There’s a saying that goes, ‘if you don’t run the day, the day runs you’. To a certain extent, this is true. If you don’t set out to win the day and get everything done in the least stressful way possible, chances are, you’re going to come up against some issues. Here’s everything you need to know about winning the day so you can improve every area of your life:
Set Up A Wonderful Night Time Routine
The first thing you need to do is set up a wonderful night time routine. This routine should be designed to get your mind and body in the mood for sleep. You need to take the time to wind down and de-stress before bed so you can drop off easily and get a good quality of sleep.
What can you do? Some people like to take a hot bath. This can be very relaxing, and the body temperature tends to cool down once you’re out and make you feel sleepy. You can also try reading, knitting, or something else as long as it doesn’t involved you staring into a screen. Anything to do with the TV or your phone is going to confuse your circadian rhythm and make you feel wide awake. You could also make yourself a cup of caffeine free bedtime tea, and dim the lights to let your body know that it’ll be bed time soon.
Make Sure You Love Your Sleeping Conditions
Your sleeping conditions also need to be great for you to get a quality night’s sleep. Even if you have wound down and feel ready for sleep, you can wake up multiple times in the night without the right sleeping conditions. Your room should be pitch black, as well as the correct temperature to allow a quality sleep. You should also make sure you have the right amount of pillows to support your head and neck, and that your bedclothes are comfortable on your skin. Mattress-guides.net is a helpful resource and can help you to select a mattress based on your needs. You may want to choose your mattress based on the way you sleep, as side sleepers and back sleepers, for instance, may have very different needs. When it comes to preparing for a good night’s sleep, some people often look to alternative methods that improve their sleep quality. There are various products that you can get over the counter that can help to do this. From sleep aids to melatonin to cannabis products similar to zeus og, there are different types of medicinal aids you can have right before bed to improve your sleep.
Have A Morning Routine That You Love
Now you’ve got the sleeping part down, you need to develop a morning routine that you love. Sometimes, it doesn’t matter how great your sleep was; if you hate getting up in the morning, you won’t want to start the day.
When you wake up in the morning, you have to make a decision. Do you get up and start winning the day immediately, or do you snooze and start letting the day run you instead? Try to get up as soon as you wake up. Putting your alarm across the room can help you with this, as you’re forced to get up and turn it off.
Your morning routine can consist of anything as long as you enjoy it. You want this routine to feel relaxed, so it’s a good idea to get up 45-60 minutes an hour before you usually do if you often find yourself rushing to get ready. Take the time to drink something hot, maybe read a chapter of your book and start the day doing something you enjoy. Many people like to incorporate exercise, even if it’s just 5 minutes to get the blood and oxygen flowing. This should make you feel more energised in an instant!
Always Make Your Bed
If you don’t already, get into the habit of making your bed in the morning. This will give you a feeling of accomplishment pretty much as soon as you wake up. It also tidies up your surroundings so you’re not so distracted by mess!
Drink Water As Soon As You Get Up
Most people don’t realize that they feel groggy when they wake up not because they haven’t had enough sleep or because they need coffee, but because they are dehydrated! Aim to drink a big glass of water as soon as you can. Don’t take your time with it either. Drink it all as quickly as possible, and you should find your body soon responds and wakes up.
Avoid Your Emails
The key to getting things done is to avoid your emails, at least for the first hour of the day. Get some real work done instead! Your emails can be a huge distraction. You can get stuck on them for ages and then find yourself flicking backwards and forwards the rest of the day. Avoiding them for as long as possible is a great way to actually get stuff done.
Visualize The Day
Visualizing the day helps you to get super clear on the sort of day you want to have. How do you want to feel today? What do you want to get done? What do you want to happen in the gym, and at work? Spend a good 5 minutes, or even 2 minutes visualizing it all. Really try to feel it as if it has already happened. Many people swear by this method for getting things done. Try affirmations too, as they can actually rewire your brain with consistency!
Follow A To-Do List (But Don’t Overwhelm Yourself)
Create a to do list of priorities, but make sure you don’t overwhelm yourself. Some people simply don’t get everything done because they expect too much of themselves each day, and they feel disappointed when they don’t get it all done. Figure out what is most important, and then anything on top of that is a bonus. You’ll feel under less pressure and might just get more done. It’s a good idea to put a time frame on everything, and create yourself a bit of a timetable for the day if you have lots of important things to do.
Incorporate Exercise
Incorporating exercise into your morning routine is wonderful, but you should also incorporate a good session into the rest of your day. You could do your main session in your morning routine, in the afternoon, or whenever suits you best. Bear in mind that exercise in the morning can wake you up, fill you with endorphins, and make you feel accomplished for the rest of the day. Some people find it difficult to exercise in the evening, especially after work. However, for those who do, they may find they get a better quality of sleep (although some find it more difficult to drop off).
In the long term, exercise is a must for your physical and mental health. Those who exercise live longer, better quality lives with less anxiety and other issues.
Read A Little Non-Fiction
Reading non-fiction is a great way to work on and develop yourself. It can give your brand new insights and great tips on how to improve on various areas of your life. Tim Ferriss is a great author for books that help to motivate and inspire people. Reading things like this early in the morning is a great way of injecting a little more energy into your day.
Meditate
Meditation can be incorporated any time of your day. Some people like to include it in their morning routines to make sure they get it done before life gets in the way. Some like to do a short session both in the morning and in the evening, during the evening session they may incorporate shroom edibles into their meditation to help open up their minds and become more in tune with what they are doing. Some people said that they got 30-50% more done in a day, all with less stress when they meditated in the morning. There are a number of different research-proven benefits, both mental and physical. Starting very small is better than nothing, so even if you do a minute or two to start with and build yourself up you’ll be able to enjoy the benefits.
The majority of world class performers do some kind of mindfulness exercise each day. You don’t have to meditate to be mindful, but it’s a great way to be more mindful as you focus on your body and your breathing. It can take practice to get used to, but consistency is key. Try an app if you don’t want to go it alone at first.
Drink Matcha Tea
Matcha tea is something that monks have drank for hundreds of years. It contains caffeine, but it gives more focus and mental clarity without the jitters that coffee can give you. One matcha tea is equivalent to around 10 cups of regular green tea! You can have coffee, but it’s best to keep it fresh if you want as many benefits of possible. If you’re sensitive to caffeine, even hot lemon water is a great way to give you a little energy.
Journal
Journaling can be therapeutic; it can help you to see any patterns in your life and may help you to come up with solutions to problems. It’s also a way to make you count your blessings by writing down the good things that happened that day. The 5 minute journal is a great tool if you want to do this efficiently. Reading back on a later date has also been shown to improve happiness too!
Are you ready to win the day?