, emotions, and goals.
Start by writing about your day, how you’d like it to go, what you fear or just clear out what’s going through your head. Before long you’ll begin to see both good and bad patterns forming which will help you discover the kind of changes you need to make.
7. Do Nothing
It’s easy for entrepreneurs to wake up paranoid, anxious or extremely tired from the previous day. Instead of throwing yourself back in to the next round, take a moment, an hour or even the rest of your day to do nothing.
Silence and inaction can be the perfect reset button for a more productive day tomorrow.
8. Exercise
It doesn’t matter what you do for how long or how heavy; a healthy body is better at everything than and unhealthy one. Exercising in the morning will fill you with energy and put your body into fat burning mode for the rest of the day.
9. Stretch / Foam Role
In the morning, I often feel like rigor mortis has tried to set in.
Foam rolling and/or stretching is an amazing way to limber you up and relieve tension in your body. Stretching is even more important for those who are likely to sit at a desk for the rest of their day as it tightens up your hips and hamstrings and can causes many other health issues.
10. Go For A Walk
I’m lucky to live near Epping Forest so love going on short strolls with my dog. This down time allows me to collect my thoughts, soak in some vitamin D and socialise with other human beings, something many entrepreneurs forget to make time for.
How To Say Hi To Strangers (LOL)
25 More Reasons To Go For A Walk
11. Keep Your Mobile On Aeroplane Mode (Family First)
If you’re not going to bed with your phone on aeroplane mode you should. When you wake up, instead of turning it off and jumping straight in to emails, notifications and random web browsing, take the time to kiss and hug your partner (if you have one) or socialise with your family or house mates first.
Remember, nothing is more important than your relationships.
12. Listen To Your Favourite Music
Music not only gets you pumped for the day ahead but it can also improve your creativity. Start by putting together a play list of tracks that bring you back to great times in your life, holidays, festivals, weddings etc. Steer clear of Morrissey and James Blunt at all costs.
13. Eat Healthy Fats & Protein For Breakfast
Eating healthy fats and protein in the morning will help you to feel fully for longer and eliminate cravings throughout the day. This allows you to stay productive for longer without your brain nagging you for your next meal.
14. Get A Head Start On Your To Do List
I absolutely love this technique! Every evening I write my to-do list for the day ahead and put two to three simple tasks at the top of the list.
When you wake up, you can fire these items off in quick successions rewarding your brain and giving you a mental head start on the rest of your day.
15. Meditate
Entrepreneurs often wake up with hundreds of ideas and task scattering around in their heads which makes it difficult to think about basic human needs such as eating or general hygiene.
A few minutes of meditation allows you to step back and re-approach your day with more mental clarity.
Wrap Up
I’m fairly new to morning routines but can honestly say that once you start doing them, the days you don’t, you really feel it. If you’re an entrepreneur and want to feel like a world-beater before 9am then it all begins with a solid morning routine.
If you like this post please share it with others and if you have any other suggestions for morning routines, pop them in the comments below and I’ll add them to the list.
