How you spend your morning is crucial to how well you function the rest of the day. Those first few minutes define your day, and bad habits can make you waste valuable time. In this article, we reveal which bad habits you should remove from your morning routine.
The morning is the most important time of day to start being productive, and the morning hours are also considered to be the most stressful. Disorganization and a busy lifestyle can lead to the creation of bad morning habits, which later reflects on physical health, such as feeling exhausted, tired and sleepy. Furthermore it hurts productivity and ultimately success. Routines may seem pointless, but starting the day well is key to increasing productivity.
1. You move the alarm clock
The snooze alarm is number one on the list worst morning habits, which harm health and productivity. If you need more sleep, set your alarm later or simply go to bed earlier. Humans sleep in cycles of about 90 minutes, and by snoozing the alarm for 5 minutes of sleep, the brain receives a signal to start a new sleep cycle. When you start your day in this state, you will felt tired and you will want to go back to sleep, even though you slept for a good 8 hours.
2. You use your mobile phone as soon as you wake up
Our brains need to be given time to slowly wake up. Information overload before you wake up completely hinders your ability to prioritize tasks. Instead of focusing on your goals, your mind focuses on spam emails or negative content on social media.
Research has shown that 80 % smartphone users check their phones within 15 minutes of waking up. Whether it's social media, texts, email, or anything else you want to check, more than likely it's just going to add stress and distract you from your morning routine.
3. You prepare in the dark
It may sound strange, but cooking in the dark can wreak havoc productivity. According to a 2014 study published in the journal Stress, morning sunlight it affects something called the cortisol awakening response, which prepares the brain for the day ahead. Getting up and getting ready in a well-lit room can improve mood and performance for the rest of the day.
4. Skip breakfast
We all already know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so skipping it has a negative impact on our productivity. Our brains they need fuel to work and skipping your morning meal won't give you the energy you need. Eat whole foods in the morning and include more fruits and vegetables in your diet. If you don't have time to prepare healthy meals every day, try planning your meals in advance.
5. You lie down too long
Sometimes it's hard to get out of bed, so we lie down much longer than we should, but we can replace this bad habit with a healthier one. A walk or light exercise they are great for productivity and concentration. A 2019 study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that 30 minutes of moderate physical activity in the morning boosted brain power.
6. You have no scheduled commitments
Many people start their day without a plan. Then, when we end the day feeling like we haven't fulfilled our obligations, we ask ourselves why we feel that way. If you don't have a scheduled day, you fall into the trap of procrastination. You know you should do "something", but you don't know where to start. Therefore, to increase productivity, plan your day the night before.
