Do you start your mornings frazzled? Running out of the door still getting yourself and your kids dressed as you rush off to drop off and work? That is not good. How you start the morning sets the tone for the rest of the day. You deserve to have all the great days, and so here are seven tips to help you have a fantastic start to the morning.
Don’t Hit Snooze
Do not hit snooze. Hitting snooze is not the answer to what you need. When your alarm goes off, get up. Easier said than done, but 100% worth the inconvenience. If you’re one of those people who find yourself snoozing consistently for 45 minutes, then just set your alarm for 45 minutes later. For example, if you set your alarm for 5:45 every day but never get out of bed until 6:30, then simply set your alarm for 6:30. You’ll be much better off getting consistent sleep for that 45 minutes than the in and out of snooze, lay back down, snooze, lay back down.
If you genuinely want to be waking up at 5:45, then set your alarm for 6:30 for one week. The next week set your alarm for 6:20 and get up at 6:20. The following week set your alarm for 6:10 and get up at 6:10. And so on and so forth. Until you are waking up at 5:45. The biggest trick here is to not negotiate with yourself when it comes to waking up early.
Waking up early must be a non-negotiable with yourself. Don’t ask yourself, “Do I feel like getting up right now?”. You never will, so just get up and get on with the day.
Hydrate
Our bodies need to be hydrated to function properly. To get your day started on the right foot, hydrate. If you are the kind of person who has the time and inclination to make a cup of warm lemon water, have that. If not, simply down a glass of tap water. Hydration helps to get your body and brain moving to have a great day.
Ignore Your Phone
To start the morning off right, you should start the morning off with yourself and your thoughts. Ignore your phone. Do not wake up and jump into checking email or scrolling social media. This is not a great way to start the day. Leave your phone on airplane mode for the first 30 to 60 minutes of being awake. If, for some reason, you cannot do that, then at least leave your phone in another room while you go through the motions to get your day started.
Stretch
Just like our minds need to wake up, our bodies need to wake up. A great way to start the day is to stretch. I’m not talking about 90 minutes of Bikram Yoga. I’m merely referring to 5 to 7 minutes of movement with the intention of waking your body up. Easy, slow, soft stretching will help your body prepare to have a great day.
Get Natural Light
Our bodies love natural light. Take a moment each morning to absorb some natural light. As you sit with your cup of coffee, sit near a window, and look out into the distance. If, like me, you wake up before the sun comes up, then once you notice sunrise take a moment to pause what you’re doing and enjoy the light that washes over your neighborhood.
Write Your To-Dos
An essential part of having a great day is knowing what will make it a great day. As a busy mom with her to-do list a mile long and 100 people who need something from us, we have to prioritize and be organized. Take a moment each morning to write down what you need to accomplish that day. Put those tasks in the order of most important to least important. Then as you go through the day, check them off starting at the top with the most important and ending your day completing the least important tasks.
Send A Thank You Text/Email
Gratitude is the attitude for a great day. Each morning take a moment to send a thank you text or email to someone you care about. It doesn’t have to be complicated, nor does it have to be long. A simple “You’re amazing, thank you for being in my life.” or “You’re the funniest person I know.” will suffice. These texts go such a long way because they not only help to put you in a mindset of gratitude, but they do it for someone else as well. So not only will you brighten your day, you’ll be doing that for someone that you care about. That is, for sure, an excellent start to the day.
Take Action
Now that you’ve been provided these tips, choose one and begin to do it tomorrow morning. The key to having a great day is taking action to bring forth greatness. You deserve a life experience of only exceptional days! These tips will help you achieve and maintain them.
Looking for more great self-care tips for busy moms, check out this post on 5 easy ways to feel better.
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Take action to start believing in yourself at How To Get Unstuck.
