Let’s face it, mornings are tough, especially when it’s cold and dark and all you want to do is crawl back into your warm, comforting bed. The routine that works well in the summer might be much harder in the winter. Or you might find that you are just getting bored of doing the same things every day.
Making a few small changes to your morning routine can spice things up, ensuring that you start the day in a great mood, ready to meet its challenges head-on. Here’s a look at a few things that you can do to spice up that morning routine for happier, more productive days.
Change Your Alarm
If your alarm tone is a harsh buzz that frightens you into the waking world each morning, you might not be starting your day on the best foot. Many people believe that a more soothing alarm tone, which offers you a gentle and gradual wake-up, helps you to wake up feeling more alert, less dazed, in a better mood, and ready to start the day.
Another option is a light that comes on slowly, waking you in the process by mimicking sunlight. This can help your body get into a natural rhythm and make mornings less of a shock to the system.
Get Up Earlier
Getting up earlier isn’t easy, especially in the winter when it’s cold and dark. But setting your alarm for a little earlier means that you’ve got more time in the mornings. This means you aren’t rushed, you can take some time out for yourself, and you never feel stressed before you’ve even locked your front door.
Don’t Look at Your Phone Straight Away
If you are guilty of spending the first ten minutes of your day catching up on social media, reading the news, looking at emails, and otherwise looking at your phone, you aren’t alone. But this sets the tone for your day. It gives your phone too much importance and makes getting out of bed harder. Leave your phone in another room and buy an alarm clock and you are more likely to get straight out of bed and hit the ground running.
Upgrade Your Morning Coffee
Your first cup of coffee is arguable the most important of the day. It’s the one that gives you a kick-start, but also the one that makes the morning more bearable. So give it some respect. Buy a good quality coffee that you love for this first cup, even if you drink cheap instant coffee at work for the rest of the day. If you don’t have a coffee machine, you can drink delicious coffee pods without a machine. Then give yourself time to savor it, instead of pouring it into a flask and drinking it on your way to work. You might even want to use a favorite mug and sit in a comfy chair. Taking some time out for yourself first thing in the morning like this can really set the tone, and your mood, for the day ahead.
Workout First Thing
Exercising first thing in the morning might not be easy if it’s something that you’ve never done before but it has many benefits. You are less likely to put exercise off if you do it early in the day, it will boost your circulation and help you to feel more alert and energetic for the rest of the day, reduce aches and pains, and it’s a fantastic mood boost.
Start Writing To-Do Lists
Having a to-do list waiting for you when you get up means that you can get straight on with your day, without wasting time figuring out what to do first.
Regularly Change Things Up
If you want to spice up your routine the best thing that you can do is change it up. If ever you start to feel bored, change your breakfast, try a new workout, or even take a different route or method of transport to work.
Spicing up your morning routine can help to remove boredom and mean that you always start your day in a good mood. Try these ideas and make some other changes of your own to add some sparkle to your mornings.
