With 2017 here, many of us have set up goals for ourselves that often impact our current lifestyles. Additionally, if you want to have a productive and beneficial day, it’s important to have a positive morning.
With that in mind here are some tips to start your day right:
Set Small Tasks
First off, set a daily goal each morning, even if it’s a minor goal (like making the bed before you leave the house). You’ll feel great mentally knowing you already accomplished something, and it’s one less thing you have to do when you get home.
Exercise!
Secondly, make sure to dedicate an extra half hour each morning to exercise. Whether it be something heart pumping like a jog around the block or mind focused like meditation; it’s important to not only prepare your body for the day, but your mind as well.
It’s also important to keep things interesting, this way you stay motivated and keep to your routine. Change where you run weekly, drop into some yoga classes, start a meditation group in the park, try new machines at the gym, become a foster parent to a dog or adopt to get outside and move around.
Fuel
Donuts, bagels, waffles, and anything else loaded with sugar and starches may help you wake up; however you’ll surely crash within a few hours only to need caffeine or more sugar to keep you awake.
Make sure to fill your body with protein and fiber in the morning, you’ll feel full and energized until lunch and you’ll be prone to eat a lot healthier. Eggs, avocados, oatmeal, yogurt, bananas, smoothies, toast, etc. are all a great way to start your day and are loaded with heart healthy nutrients to not only keep you satiated, but will help keep you healthy in the long run.
Moreover, if you do need that extra jolt of energy in the morning drink tea instead of coffee. Many teas contain natural ingredients, have antioxidants, and little to no sugar. Tea can also aid in weight loss and boost your immune system.
If you need some inspiration for a healthy start to your day, here is a list of wonderful breakfast recipes from “The Greatist.”.
Some of the recipes even include preparing breakfast dishes the night before, so you won’t have to worry about cooking in the morning.
Prepare
Speaking of preparation, don’t save the morning to rush around to make lunch, iron your clothes, pack your briefcase, etc. get into the habit of taking a half hour before bed to do this. Not only will you be more relaxed in the morning, but if you accidentally hit the snooze button and are running a bit late having everything prepared from the night before will definitely benefit you.
Get enough sleep!
Speaking of the snooze button, stop hitting it. The extra few minutes of sleep won’t do much and often will leave you groggier than before.
Make sure you keep your sleep schedule consistent; unless you work overnight, get to bed early and rise early so you won’t be so tired when Monday rolls around. Moreover, if you still struggle to get out of bed, consider buying a light-up alarm clock. Light-up alarm clocks mimic the sunrise and begin to wake you a half hour before your alarm actually goes off!
Also, don’t reserve the weekend for a time to catch up on lost hours of sleep. Not only does this cause havoc on your circadian rhythm, but you never really catch up on those few hours of lost sleep. If you do need to boost your energy take a small 15 minute nap during your lunch break. It will help clear your mind and prepare you for tasks when you get back into the work environment.
If your looking for even more ways to help kick-start your day, be sure to check out these 35 Quick and Healthy Breakfast Ideas for Busy People from our friends at Health Ambition! These breakfast ideas are perfect for someone looking for extra energy throughout the day, even if you don’t have a lot of prep time. Remember, if you set a schedule or morning routine, you’ll be feeling great in no time and will be on the road to accomplishing many goals. Do you have any routines you do in the morning before you start your day? If so, we’d love to hear about them in the comments below. Our insurance agency wishes you and your family a wonderful 2017!