5 Steps to Take Each Morning to Maximize Productivity

Starting off each day with the right mindset is crucial to your mental wellbeing and productivity. With the new normal of working from home, many of us have had to make adjustments to do our jobs from home. Working from home comes many new distractions and interruptions. This is where a morning routine becomes crucial to having a successful day. Morning routines can sound daunting, but they don’t have to be. Set yourself up for success for whatever the day throws at you.
Here are 5 steps that you can implement today to prepare yourself for the day ahead.

Wake Up Early

This is assuming you get a decent night’s rest. Otherwise, this first step will be tough. What constitutes “early?” That’s going to be different for each of us, but I choose to get up at 5 am. Let’s say the average person wakes up at 7 am every day. By waking up at 5 am, you get 2 hours extra each day, 14 extra hours a week, and 728 extra hours per year, which translates to 30 days. That extra 2 hours each workday allows me to have some time to myself and get a head start on the critical tasks that I need to accomplish that day. They say you cannot buy time, but if you manage it correctly it feels like you did.

Drink Water

Upon waking up I consume roughly 24 ounces of water. Your body wakes up naturally dehydrated, so drinking that initial glass of water will give you a bit of a cognitive boost.

15 Minutes of Me

This is part of my “why” for waking up early. This is a time for ZERO distractions! No phone, TV, computer or even another person. I set my coffee maker to automatically start brewing each morning at 5 am. By the time I’m up, my teeth are brushed, and a glass of water has been consumed, I’m ready for that magical first cup of coffee. I take my coffee and my book and go sit outside on my screened-in porch to enjoy the fresh air, listening to the birds chirping, sipping on a hot cup of delicious coffee. You can opt to write or journal instead of reading, but I choose to read on a consistent basis. Reading gets my brain into the right mindset for my job in content creation.

15 Minutes of Movement

This will vary from person to person. This is not intended to be a workout by any means. This 15 minutes of movement is intended to get you into a flow state and signal to your brain that it’s time to crush the day. This could be a brisk walk or even a short yoga routine to work out the kinks from sleeping. I personally choose to do 100 push-ups. I break them up into 4 sets of 25. At the end of the 4th set, I feel alive and full of vigor.

BONUS Tip

Throughout the day, try implementing the 90/20 rule. Spend 90 minutes focused on a specific task, and then take a 20-minute break. By taking the 20-minute break to get a snack, take a walk, or something less mentally taxing, your brain can rebuild its stores of glucose, preparing you for another 90 minutes of focused work. This is extremely helpful for me working from home and remaining at peak mental performance for the duration of the workday.
At this point, My brain is primed for a day of creative writing and content creation. Even though I cannot guarantee the outcome of my day, I’m positioning myself to be able to deal with whatever gets thrown at me and continue to move forward.