5 Ways to Boost Your Morning Routine

Need more energy these days? Struggling with your morning routine? If you’re like a lot of people operating under the new normal of working from home, mornings might be more stressful and exhausting than usual.

Between attempting to keep to some kind of routine or schedule, helping your kids through their online schooling, trying to be as productive as possible, and more, being pooped by 9:30am and dragging through the rest of the day is not unheard of!

But, you don’t have to suffer. Try adding some or all of these five activities to your morning routine to feel better, more positive, and more energetic throughout the day.

Start Your Day with a Morning Workout

Waking up even just a half hour early to jog, cycle, stretch, lift a few weights, or do yoga might not sound like your idea of a great morning. Once you get in the habit, though, you won’t believe how much a little morning exercise affects the rest of your day.

When you make exercise a priority, you benefit from:

• Increased endorphin levels that give you energy.
• Sharper focus that makes you more productive.
• Improved mood that gives you a positive outlook on the day (this one’s especially important nowadays!)
• Better sleep that prepares you for tomorrow.

Start with 20-30 minutes of exercise each morning for one week. You will notice a difference that keeps you motivated. Who knows, you might end up feeling so good you may even want to push that to 30-45 minutes, or even an hour of exercise for a great new morning routine!

Spend a Few Minutes Journaling

Writing in a journal gives you an opportunity to set goals and focus on the positive aspects of life.

You don’t have to write pages and pages to get results. The Five-Minute Journal makes it easy for you to set daily aspirations while helping you start the day with a positive perspective.

If you’re an early riser who has plenty of time in the morning, you can also sit down to write about your thoughts, ideas, and experiences. Freewriting can help you develop creative ideas. Many people also find it therapeutic.

Eat a Healthy Breakfast Full of Protein and Complex Carbohydrates

A cup, or several cups, of coffee will give you a quick boost of energy. Unfortunately, coffee’s effects only last 4 to 6 hours. Then, you find yourself in a mid-day slump.

Coffee’s great, but you should enjoy it with a nutritious breakfast full of complex carbohydrates and protein. Harvard Medical School suggests eating a breakfast with:

• Whole-grain cereals or breads that will keep your blood sugar stable.
• At least five grams of fiber.
• High-protein foods like Greek yogurt, eggs, or nuts.

Feeling rushed? Make a quick smoothie with fruit like bananas and berries, something green like baby spinach, almond milk, and chia seeds.

Drink Plenty of Water While You Work

During the night, your body goes 6 to 8 hours without water while you sleep. You don’t take in any water, but you still lose hydration through sweat, cellular repair, and breathing.

When you wake up, you’re already dehydrated. A lot of people make that problem worse by immediately chugging coffee, a diuretic that will make you need to use the restroom.

Add drinking a big glass of water to your morning routine, before you brew your morning coffee. The water will replace lost hydration and stimulate your metabolism. Add a squeeze of lemon for a little flavor.

Make Your WorkStation Work for You

How do you maintain your energy levels when you work? Some people flop into chairs but those can slowly lull them back to sleep. Staying stationary encourages you to grab more coffee, which, again, leads to an unavoidable crash that can ruin your afternoon.

You can stay positive, motivated, and energetic by making your workstation work for you. If possible, get a standing desk, or make one yourself, which will keep you awake and active. Even subtle movements will help you focus throughout the workday.

You get even more benefits when you stand on a FluidStance deck while working. The deck’s design will increase your heart rate, increase your energy expenditure (i.e. calorie burn), make you more productive, and keep your mind and body engaged while you work.

Make the most of your day by making smart, healthy decisions that will keep you energized, sane, productive, and happy.