Some people say that the key to having a productive life is developing a morning routine. However, because we all have different personalities and different responsibilities, it is important that we develop a routine that fits our lifestyles.
What’s common among all of us is that the more productive we are, the better we feel about ourselves. In other words, achieving goals makes us feel happier and more satisfied. For this reason, we have done some research on sleep experts’ and productivity leaders’ opinions on how to create a morning routine that will help us become more productive individuals throughout the day. In order to present our findings, we’ve created the following scenario:
It’s Sunday night and you must go to work tomorrow. Before getting ready for bed, it’s a good idea to prepare your meals for Monday, preprogram your coffee maker, choose the clothes you want to wear, set your alarm to 6 a.m. or even earlier and separate yourself from all your electronic devices at least 90 minutes prior to bedtime.
When you wake up Monday morning, don’t press snooze! We know this could be challenging the first couple of days, but trust us, waking up as soon as your alarm goes off will save you some time and will help you to not stress out about arriving late to work.
When you get yourself out of bed, it’s important that you follow a routine. For example, brush your teeth, take a shower, get dressed, have breakfast, make your bed, grab your things and go to work. Experts suggest that in order to get your blood flowing is good to get moving when you wake up. If you can’t exercise in the mornings, a good stretch might help.
Once you get to work, do a list with all the tasks you want to accomplish before 5 p.m. and schedule them depending on the level of difficulty. It’s recommended that you start with your most challenging tasks early because it’s when your brain is more prone to focusing better without distractions. Try to get yourself involved in some creative projects to keep you engaged and relaxed. Moreover, another tactic that will keep you focused is listening to music or white noise. Try to keep yourself off your phone, unless it’s a work-related call, text or email. Although we all might enjoy watching cute puppy videos or tagging our friends on memes, this takes away some precious time from our day.
After being productive at work, it’s important that you don’t forget to exercise if you didn’t do it already. According to health experts, it is recommended to exercise 30 minutes a day for at least five days a week. Exercising will not only help you to reduce stress levels, but it will also help you to have a deeper sleep. Don’t forget to dedicate some of your time to doing what you love. Either it’s reading a book or spending time with your family.
After you’re done with your activities for the day, repeat the routine. It will take you 21 days to make this routine a habit, so take your calendars out and start marking the days off!
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Michelle Bizet is a senior in public relations at the University of Florida. She loves working in the communications field and she is very passionate about the labor nonprofit organizations do. When she is not managing social media or studying for school, she can be found running The Swamp or cooking delicious and nutritious meals.