5 Things To Do In Morning To Set Yourself Up For A Productive Day

Mornings can be tough, especially if you aren’t necessarily a morning person. Even a morning ritual that includes caffeine might not entirely prepare you for the day ahead. That’s why we subscribe to a creative endeavor each morning to help jumpstart our minds, aid our breathing and bring a sense of purpose to our days… all before we even have to speak to anyone.

1. Read (anything)

Read a book, a magazine (or zine) or a newspaper. Honestly, reading anything that isn’t located on a screen can really help you disconnect and improve your mind. Reading is an optimal way to escape the stressors of everyday life and indulge in a world that is detached from your own. This literally lowers stress levels. Knowing something isn’t based on real-life can help to ease your natural fight or flight response. This opens your brain up to enjoy more of the information being presented. Even non-fiction reading can provide a perspective that inspires your work and how you engage with people and the world around you.

2. Create a to-do list

Some evenings, something reminds me to create a list of action items for the next day. However, you never know what emotional state you may be in when you wake in the morning. Mental health–and physical stressors–could greatly adjust your energy levels, and the items you wrote about the night before could fall off your priority list a bit. Then, you’re trapped with feelings of guilt around everything you couldn’t accomplish.

To eliminate the chances that guilt is spurred on–especially so early in the morning–it may be best to leave your to-do list for when you wake up in the morning. Keeping a notepad or planner by your bedside will encourage you to reach for it and use many skills before you even leave the bed. Engaging your memory to recall items you need to get to,

Different types of “to-do” lists can trigger various parts of your brain. All-encompassing items to eventually get to, and monthly, daily and weekly action items are all very important to track. Sometimes it’s simply about remembering to take your animals to the vet or schedule a grocery pickup so you don’t run out of fresh produce.

3. Journal

Similar to the “create a to-do list” option is another writing exercise you can do every morning: journaling. Some people keep a sleep journal, to track their dreams and/or how they feel when they wake up in the morning. This can help you keep track of unhealthy sleep patterns or symptoms you may need to address during your next doctor’s visit.

Writing exercises keep your brain in better health. Creating a habit of journaling or writing every day can help ignite your creative brain, as well as help you cope with mental health issues and manage any anxiety you may be experiencing. Plus, as mentioned, it helps to trigger a habit-forming lifestyle, which can help you form other healthy habits that can improve your life holistically. Looking for topics to write about? Try to clear your mind of ideas, fears and limiting thoughts every once in a while by writing openly and honestly about them. This can help you challenge your own negative thoughts and insecurities, and hopefully lead to helping you handle them and work through them to more confidence and power in your own life. At the very least it can boost your own mindfulness and self-awareness around circumstances in your own life. Some people enjoy free-form writing, just to get their morning thoughts down on paper. Poetry, lists, and other items can help trigger memories or remind you to add something to your aforementioned “to-do list”. A 2015 research paper supports the claim that writing expressively on a consistent basis could go as far as reducing PTSD symptoms. Another really great way to make yourself feel amazing in the morning? Journaling about the things–people, places, items, circumstances, events, et. al–that you are personally grateful for. Research actually supports the idea that twenty or more minutes a day spent writing through gratitude can decrease stress levels exponentially.

4. Engage in cortisol-conscious exercise

Cortisol-conscious workouts are being adapted more often into routines since cortisol is one of the hormonal signals fired off throughout the day to keep your body’s natural clock working. This clock is our circadian rhythm, and it’s important to keep it in balance. Cortisol-conscious workouts keep in mind the time of day that cortisol levels are higher (6 am, or earlier in the morning), and allow you to work off calories at a rate that will not burn you out entirely. This is ideal for muscle recovery, overall health, weight loss and a good night’s sleep. Lack of sleep and poor sleeping patterns are linked to numerous physiological and mental conditions and a general lack of productivity.

Yoga is an incredible way to maintain a cortisol-conscious workout routine or to even out a more rigorous exercise regimen. It can calm your mind and does wonder to relieve stress. The less stressed you are, the lower your tendency to experience sleep problems like insomnia. Even the National Sleep Foundation recognizes the positive effects of yoga on stress and regulated sleep habits. Practicing yoga on a daily basis helps you fall asleep faster and experience increased quality and quantity of sleep.

5. Water your plants

Another form of cortisol-conscious movement that could greatly improve your day is watering your plants. If you have developed a love for your plants–as many of us did during the pandemic–then engaging with the things you love early can put you on track for a phenomenal day. The slow, concentrated movement of checking water levels in the soil and using your watering can or hose to give your green girls a big gulp can help engage your muscles in the early hours.

Plus, plants can be some of the best items to decorate your environment with. They provide oxygen to the space and help rid the air of toxins. Plants can help to regulate humidity and are known to help reduce stress and fatigue as well. Whether you’ve created an indoor jungle, have a bustling vegetable or rose garden in your yard or are simply maintaining your landscaping efforts, watering is a pretty routine item on your to-do list that most likely has to get done at some point anyway. Good news? The optimal time to water a plant is in the morning, actually, since the plant’s soil has time to dry before the sun goes down. This can help prevent accidental overwatering, root rot and insects, especially around areas of the home that get less sun exposure.

However, if you choose to begin your day, engaging in something that makes you happy will make you feel accomplished before you even have to clock in at work. So find some time for you, and make the most of it to enhance your productivity both at work and beyond.