Summary: 9 Habits of Effectiveness
While there is no universally perfect morning routine, there are many similarities in the routines of successful people. Meditation, online sports betting, reading, and exercise are among the activities that many successful people fill their routines with. What almost everyone has in common is getting up early. But that’s probably because you have to take extra time with a full day and constant availability to be able to carry out your routines in peace. If you wake up at 8:00 a.m. and then still have time for your morning routine, that can be just as well.
Morning Routine Ideas: This really gets you going!
This chapter can be understood as a building block for your personally perfect morning routine. Here, it is important to try to adopt those habits that have a positive effect on one’s own well-being and to eliminate those that are not good for us.
Of course, there are countless other ways to design your morning routine and include individual activities. With the following habits, however, you can do little wrong and will take many positive effects with you in the long term. Why this is so is explained in detail with each routine:
1. Drink water
You lose a lot of water at night and start the day a little dehydrated. Additionally, drinking water on an empty stomach has many positive effects. The metabolism is boosted, and the many positive effects of sufficient liquid should increase. This includes healthy hair, a good complexion, and good digestion. By the way, that doesn’t mean that you have to do without coffee, but you should have something else in your stomach beforehand. Drinking water can also be used as a way to wake up. You prepare yourself for that.A full glass or bottle of water by the bed in the evening.
2. Sports and exercise
Working out, jogging, or swimming—only a few really stick to their sporting resolutions. The reason for this is often a lack of time or energy after a hard day. The morning therefore offers an ideal opportunity to devote oneself to one’s sporting activities. After that, you will be 100% fit and start the day with a lot of energy. In addition, the body releases happiness hormones when we exert ourselves during sport, which in turn leads to a positive start to the day.
It doesn’t always have to be an entire training session. A walk in the fresh air, a few push-ups, or stretching exercises achieve a similar effect. Anyone who is generally not active in sports should avoid morning training sessions without having anything in their stomach. The risk of overestimating your performance and overloading your body is significantly higher. In the event of an overload, acute problems occur, e.g., concentration disorders and dizziness, as well as a long regeneration time. It has not been scientifically proven that you lose weight faster by exercising on an empty stomach or that you attack muscle reserves.
Sports in the morning
While walking may not seem particularly effective, it has many proven benefits. The results of a 2015 study show that walking has a positive effect on blood pressure and heart rate and lowers BMI and cholesterol levels in health-impaired subjects. Regular exercise is extremely important, especially if your job mainly takes place in front of your desk. A review of data from over 300,000 Europeans shows that people who exercise regularly have a 16–34% lower risk of dying. Going for a walk also has a positive effect on our psyche. It relaxes, stimulates the mind, and, according to a British study, can prevent depression in the future.
3. Positive thoughts
Consciously engaging with positive thoughts promotes a focused and positive start to the day. There are different possibilities for this. Some focus on gratitude, others reflect on specific issues, and some deal with their goals and vision. For example, you can ask yourself the following questions and answer them in writing in a journal:
- Why is today an opportunity?
- What am I grateful for today and in life?
- What is my most important task today?
- What do I want to achieve this week?
- What good can I do for myself today?
- How can I improve today?
- What good can I do today?
The daily confrontation with positive thoughts not only puts you in a positive mood in the morning, but also changes your own perception in the long term. If you don’t want to ask yourself any specific questions, you can take a blank sheet of paper and just start writing.
There is an interesting study on the subject of gratitude. Participants with and without a gratitude diary were compared. The results show that the group with the gratitude journal was not only more optimistic and motivated, but also experienced less physical discomfort.
4. Meditation
Meditation is probably one of those routines that requires perseverance to perform consistently. The reason for this is that you feel like you are “doing nothing,” and the effects only become noticeable after a longer period of time. We live in the future most of the time instead of focusing on the present moment. That means we constantly think about what we will do next, what we want, or what we need. We no longer really perceive the outside world, and whole days or weeks can go by that we don’t really remember anymore. If we act in the now but our heads are in the future, we cannot really perceive the current moment.
