Do these steps Every day!

Good morning.

This morning, I woke up feeling groggy, tired and just … exhausted.

I felt like I didn’t want to do anything, and that I couldn’t get anything done.

While of course this can have multiple reasons, I want to dive into 6 ways that you can use to shape / change your mornings, so you can start your day off right and get more done.

1. Before going to sleep, make a short to do list for the next day.

So easy and so logical. Just try it, and you’ll find it works.

If you make your plans up front, then everything will be so much easier in the morning. Truly, it works like a charm.

• Decide what to do (make bed, shower, brush teeth, do stretching)
• Decide what to wear (prepare clothes, socks, shoes…)
• Decide what to eat (this is the best one — for me at least)

You could even say that I have something to look forward to — actually, I always do.

I’ve made a habit for myself to eat my last meal before 5PM. Because I do this, I’m usually hungry in the evening, and EVEN MORE hungry in the morning.

I am SO looking forward to that breakfast… mmmmm!

2. Wake up early, you now have a purpose for getting up. DO NOT TURN ON YOUR PHONE!

I know, I know. Waking up early doesn’t sound nice at all.

And I have to admit, it’s SO MUCH EASIER to just sleep long and relax.

However, IF I get up early (on purpose), I’m almost always very happy that I did.

For some reason, it:

• Enhances my focus and concentration
• Makes me more active and motivated
• Helps me get more work done

And these 3 things just… make me feel good. Really good.

Accomplishing my goals, finishing things, crossing off those “to do’s”… such a great feeling.

Oh and yea… don’t turn on your phone. Social media is terrible, addictive, attention grabbing, steals your time and focus. Bad, bad stuff!

First do the things that really matter, the things that make you happy!

3. Drink a glass of water

It’s really good. Even if you don’t feel like drinking water, just do it.

During the night you sweat a lot, hence your body needs some hydration.

And even more, just 1 glass of water helps in waking you up, giving you some energy and — if it’s important to you — jumpstart your metabolism!

FYI a normal person SHOULD drink an average of 3 litres of water per day. I know, it’s quite a lot. I’m not even sure if I make it every day, but I really try and I do drink a lot of water. Try to skip those energy and sugary soft drinks.

4. Stretching, yoga, or exercise

I stretched this morning.

I’m currently 34 years old and I played basketball yesterday. This morning when waking up, I felt like 84 years old. My neck hurt, my back, my knees…

So the first thing I did was doing some stretching and foamrolling. So good!

I helps with keeping your body flexible and in shape, starts the blood flow, which in turn brings you energy. After just 10 minutes of stretching and rolling, I felt reborn.

On other days, I go for a walk or swimming (yes, tomorrow I’m going swimming at 7AM. I’ll wake up at 6:30). Let’s make a plan for tonight:

• Set alarm clock at 6:30AM
• Prepare swimming bag with swimming pants, towel and diving glasses
• Purchase food (eggs, guacamole, cream cheese, bread and smoked salmon), to eat when I get BACK from swimming.
• Prepare clothes to wear when I leave for the pool

Sounds like a plan. I’m excited!

5. Limit your social media time

As I’ve said before, social media is really terrible.

While it’s a nice way to stay connected with friends and family, it’s really an attention grabbing addictive tool.

Limit it during the morning, and limit it during the day. If you really want to scroll through those feeds; do yourself a favour and set a time and time limit for yourself.

6. Make a plan for your day

This can also be done in the evening or the day before (or in my case, the week before).

In my daily life, I’m an IT project manager and I manage my life the way I manage my IT projects.

I have big goals I want to achieve, and I break them down into smaller, achievable daily tasks.

In the morning, I check and prioritize my to-do tasks, and get started. Yes, tasks change and there are always new ones coming in — think about emails from your boss, requests from friends, family or unforeseen stuff coming up. Prioritize.

Review your list daily and adjust if necessary to stay on track.

Organization, planning and goal setting are the major key points to a successful life.

Key Takeaways 🔑

While these habits are extremely productive, you’ll probably need to find your own way.

Everyone’s situation is different, but in the end it all boils down to the same things:

• Prepare in the evening
• Wake up early
• Drink water
• Exercise
• Limit social media
• Plan

Just give it a try — your mornings (and your productivity levels) will thank you.

Thank you for reading!

If you’ve got questions or thoughts, let me know and I’ll get back to you! Follow or 👏 if you’d like to see more content like this. Or buy me a coffee, this stuff is magical 😉

P.S. did you already get my free e-book?