Marcel Deer
Do successful people sleep in late, snooze, then get up and pour a big bowl of sugary cereal to eat in front of the TV for an hour in their robe and bunny slippers?
At least not every day.
No, if you want to be successful in life, say hello to these nine morning habits instead, and you’ll find that with a little discipline, your mornings will get easier.
And so will the rest of your life!
1) Prepping your morning the night before
OK, you got me!
I tried to sneak it in here, but you’re right – this isn’t a morning habit.
But it is a habit that affects and improves your mornings tremendously, so I think it’s still well worthwhile to mention.
I don’t know about you, but while I might have lazy periods during the day, I always seem to have some steady, low-level energy in the late evening until I go to bed.
This is the time when I like to do creative things like art or writing. But I also like to get things cleaned up and organized. I might lay out my clothes for the day, get my bag ready, charge my devices, or do whatever else needs to be done.
Why?
Precisely because cleaning and organizing are boring activities, they help to drain off my remaining energy and make me ready to hit the hay.
And if you use just a little bit of this time in this way, you’ll feel a certain satisfaction of accomplishing something right before laying your head down. You’ll sleep that much easier, and when you wake up in the morning, you’ll be that much more ahead of the game.
What’s not to like?
2) Turning off your alarm
I’m not talking about turning off your alarm in the morning and snoozing for seven more minutes.
I actually mean not turning on an alarm in the first place.
And yes, you can argue that, once again, this isn’t a morning habit. But here’s where you’re wrong.
I’m really talking about getting enough sleep so that you can wake up at the right time, feeling great, without needing to use an alarm.
What’s more morning-like than waking up!?
Getting enough sleep is one of the greatest things you can do for your mental and physical health. It’s easily as important as exercise and eating right, if not more so.
Sleep helps your brain flush out metabolites in a nightly “detox.” It gives you better focus and memory and protects you against dementia. It elevates your mood, helps you manage stressful situations better, and protects you against heart disease and diabetes.
Most adults need to get seven or more hours of sleep per night, so if you need to be up at 6:00 a.m., you should be asleep in bed by 11:00 p.m. at the latest. Then you’ll wake up feeling great!
3) Drinking water
This is one of the easiest morning habits to pick up, but it has an incredible number of benefits.
For starters, you haven’t taken in any fluids all night, and you may be dehydrated. Not sure? If your morning pee is medium to dark yellow, then you’re in a water deficit.
If it’s brown, you’re made entirely of coffee.
Getting those fluids in the form of pure water is way better for you than absolutely anything else. That morning glass of water helps your kidneys function, cleans out your urinary tract, improves your blood pressure, and lubricates your joints.
Drinking water before your morning coffee can make the coffee less harsh on your stomach. It also fills your stomach up a bit before breakfast, which can help you feel full and eat less if you’re trying to lose weight.
Stupendous!
4) Moving your body
If you can find time to fit some physical activity into your morning routine, do it!
Jogging, working out, swimming, and yoga are some of the top choices for morning activities.
They all allow you to move and strengthen your muscles and tendons, alleviate stress and strain in different parts of your body, and boost your cardiovascular system.
Plus, these activities help to oxygenate your brain, helping it work more efficiently.
If that’s not enough, exercise in the morning helps to improve your mood, and that’s something we can all use to get our days started.
5) Getting busy
There’s one other popular physical activity I forgot to mention.
Yes, I do mean sexy time!
I’m not saying you have to make a hard and fast habit of it every day, but a little morning nookie once in a while sure doesn’t hurt.
In fact, in addition to being the number one thing you probably want to say hello to, morning sex also has some other great benefits.
This is exercise, so that counts!
And on top of that (or on the bottom – however you wanna do it), it relieves stress and releases endorphins that improve your mood.
I mean, whose mood isn’t improved by sex, anyway?
6) Practicing gratitude
My dog likes to wake me up in the morning by whimpering until I open my eyes. Then she jumps on me, licking my face and wagging her tail like mad.
I always feel like she’s amazed and grateful that I’ve come back to life for another day.
It makes me feel that way, too!
Before I had the pup, I used to take some time to sit and reflect on positive things. It was a sort of meditation on the things that were going well in my life.
Many times, I sat and sat until I could think of something good. When times were really rough, being alive might be the only thing I could come up with. But it was something.
Some people journal or focus on positivity and gratitude while they do yoga.
Whatever works for you.
This is going to push you toward positivity, and that can guide you to succeed for the rest of your day.
7) Planning your day
Successful people realize that time is the most precious thing we have.
And they don’t waste it.
So if you want to be successful in life, planning your day in the morning is such a simple yet effective way to get you there!
All you need to do is sit down with your phone, planner, or even a pad and pen and write down the tasks the day holds for you.
Include your major work tasks, grocery list, errands you need to run, and calling your mom. Always try to get calling mom on the list.
This shouldn’t take more than five minutes, but trust me, it will be one of the best spent five minutes of your day. This easy morning habit will save you time running around in circles and keep you from forgetting important things like you otherwise do.
Plus, you’ll be able to scratch the first item, writing your morning list, off your list.
Accomplishment!
8) Making your bed
Speaking of accomplishments, why not knock something off your list even before you make it?
Making your bed is a great habit to get into if your parents or drill sergeant didn’t already pound it into you.
It takes only a minute or two but pulls the room together and sets things up for future you. When you’re ready to go to bed at night, that nicely made-up bed will look so much more inviting.
This is such a tiny little thing to do, but it’s an easy and effective way to build discipline that will help you in all facets of your life.
9) Talking to real people
I’m just as guilty as anyone else of having my devices at my fingertips nearly all the time.
But first thing when I wake up in the morning?
No, I’d never rush to check my messages or read the news even before I’ve spoken to my partner.
Not me!
Well, maybe sometimes, but it’s so hard to resist!
I’ll tell you the big problem of grabbing your phone first thing, though. It immediately cuts you off from the real world you’ve only just re-entered from the world of dreams.
You miss the sights, sounds, and sensations of reality, and that can put you out of touch with the world around you and also your own body and thoughts.
Give it a rest and pick up a real conversation instead.
Talk to the people who actually lie with you, and you’ll be amazed at how good that interaction can feel – especially compared to getting lost down a rabbit hole.
Conclusion
If you want to be successful in life, say hello to these nine morning habits.
None of these habits is really difficult to achieve. Just take the one at a time.
But once you start to add one and then another to your routine, you’ll find that you have more time, energy, and positivity to fuel you and lead you to success throughout each day.
