Being successful in your work and everyday life means you need to start your day off right every morning. The best way to do this is to have a morning routine. Morning routines create structure in your day to help promote stress relief in your everyday life. By creation habit within your routine you will develop other good habits throughout your life. These things can help you be successful throughout your day and life just by doing these things every morning.

MAKE YOUR BED

Making your bed as soon as you get up can make a messy room look for tidy. By making you bed as soon as you get up before coffee or even before you do anything can allow you to feel motivation as soon as you get up (even if you don’t feel any motivation at all). A big plus to this is every night when you go to bed it can feel even more comfy because who doesn’t like sleeping in a freshly made bed. Adm. McRaven explains at a University of Texas, Austin commencement speech: “If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter.”

DRINK A GLASS OF WATER

You lose hydration in your body naturally while you sleep. To make up for this, “your body releases a hormone called Vasopressin to ensure you're retaining water during sleeping hours. Vasopressin ramps up most during later hours of sleep though, so if you're not getting at least eight hours of shuteye, you're more likely to be dehydrated when your alarm goes off in the A.M.” (Champion) Have you ever drank an ice cold glass of water as soon as you wake up? If noy give it a try! I promise you there is no better feeling. There are also some other benefits to drinking water in the morning including

1.     Improve Your Metabolism

Drinking water (approximately 20 ounces) can increase your metabolic rate by 30 percent, according to a study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. “Having a glass on an empty stomach helps put your body on a path toward more efficient digestion the moment you start your day.” (champion)

2. Alleviate Heartburn and Indigestion

3. Prevent Kidney Stones

4. Stop a Headaches

5. Help Flush Toxins from the Body

6. Digestion

Water can help you digest everything from the other day and keep a healthy digestion without constipation.

7. Keep You from Getting Sick

READ SOMETHING

There are many benefits to morning reading and journaling if you choose. It is important to take time for yourself to just relax and drink your coffee before the day. Our lives are busy and taking the time to just be with our selves and not be on our phones is tremendously beneficial to our mental health. You can read a chapter of your book every morning or choose to journal and write about anything in the world. This is a proven method to relaxation and stress relief, who wouldn’t want that before their busy day?

MAKE YOURSELF BREAKFAST

Most people will skip breakfast because they don’t have enough time or they are not hungry. Ultimately it is important to have breakfast every morning and take the time to just sit and relax before your day. Many studies have linked eating breakfast to good health, including “better memory and concentration, lower levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol, and lower chances of getting diabetes, heart disease, and being overweight. It’s hard to know, though, if breakfast causes these healthy habits or if people who eat it have healthier lifestyles.” (webmd) Breakfast can help replenish your body of fuel needed to get through the day without it you can end up feeling tired and sluggish.

MAKE A TO DO LIST

Now, you can do this while you’re eating or journaling. This is so important to staying organized and feeling less overwhelmed when you have a lot going on. In the mornings I always make a to do list this help me tremendously and it will for you too. While you’re at it, why don’t you write three big goals you want to achieve that day. That will spark your inspiration and motivation.

NOW YOU CAN FINALLY TURN ON YOUR PHONE!

Waiting until you do all these things above before you turn on your phone can allow you to find peace and relaxation. You will be on your phone and computer a lot all day long (depending on your job) and finding time just to disconnect is hard. Why not take it in the morning?

An article written by Mission couldn’t have said it better “When we turn our devices on first thing in the morning, we get bombarded with inputs. It’s like drinking from a firehose of information that keeps shifting our attention from one stimulus to another, each providing a hit of dopamine, that keeps us craving more. It’s the digital equivalent of snorting a few lines of cocaine when you wake up. But unlike cocaine, there’s no stigma to this behavior and so we don’t think it’s that big a deal.”

CONNECT WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS

It is important to connect with family in friends because the truth is a good morning text can go a long way. Making a couple minutes, maybe three to just texting your mom and dad or even your best friend good morning could make their day. It is also so sweet when you are away from home and send a text to you mom and dad when you wake up letting them know you are okay. This will ease all their worries.

The first hour of your morning sets the tone of your day, don’t you think it should be positive?

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