I don’t know about you but I struggle to be productive for at least the first 2 hours after getting up out of bed in the morning. It’s so easy to wake up on a weekend and reach over, rip your phone off charge, and spend half an hour scrolling mindlessly through Instagram or switching on the TV and watching good morning Britain until the unproductive guilt kicks in. After a prolonged period of screen time, I find it increasingly hard to motivate myself to have an extremely productive day if I do not start straight out of bed. So, how can you have a relaxed morning that leaves you feeling energised and motivated for the rest of your day? Well…
Stay Away From Screens – My whole attitude in the morning completely changes if I stay away from digital devices. Yes – This means no morning TV binge-watching and no Instagram morning mantras. If you must check a screen, let it only be your emails as these are the only things remotely important – this coming from a student. Ignoring the pull of social media procrastination and instead swap this out for a read or some form of 5-10 minute yoga or meditation really helps to refresh and begin your day with a clear mind.
Exercise – This one is kind of a no brainer. It’s so hard to motivate yourself in early mornings to get up and go on a run, head to the gym or try out that new home workout. However, once you start this routine, it is so easily up-kept and it really does leave you feeling great. I personally don’t like to pay for gym memberships when I can do home workouts or run outdoors. The combination of morning exercise and the fresh outdoor air really is a great way to start a productive day and really clear the mind - keeping you physically and mentally fit also!
Read – Personally one of my favourite ways to begin a free day is to read. I prefer to avoid e-readers and instead pick up a weighty print book, again attempting to avoid too much early morning technology. Reading a great fiction or non-fiction helps to get me out of my own head for an hour or so and unlike TV I feel great after doing so! Reading is also scientifically proven to help strengthen and enrich your mind. Start your day by feeding your mind!
Meditate Or Try Morning Yoga – I have been to many a yoga or meditation retreat if not doing so in my own home. I always return home feeling revived and energised. Even a quick 5 minute morning yoga session helps me to feel awake and less sluggish when starting my day – no matter how busy a day it is. Both meditating and yoga are great ways to relax and unwind before a potentially crazy day. There are so many apps available now such as Insight Timer, Headspace and Sanity and Self. I use all of these apps for morning and evening meditations as well as after a busy day at university to help relieve stress!
Drink Herbal Tea – Coming from a coffee person, I know this can be hard and by all means I am not saying give up coffee! But every now and then swapping out a black coffee for peppermint or green tea really does help. It really is a great way to start your day and is such a healthy alternative. If you want to keep your caffeine cravings at bay then I would say green tea is your best herbal option as peppermint and chamomile and many other herbal alternatives are caffeine-free.