It has taken me a long time to embrace being a morning person, but once I had kids, I was thrust into that lifestyle whether I liked it or not. Once I accepted it though, I was in love. I have grown to cherish my morning time when the house is still, I have control of the remote, and my coffee is hot. Some days I am in the kitchen in my leggings and tank top, glowing after a good workout. Other days I am still in my pajamas, braless, with dried mascara flecks sprinkled down my cheeks. Either way, I am in my happy place, and usually spending my quiet time making mental and/or actual lists of all of the things I want and/or need to get done that day. As I read the list, checking it twice, I am already feeling accomplished and proud because I have a list! I envision “I”ing out the items one-by-one like I did back in my auditing days, whittling the list down to nothing but success. But as the day goes on, my ability to cross things off gets harder and harder, and the list doesn’t seem as shiny as it did this morning. Instead it now feels like a list of chores and procrastination starts settling in.
In search of tools to help me keep my energy up and stay focused longer, I came across some research that found that “self-control and energy are not only intricately linked but also finite, daily resources that tire like a muscle.” We usually don’t realize it at the time, but as the day goes on, we have increased difficulty exerting self-control and focusing on the task at hand. As self-control fades, we feel tired, find tasks to be more difficult and our mood changes causing those shiny objects to become lackluster. This usually hits me too late in the day when I look back at my list on the train ride home and see that only half of the items have lines through them.
So what’s the trick? How can I extend that euphoric state of high-energy morning bliss and the feeling that I can conquer the world? Whether I’m in my capris or my pajamas, bra or no bra, these little, easy to adopt tips that I picked up in my research have helped tweak my morning routine enough to keep my energy up throughout the entire day!
- Start with exercise – researchers at the University of Bristol found that people who exercise during the workday have more energy and a more positive outlook, which are both critical to getting things done. Getting your body moving for as little as 10 minutes soothes your brain and controls your impulses. Exercising first thing in the morning ensures that you’ll have the time for it, and it improves your self-control and energy levels all day long.
- But first, drink some lemon water – drinking lemon water as soon as you wake up spikes your energy levels physically and mentally (and also gets things, um, “moving”). Lemon water gives you steady, natural energy that lasts the length of the day by improving nutrient absorption in your stomach.
- No screen time until breakfast – I know if I pick up my phone as soon as I walk downstairs to the kitchen, I start to spiral out of control as I read emails, texts, FB posts (of crap I am pretty sure is not important), and completely lose the beauty of my morning ME time. Instead of quietly sipping my coffee in an almost meditative state, I am anxiously giving into the wants and needs of others. It’s much healthier to take those precious first moments of the day to do something relaxing that sets a calm, positive tone for the day. Trust me, there is nothing on Insta that is so urgent and more important than your YOU time.
- Eat a real breakfast – Eating anything at all for breakfast puts you ahead of a lot of people. People who eat breakfast are less likely to be obese, they have more stable blood-sugar levels, and they tend to be less hungry over the course of the day. Want to step it up even more – try eating a healthy breakfast! When you eat a healthy breakfast, you kick the productivity doors right off their hinges! A healthy breakfast gives you energy, improves your short-term memory, and helps you concentrate more intensely and for longer periods of time.
- Set goals for the day – research shows that having concrete goals is correlated with huge increases in confidence and feelings of control. Those are the same feelings I have when I make my list. But now, instead of feeling defeated, I cross things off like Julius Caesar, proud and impressed with myself as I chant Veni! Vidi! Vici! in my head (sad note, that is pretty much all I can show for my 3 years of high school Latin).
If you are more of a night owl looking to become an early bird, these “tweaks” may appear to be huge lifestyle changes and feel overwhelming and unrealistic. If you are really committed to conquering your day, don’t take them all on at once, for fear you will be overthrown. Instead, make a plan and give yourself some time, because as you know, like Rome, nothing is built in a day