8 morning routines you can apply for a successful day

 

What is the first thing you do every day when you wake up? Pressing the snooze button repeatedly, wishing you could just slip back into dreamland? Or do you wake up late repeatedly, putting on whatever clothes you find and rushing out of the  house in a panicked frenzy? Of course you have heard there is an alternative way, that of sticking to a morning routine and thus incrementally increasing your efficiency and peace of mind.You may have said to yourself that you would start next Monday, next week, but procrastination and laziness just kept you repeating the same pattern over and over again, leaving you with feelings of frustration and self-loathing.

I myself am guilty of all the above. My mornings were stressful and I was always late and in a state of panic.I knew it wasn't supposed to be like this but then I had no system in place nor did I know of ways to organise my time. At some point  5 years ago I decided that enough was enough. I took to the Internet and started my research on time management. I was astounded by the plethora of methods and the number of successful people who swore by their morning routines, which ensured  that they left their home in the right mood and state of mind and  their daily obligations were programmed and ran smoothly and efficiently. From Barack Obama, to Oprah Winfrey, Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue,Arianna Huffington of Thrive Global, Jeff Bezos and so many more all had their own morning routine in place to ensure that their day was a success.I decided to give it a go. I went through quite a lot of suggestions but the one that stood out for me by far, due to its simplicity and straightforwardness, was Robin Sharma's 20/20/20 method, which is thoroughly analysed in his book the 5 a,m club. 

So impressed was I that I immediately put it to action. I even read the book, not once but 4 times.Over the past five years I have been an avid early riser and program my days meticulously, with a few twists of my own here and there, to suit my own needs and personality. Let's dive right in.

 

 

 

1. Prepare the night before. 

Before you go to bed, take the time to meticulously plan the next day, making a list of what needs to be done. It's also advisable to carve out some me-time and time with your family and friends. Life is not just about being efficient. We must always  make some time for ourselves and to be wth the ones we love, to acknowledge our feelings, the need to communicate, to love, to just have some silly fun.Tend to all our sides so that we can have a balanced lifestyle. Otherwise we run the risk of a burnout or fatigue. In addition, be sure to lay out your outfit for the next day, so as not to run around like a crazy person, trying to figure out what to wear or going out in a totally dishevelled state.Presentation matters!

2 .Get up before the sun rises.

An obvious benefit to rising early is that there will be less distractions or interruptions, since the majority of people don't like waking up so early.No messages, no incoming emails.No one needs anything from you. So, it's pure me-time, that you can devote to yourself and your self care and development.I hear you, getting up early is hard. It's not for everyone, though everyone can do it, with some determination and discipline. For me it was excruciatingly difficult. I failed and failed......and failed.But eventually I managed to rise at 5 a.m., sometimes without even needing the alarm clock.If I can do it, so can you!

You can try the following steps to get there.

 

• For God's sake do not try to wake up at 5 a.m. when you are used to waking up at 8 a.m. Try to wake up at 7.30 as a start. Once you are comfortable with that, proceed to waking up at 7 a.m. and keep going till you get to your goal. Baby steps. 
• It is of the essence that you get enough sleep, 6-8 hours. So, according to how much sleep you require, adapt your sleeping schedule and go to bed as early as possible.
  
•  Robin Sharma advises to avoid using any digital device before going to sleep and preferably using an old fashioned alarm clock, which is placed far away from your bed (so no pressing that snooze button!)
• Turn on the lights immediately to ensure you will not fall back asleep.

3.Get your H2O in. 

Hydration is critical, especially after a good night's sleep, during which your body could get dehydrated..There are so many health benefits to drinking adequate water.Your body temperature is regulated, waste and toxins which accumulated during the night are washed away.Moreover,water is helpful in reducing caloric intake during the day,  it boosts metabolism and rejuvenates your skin. Need I say more?

My personal twist on this, is that every morning, after getting up I consume a big glass of warm water (but not too warm!) with a slice of lemon and some ginger. Thus, my body still gets hydrated but with an added healthy dose of vitamin C, with all the benefits I mentioned above.

