A good routine to follow on a daily basis incorporates habits that promote mental clarity, physical performance, goal setting, and overall enjoyment of life.
Start by waking up early, reading something empowering, praying or meditating, eating a healthy or intermittent fast, working out, writing your to-do list, taking a cold shower, journaling, plotting ideas, and counting your blessings.
You probably already know that what you do today heavily influences your future.
It would be easy to do nothing, but there’s so much to gain from having a good routine.
With that being said, why don’t we take a deeper look into what is a good routine to follow on a daily basis?
10 Ways To Start Your Day Productively
1. Wake Up Early
Early to bed, early to rise. That has been the key to success for most people. You see, burning the midnight oil isn’t necessarily an indicator of working hard.
In fact, it could be the opposite.
You could be exerting a tremendous amount of energy to function at those hours without producing anything special.
Performance is important.
And a good performer relies on a well-rested body to function at his or her best.
For as long as I have been unhealthy and unfit, I have been a night owl.
It was extremely difficult for me to change that. However, since then, I have gradually changed my sleep routine.
This has allowed my body to recover better and faster. I wake up earlier in the morning feeling rested and energized, unlike before.
My performance at my craft has improved drastically, and my moods have been much better.
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All in all, sleeping early and waking up early have been a recipe for success.
Do your best to go to sleep by 10:30 p.m. at the latest and be up by 7 a.m.
2. Read Something Empowering
Think of your mind like a sponge. The contents of your sponge determine longevity and performance.
When you feed your brain information that is designed to empower you, it will have the desired effect on your life.
That can only be achieved by absorbing information. The best way to do that is through reading.
Forget about the news and Facebook. You’re wasting precious brain space on negative or useless content.
Learn something new and empowering from a book and watch it transform the way you think on a daily basis.
Keep this in mind: Warren Buffet practically reads 500 pages of reports every single day, and he’s a billionaire.
Every morning I spend 30 minutes reading a nonfiction book to improve my knowledge as much as possible.
3. Pray Or Meditate For A Few Minutes
Nothing quiets the mind and provides clarity like prayer and/or meditation.
Irrespective of what you believe in, finding time to be silent will provide you with the benefits needed to find singular focus and mental clarity.
Every single day, I spend 15 minutes meditating in the morning, and I pray as much as I can for the rest of the day.
This has helped me to remain calm during stressed-out moments and find the focus needed to perform well at work.
Read more on how to break out of toxic beliefs.
4. Eat A Healthy Breakfast Or Intermittent Fast
What you eat will impact the way you feel on a daily basis. As someone who has suffered from an autoimmune condition, I have personally experienced the effect food has on my body.
With that in mind, make it a priority to fuel your body with food that can provide you with energy throughout the day.
Complex carbohydrates like brown rice and wholegrain toast, fruits, and vegetables will serve you well.
I tend to throw in a protein shake as well, since I workout hard.
Alternately, you can attempt to intermittent fast and skip ‘breakfast’ altogether.
Do this for a period of 16 hours, and break your fast thereafter.
5. Get A Quick Workout In
Exercising first thing in the morning is difficult, but the payoff is simply outstanding.
Not only do you feel more agile and loose, but your mind feels refreshed and positive due to the release of feel-good hormones like dopamine and serotonin during exercise.
I find working out to be therapeutic for my soul.
Pent up stress and frustration are usually channeled into energy that goes into my workout.
In the end, I feel calmer, feel better and look better.
Start with 15 minutes of exercise per day or 100 burpees or pushups. Work your way up as your fitness level increases.
6. Write Your To-Do List
Failing to plan is planning to fail. I used to be someone who winged it throughout his early life but that has not proven to be helpful in adulthood.
If anything, planning has been the single most effective productivity tool in my life.
Doing things aimlessly often leads to burnout and uncertainty.
Having goals and a structured to-do list has the opposite effect. It keeps you on track to achieving the accomplishments that are important to you. And it provides you with the focus to stick to important tasks.
Spend a few minutes every night to make a list of the 5 – 10 most important things to do today.
Then, arrange them in order of importance. Start with the most important task and work your way down the list.
This simple habit will transform your life.
7. Have A Cold Shower
I am a huge fan of David Goggins and something he advocates is suffering. Goggins believes that true happiness and freedom can only be achieved through suffering.
If you really examine life, you will find this to be true.
To develop a strong mind, you must suffer and face challenges. This is just a way of life.
But, most of us run away from suffering and then we wonder why we lack mental fortitude.
If you truly desire success in your life, make it a habit to do something you hate.
Try taking a cold shower first thing in the morning.
Most people who try this hate it. But, you must persevere. And as you do, the results are outstanding.
Also, cold showers are energizing, improve blood pressure, reduces inflammation, soothes irritated skin and prevents damage to hair and skin.
8. Journal Your Thoughts
By journaling, you can brain dump ideas, anxious thoughts and emotional baggage onto paper and out of your mind.
Doing this will free you up in ways that you can only imagine!
Spend just a few minutes journaling about how you feel, where you’re at with your goals, where you could have performed better and things that worked and failed in the last week or so.
If you’d like to read more on how to deal with negative emotions, check out this article.
9. Plot Ideas For Your Future
I thoroughly enjoy this daily habit because it motivates me to think about what is possible for the future.
As human beings, we ought to be evolving our mindset as often as we can.
Either reinvent or retire.
That’s my new philosophy on life, especially with my work.
Reinvention is only possible through ideas. So what I tend to do is incorporate this habit into my journaling.
I make a list of 5 ideas to improve my business or 5 ideas for a new business.
10. Count Your Blessings
Last but certainly not least, remember how lucky you are to have everything you have right now.
Here’s something for perspective – the average person today has amenities that were only available to the kings and queens of yesteryears.
We are essentially living way better now than even royalty did many years ago.
Be comforted by that.
When I pray, I usually start off by thanking God for everything and everyone in my life.
It makes me grateful and reminds me of how lucky I am.
Try doing this when you pray or when you journal. It could get you out of a funk.