8 Morning Habits for All-Day Energy

How you start your morning determines the tone for the rest of the day and has a huge impact on your energy level and self-control.The key to achieving your goals, both large and small, is locked in your morning routine. When you start every day with a good ritual you can receive a number of positive benefits. Learn how to create a powerful daily ritual – one that launches you out of your bed and propels you towards your goals, energized and ready to take on the world. Here are 8 simple habits that you can use to create a morning routine that will set you up for success.

I know you might think it’s impossible to do “more things” in the morning, because let’s face it—you’re already very busy. Or maybe you’re a night owl who doesn’t hit your stride until late in the afternoon. Or perhaps you simply doubt that a morning ritual actually works in the real world. Well, I’ve been working on perfecting my morning routine for a few months now, discovering several things about mornings that have convinced me that this is the perfect time of the day for self-improvement. I’ve finally come up with a plan that I feel is solid enough to share with you. Probably, you’ll find them useful, too.

Habit 1: Expose Yourself to Bright Lights

Your body is programmed to wake up to natural light. Expose yourself to bright lights by doing one of the following activities:

** Open shades and let natural light in, if the sun is already up.

** Invest in an alarm clock that uses full spectrum light to simulate the sun rising in your bedroom. You’ll be amazed at how effective this can be.

Habit 2: Clean Up

The very act of cleaning up helps us to realize a new day has begun. Choose one (or all) of the following activities for your morning routine:

** Wash your face with hot water and a facial cleanser or scrub. Splash cold water on your face to finish up.

** Take a short contrast shower, switching cool and hot water. Be careful! And always finish with the hot one.

Habit 3: Drink some lemon water first.

Drinking lemon water as soon as you wake up spikes your energy levels physically and mentally. Lemon water gives you steady, natural energy that lasts the length of the day by improving nutrient absorption in your stomach. You need to drink it first thing in the morning (on an empty stomach) to ensure full absorption. You should also wait 15–30 minutes after drinking it before eating (perfect time to squeeze in some exercise). Lemons are packed with nutrients; they’re chock full of potassium, vitamin C and antioxidants.

Habit 4: Feed Your Body

It’s important to eat something upon waking, but a large breakfast will slow you down and make you feel sluggish. Eat a small serving of one of the following:

** A piece of fruit or small bowl of berries

** An egg on a high fiber English muffin

** A sprinkling of granola or nuts on yogurt

** A fresh green smoothie

Habit 5: Get Your Blood Moving

You need to get your heart pumping so your brain can click into gear. Try one or all of the following:

** Create your own quickie exercise routine, such as 25 crunches, 25 wall push ups and 25 lunges, and a short stretching.

Habit 6: Awaken Your Senses

You may feel a little numb and out of it when you first wake up, but using your senses will supercharge your awareness.

Try one of the following:

** Hold an ice cube in each hand for 30 seconds.

** Listen to one song that fires you up or makes you want to dance.

Habit 7: Set goals for the day

Scientists argue that having concrete goals is correlated with huge increases in confidence and feelings of control of life. Setting goals specific to the day puts everything into motion. Narrow your goals down to a few achievable ones that can easily be broken down into steps.

Habit 8: Eat the frogs first.

“Eating a frog” is the greatest antidote to procrastination, firstly announced by Brian Tracey. The most productive people know the importance of spending mornings on something that requires a high level of concentration that you don’t want to do, and you’ll get it done in short order. Make a habit of eating three frogs before you check your e-mails or chats because e-mail is a major distraction that enables procrastination and wastes precious mental energy.

The right morning routine can make your day, every day. The trick is to be intentional about your mornings, understanding that a.m. hours are precious and should be handled with care.