4. Get moving and sweat 

 The first part of Robin Sharma's 20/20/20 method is intense, sweaty exercise. Incorporating exercise first thing in the morning leads to the secretion of beneficial neurotransmitters that increase mental clarity and focus.  Another plus is that you feel rejuvenated, more energetic and with a much more positive outlook on life.Need I mention it also helps with losing that unwanted weight?

 

5. Meditate and practice gratitude.

The second part of the method is dedicated to going within.Spending time in silence with yourself or finding a guided meditaion on YouTube is a great start.Like I said in the previous blog, you can start small, 5 minutes in the beginning and build up from there. You can then proceed to journalling, reflecting on what you want your day to be like and express your gratitude for at least 5 things in your life. I was a total stranger to this procedure but once I started, I don't let a day go by without it. It helps me feel more clarity and peace of mind but also get a perspective on my day. After this, my mindset is on point to get the day started in the most positive, productive way.

6. Read.

The final part of the 20/2020 method is learning. So instead of mindlessly scrolling through your Instagram feed or checking your emai, ditch your device and open a book, preferably an article, a biography or a self development book, from which you can learn something new or be inspired by a new idea. Alternatively, you can listen to a podcast. Reading though, is found to significantly boost cognitive activity in the brain, thus preparing yourself for any potential challenges the day may present you with.

 

7. Have a real breakfast 

By breakfast I do not talk of just coffee or croissants. Any meal you can prepare that includes oatmeal, almond butter/milk, coconut, chia seeds, flax seeds, eggs, greek yoghurt, berries, avocado is a great way to give yourself a boost and get ready for a fantastic day. I am aware a lot of you do not have the time for a full breakfast. In that case a smoothie is a fantastic option. Anyhow, whatever type you choose, having breakfast is a great way to start your day.

 

8. Stick to your ritual. 

Try to stick to your rituals as consistently as you can. No routine can actually benefit you if you do not make the commitment to adhere to it long enough. Experts say that it takes 66 days for a new habit to become automated. So, be consistent and reap the benefits. You will not recognise yourself by the end of those 66 days and even more so in the course of 6 months or even a year. Your change will be spectacular.

 

On a final note, I 'd like to say that the routines I discussed in this blog are by no means etched in stone. I myself tweaked quite a few routines proposed by Robin Sharma and other prominent personalities so they would fit my personality and my reality. So, feel free to do your research and adopt whatever suits you best. Once you get started though, you'll find that the choices you make will be helpful for your health and well being. A balanced morning routine will help you plan, prioritise and make decisions more wisely. Finally, your mornings will be less stressful as you'll already know what needs to be done. So no running around like crazy nor making last minute decisions that end up in disaster.

 

I hope that the routines outlined here will be of some help to you. If you have more routines  of your own that you believe are helpful, I'd love to hear from you! 

 

   

 

7 Effective Moves for a Richer Life

 It is an undeniable fact that we live in trying times. Even though it is summertime, and all one can dream of is lazying around on the beach without a care in the world, we are bombarded with news of the COVID pandemic once again rearing its ugly head,aided by the monkey pox. Then there is the energy and food crisis, sad by-products of the horrendous war in Ukraine. The planet reminds us that we have grossly misused its resources with freak weather conditions. All the above not only wreak havoc with our food and the energy required to go about our daily lives but even worse, they claim human lives. How can we continue to separate ourselves from this reality and keep our sanity intact?

 

One of my favourite mentors, Lisa Nichols said it so well: "Everything changes, every second." In an everchanging world, how could we possibly expect anything less? The one permanent thing in this life, is change. So, even to one so resistant to change as myself, embracing this inescapable reality is a necessity if we are to keep going forward. On a more positive note, we should bear in mind that not all change is necessarily bad. Even the worst condition carries within it the seed of good.Everything in this life is permeated by the yin yang principle.

