How to Create Productive & Best Morning Routine

Wake up to a shocking alarm ring, begrudgingly rub your eyes whilst feeling your eyes burn and snooze the alarm just to get 15 more minutes of shut-eye time.

The alarm rings again and now you know you are going to be late for work so you jump out of bed, immediately make some coffee as you know it is the only way to wake you up in the morning. What follows is heavy traffic, loud noises, the radio full of advertisements before you reach work for another day’s grind.

It doesn’t sound like a perfect life but that’s how everyone who wants to run a home and have a certain standard of living must survive right? Let’s think again.

Tim Ferris, one of the most celebrated authors and a magnificent human, recommends for you to make your bed immediately after you get up to achieve a sense of accomplishment first thing in the day. “It’s hard for me to overstate how important this ritual has become,” says Ferris who picked this philosophy up during his time living with monks and meditating.

Steve Jobs also had a simple morning routine. He would rise in the morning, make his bed, shower and then look at himself in the mirror, eye to eye and ask himself, “If today was the last day of my life, would I be happy with what I’m about to do today?” If the answer was a “no” for too many days, he knew he had to change something substantial in his life.

There are several examples of people who had an impact in the world, having a ritual that connected with their larger philosophy in life. And it isn’t necessarily something massive and time-consuming like meditating for an hour or hiking in the forest for a couple of hours every day (Although if one can afford to, there is nothing like it!).

It is mostly something that DOES NOT take too much time, is easy, and doesn’t cost anything. However, such rituals in the morning do ONE thing that does have an unfathomable impact on our life.

They set the tone for the rest of the day. The simple act of making your bed every morning makes you believe in your identity as an organized and responsible person. Looking yourself in the mirror and asking a deeply introspective question makes you check in with your faint inner voice throughout the day when you need to make big decisions.

There is an age-old adage that goes like this: How you do anything is how you do everything.

How you start your day will probably decide how well you perform at your team meeting at work or how proactive you are in spending quality time with your family in the evening.

There is something magical in the small hours of the morning, especially before sunrise when there is a divine silence and a whole lot of bottled up energy that is about to be unleashed with the sunrise.

The Ancient Yogis realized this and hence, they prescribed in the evergreen scriptures of Yoga to rise 2 muhurats (Sanskrit terminology to measure time wherein 1 muhurat is 48 minutes long) ie 1 hour 36 minutes before sunrise and practice some form of mindfulness habit or meditation.

Also Read: How CBD Can Deepen Your Meditation Practice

This ethereal part of the day is known as Brahmamuhurata aka The Creator’s Hour.

One seems to have a better momentum to have an inner dialogue with the pervading silence and serenity that prevails, and we all can do with some silence and inner dialogue from time to time 😀

Don’t worry, we are not recommending that you start waking up this time from tomorrow onwards. Take it slow. Make really small changes. Consider waking up AND sleeping slightly earlier than you usually do and consider one of the following possibilities as part of your mornings.

Lemon Water: Starting your morning routine by alkalizing your system and detoxing is a great idea. Hot or cold, as you like. The point is to make it fun so that you look forward to it. Mindfully sip the drink while thinking of JUST one thing you are grateful for in your life.
Gaze at the rising sun. Getting some outdoor light and fresh air just for a moment can do wonders. It activates the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN), also known as a circadian pacemaker, which is basically the conductor of our endocrine system. It optimizes the hormonal secretions but it needs morning light to activate itself and start doing the job it was meant to, at the right time. This will also ensure that you start feeling groggy in the evening at the right time and you don’t lie down restless with thoughts running through your mind, unable to sleep.
Write a page about ANYTHING, but just write. The act of writing is like an active meditation, wherein you check in with yourself about how you are feeling and what you are thinking. You can even note down the dreams that you had to see patterns and maybe get some clues for your life.
Breathe! This is my favorite one. Sit comfortably on your chair, meditation cushion, or even lying down on a yoga mat (not on your bed though as that can be a risky proposition :P) and breathe, deeply, in and out while relaxing your body. Although it is recommended to follow a guided practice. You can try one by clicking here. All it takes is just 5 minutes of time and give yourself a new Zen you. Ha!
Make a Vision Board. Put all the images or words that excite you. Make your dreams tangible on aboard. Every morning, first thing, look at the vision board and feel the emotions as deeply as possible that get invoked when you spend time doing this. This can be MUCH more powerful than you think in making the universe conspire to make your dreams come alive.
Do 5 Push-ups. We recommend just 5 to make it easy initially and avoid any soreness that lingers on and adversely affects your day. If you are an active person in general, do more but make sure to keep it in your comfort zone. When you make your heart pump first thing in the morning, it sets up your body to tackle the day and most importantly, prime your digestion to process all the lovely meals that are to follow.
I bet that after going through the list, you feel like doing ALL OF THEM! Well, you could, however, as mentioned, but do not be over ambitious as our brain is not trained to make big shifts in short periods of time (except big life events like an accident or getting married)

It is much more important to start small but ensure that you stay consistent over a period of time, the habit then gets installed and you can consider adding on levels to it without the worry of feeling overwhelmed.

Pro Tip: Don’t cut down on your sleep to perform your morning rituals as that might cost you in the long run.

We would love to hear your morning rituals and ideas that were not mentioned here to add value to our community and share your wisdom! Good luck!

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