The Real Reason Your Mornings at Work Aren't Productive

The reason behind poor mornings at work and not being as productive as you can be is a lack of routine post-wake up! There are a whole host of documented successful people and world leaders that have a structured, early morning and here’s how you can follow suit:

1.    Wake earlier- What do Tim Cook, Richard Branson and Oprah Winfrey have in common? They all wake up prior to 06:00! Follow their lead and you will have more time to get stuff done before most people even start work. If your productive/creative time is in the morning, then why not capitalise on it? To start waking up earlier, move you wake up time in small, manageable steps. Try rising 15 minutes earlier each week. Your sleep becomes patterned, hence why you find yourself waking before the alarm clock sometimes. To keep a static sleep pattern, stick to it on the weekends as well. If you want to catch up on sleep, go to bed earlier!

App we recommend: SleepCycle

2.    Exercise- Everybody knows, but very few do. The benefits to grabbing some exercise before you start your day could take up a whole article, but here are a few; gets the blood flowing, organs starting, loosens joints and muscles, increases focus and motivation. You don’t have to get down the gym to get your morning fix. Just 7-20 minutes of exercise will boost your body, whether that is a dog walk, walking to work, or a quick circuit, all will help to kickstart your day! There are plenty of apps, including 7-minute workout, that helps you out when you are stuck for ideas, give it a go and let us know how much better you are feeling.

App we recommend: 7 Minute Workout

3.    Breakfast- Getting a great breakfast really is the catalyst for the rest of your day. By great breakfast we are not referring to a cereal bar grabbed from the café at work. Cut out the high-sugar breakfast and replace with a protein and fat fuelled one! By getting a high protein, high-fat breakfast, you will suppress your appetite, prevent hunger pains and you will not feel hungry again until post-2pm! It’s worth the 10-minute preparation the night before.

App we recommend: Paleo Recipes for Breakfast

4.    Meditate- Those Tibetan monks are on to something! Meditation has a long list of benefits that include; increased focus and self-control, jumpstarting creativity and alleviating psychological stress. It is practised on a daily basis by some of the world’s greatest leaders and is scientifically backed up as useful. What better time to get your meditation kick than in the morning? And now it doesn’t take longer than 10 minutes per day. Try the Headspace app for beginning meditation.

App we recommend: Headspace

5.    List- In order to get going and break down that to-do list (whether work or personal), try knocking off the biggest thing on your to-do list first thing. Just as you start work, carry this out prior to checking emails

App we recommend: Wunderlist

There you have it, an easy way to structure your morning. Wake earlier, exercise, eat a good breakfast, meditate and knock the biggest thing off of your list. At the maximum this may take an hour, leaving you to get to work and a head start with plenty of time.

What do you include in your morning routine? Let us know in the comments below