For the majority of people, morning grogginess seems to be the biggest productivity problem as well as a huge mood breaker. Of course, starting your day feeling like this can only further impede the productive and positive aspects of the rest of it. The biggest problem seems to stem from the very start of the workweek – Monday. While we all hate Mondays, if you can start all your days right from the start, maybe Mondays won’t be so bad after all. Read on to learn how to start your morning right for a more productive workweek.
Also read:4-Hour Work Week Book Summary: 6 Key Things You Can Learn
Work on Your Nighttime Routine
We have already talked far and wide about the connection between sleep and productivity and the importance of a good night’s rest for the following day to be productive and happy. Even though you might be tired of hearing this, there is much truth behind it. A good nighttime routine will affect your mood and energy levels the next day considerably.
Don’t fret, though, as you don’t have to go to bed too early or set your alarm for early morning hours in order to get productive sleep and start your morning right the next day. It only takes small changes to make a world of difference for the quality of your sleep. Keep the following tips in mind, as they’re crucial for waking up well-rested in the morning.
- As often as possible, do your best to go to bed at around the same time every night.
- If you can’t live without coffee or tea even in the evenings, opt for herbal teas and decaf coffee.
- Contrary to popular belief, drinking alcohol before bed won’t help you sleep better. It may make you drowsy, but you won’t get adequate rest from your sleep while alcohol is still in your system.
- Before you go to bed, make it a point to turn off all the lights and possibly even reduce the heating, as you’ll sleep better in a cooler room.
- Just like bedroom lights, blue light from the gadget screens can disrupt your sleep cycle. Stay away from your phone, tablet and laptop while in bed.
- Add a certain bedtime ritual that will help you relax and signal your brain it’s time to sleep. This can be a skincare routine, meditation, taking a bath, and so on.
Manage Your Snoring
You might not even be aware of this, but if you snore while you sleep, your sleep patterns will automatically become disrupted. People who snore chronically simply can’t get a full REM sleep cycle, which is necessary for proper rest and waking up energized in the morning.
Even if you have impeccable nighttime and morning routine rituals, you still won’t feel its productivity benefits if you snore. Therefore, we suggest looking into some anti-snoring strategies. It’s possible to take up certain “exercises” that would strengthen the throat muscles or even use special anti-snoring devices. It may feel troublesome in the beginning, but you’ll soon get used to this, and the improved quality of sleep will make it worth it.
Forget About the Snooze Button
Not everyone wakes up with an immediate burst of energy, all ready to jump out of bed. Feeling a bit groggy when the alarm goes off is completely normal, but to start your morning right, you need to fight the grogginess with the practices discussed here.
However, you can make things much worse if you reach out for the snooze button in your grogginess. Falling asleep once again causes another sleep cycle to start. Once you hear the alarm again after this brief moment of a new sleep cycle, your body and mind will take a more damaging “hit.” Even though it may be challenging at first, get into the habit of gradually getting up once you hear your alarm for the first time.
Give Yourself Enough Time in the Morning
You don’t have to wake up outrageously early, but it would be ideal to set your morning alarm an hour or two (or more if possible) before you have to get to work.
This will provide you with enough time to get up, get ready, do things that relax and inspire you, (meaning no work-related stuff before the actual work!) and get to work without having to rush and stress about being late. Hitting the snooze button is a productivity killer, especially when you start your workweek like that.
Utilize the Power of Natural Light
There are heaps of natural light benefits and early exposure to it can make a huge difference to start your morning right.
Ideally, you should take a stroll outside for about 20 minutes, but if that’s a no-go, at least open up the blinds and maybe the windows to soak up that energizing sunlight for a couple of minutes. This will wake you up and refresh you for the day and workweek ahead.
If you’re interested in additional tips to start your morning right for a fresh start to the workweek, we suggest first making some changes to your evening routine.