Meditation is a mindfulness exercise and helps, among other things, to find inner peace, be more focused, and be more present. Meditation sharpens your focus on the now and allows you to focus on one thing for a longer or shorter period of time before moving on to the next task. Another result of meditation is being able to deal better with stressful or negative situations. If your attention is on the now, you don’t have to get upset about a traffic jam, for example, because it’s an unavoidable situation. Everything that comes after that—the reasons for the excitement—doesn’t take place in the present.
Living in a focused, mindful, and stress-free manner has many advantages, including: Focused work enables higher performance, mindfulness makes you happier, more relaxed, and creates a more conscious sense of time; and a stress-free everyday life reinforces these effects and prevents health problems. It will probably take a few weeks or even months to get to this point. It’s important to do it consistently, even if it’s just a few minutes a day. Over time, it will become easier and easier to meditate for a longer period of time and thus reach an even deeper state of mind. For example, it is possible to achieve out-of-body states.
There are various meditation techniques, all of which have a very similar goal. There are also various meditations combined with movement. These include yoga and Qi Gong.
5. Take a cold shower
There are different opinions about cold showers, but little scientific research. The fact is that a cold shower or alternating showers stimulates the circulation and makes you more awake. If you don’t really get going in the morning, you can help with cold water. On the other hand, cold showers can cause long-lasting cold sensations in the feet, legs, hands, and arms. The risk is especially high in the winter. Experience reports show that cold showers can increase energy levels over a longer period of time and trigger positive feelings. The latter could be because, like any other strong stimulus, endorphins are released. What is also certain is that you sharpen your willpower, overcome your weaker self, and expand your resistance to pain.
A study with over 3,000 participants examined whether cold showers have an effect on health. It actually turned out that the sick leave from the cold showers had reduced significantly. The skin also benefits from not using warm water, as hardly any moisture is removed from the skin when you shower. This preserves the natural protective film, which can reduce the development of wrinkles.
6. Reading
Reading has many advantages and even increases life expectancy. This was found in a study with over 3,600 participants, in which the subjects were divided into frequent readers and non-readers. The result: the group of frequent readers had a 23 percent higher life expectancy. Exactly why this is the case can have many reasons. For example, readers continue their education in a variety of ways, from which new opportunities, qualifications, and skills develop that contribute, for example, to better health and a higher income.
In addition to the rich content that one acquires through non-fiction books, novels or philosophical texts can influence creativity, attitudes, and communication. At the same time, you expand your vocabulary and learn to use new terms in everyday life. The more you read certain words, the faster your brain learns to recognize, understand, and pronounce them. That means the more you read, the better you get at it.
7.Yoga
Yoga is a mixture of movement, meditation, and breathing exercises. There are various variants and different levels of difficulty. Basically, it is about taking certain postures and holding them. Proper breathing is important. This has various effects on the body. Neurotransmitters can be influenced by appropriate breathing, one of which is e.g. Gaba. This ensures that the brain regulates its activities in a targeted manner, which prevents sensory overload. This enables focus and concentrated work. Yoga can increase gaba levels, making you calmer and more focused.
The exercises themselves have an influence on the circulation and improve flexibility and body tension. It is also interesting that overweight people have lost weight through yoga, although the intensity of the training was actually not sufficient for this. If you have never done yoga in your life, it is best to book an introduction with a trainer.
8. Breakfast
Whether you have breakfast or not depends on the type. Not everyone has an appetite or hunger in the morning, and there is no scientific evidence that the morning meal is a must for our bodies. If you are hungry or do morning exercise, you should have breakfast. In order to provide yourself with sufficient energy, the choice of the food is crucial.
9. Working
Many successful people go straight to work after getting up and checking off the most important task of the day. Of course, that doesn’t mean these people don’t incorporate positive routines into their mornings. If you work at 6:00 a.m. for two hours, you can start your morning routine at 8:00 a.m. and use this time as a longer break. Working early has the benefit of being 100% focused because there are no distractions. You won’t be contacted, it’s quiet, and your brain power is pretty high. This point is particularly relevant for anyone who wants to start their own business alongside their main job. After a full day’s work, you definitely have less energy, are significantly more distracted, and your brain is less efficient. Additionally, it’s a pretty good feeling when you’ve already worked two hours while everyone else is just getting up.