There are more inconvenient truths I'd like to share before proceeding to the moves I suggest for a more experience abundant life. After all, difficulty is embedded in ease, the bad in the good. Here it goes:

• Before almost every success, some kind of failure has preceded it. I very vividly remember spectacularly failing the exam in one of my postgraduate courses and then managed to save myself by making a star presentation - and what a relief that was!
• One of the most painful lessons I had to learn was that it's not other people's job to love you, it's yours and yours alone. It is painful to realise how much I hurt myself and other people before I could get to this gem of knowledge, truly embrace it and live it out. That's not to say, of course I don't want people to love me, I just don't require it to feel happy and fulfilled.I am enough to see this task through.
• My next point involves energy. The energy we radiate out to other people, the world, the universe itself. What you think you become. Do you believe you are unworthy of love and abundance? The world will project this energy back to you with lack of friends, partners or money.In our own lives, surely, we all have experienced that when we feel depressed and expect the worst, even worse circumstances are hurled back at us. Conversely, when we vibrate with positivity and love, we feel surrounded by similarly positive energies and conditions.
• Another painful truth, one many of us have experienced, is that you don't have to wait for an apology to forgive. There is no shortage of people that will hurt you in the course of your life. You will also hurt others, willingly or not. What matters is to rise above the resentment and the pain, like a phoenix rising up from its own ashes. One not so obvious choice is to forgive, without waiting for the other person to apologise to you. Is it easy? Of course it's not. It's one of the hardest things one is called upon to do. It takes maturity, wisdom and a big heart. It's excruciating. But unbelievably satisfying and fulfilling. In all of my life I've been able to do it only once. It took me ten years to forgive that particular person, who by the way never apologised. When I got to that point of forgiveness,I felt emotionally drained but it was also like a weight lifting off my shoulders.
• I'm guilty also of the next point. It's a harsh truth indeed, Thinking without doing is a waste of precious time of energy. It's delusional and immature. No results come from daydreaming and wishing. Results come from persistent action and hard work.So if you have a dream, don't wish it comes true, work for it!
  
• The next truth is one we conveniently avoid. Death after all is uncomfortable. We don't want to be reminded that the average person's life, no matter how long one may live, is still relatively short. So. it is self-delusional to live out our days as if we'll never die. The best strategy here is to keep this truth in mind while we go about our lives in the most productive, loving way, intent on leaving behind something which is worth remembering for future generations or serving people while we are still walking the earth.

You might wonder at this point, which the effective moves to a life more abundant with positive experiences are. Though the previous points I made undeniably lead to a high level of existence if adhered to to the best of one's ability, I still have a couple more truths I'd like to share with  you. And while you might not agree with all of them, my hope is that you'll find something that will help you and push you forward as a human being.  

Let's dive right in then.

•  John Muir or "John of the mountains", was a highly influential author, naturalist, environmental philosopher and an early advocate for the preservation of the wilderness in the USA. He is known among others to have said "Going to the mounains is like going home." So, go to nature daily. Even if there is no forest in the vicinity, go to nearest park or have some plants on your balcony or in your home. Spending time in nature does wonders for one's health and well being. Among numerous benefits, it increases endorphin levels and dopamine production, thus promoting happiness. It reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression,it lowers blood pressure and reduces cortisol levels.Not too bad right? 

        

                                                 John Muir, 1902

•  Read for 60 minutes every single day.Even 30 minutes of reading per day have been proven to significantly increase and strengthen brain activity,aid vocabulary expansion and one's writing skills. It improves concentration and memory and enhances creativity and imagination, not to mention adding vast amounts of knowledge to one's arsenal. Warren Buffet, the world famous billionaire,advises us to go to bed smarter than when we wake up.He himself is a prodigious reader who reads 500 pages per day. Imagine doing that for six months consecutively, how much would you have progressed as a person? 
• Start practising meditation daily, even if it is only for 5 minutes in the beginning. The basic idea behind this practise is to connect the body and mind, so as to help increase both physical and mental peace and calm and also to live more mindfully in the present moment. Other benefits include having a better grip on stressful situations, it is good for your heart and it helps you to become kinder.Many people have reported that they actually look younger after having practised meditation for a while. If it sounds like it's worth it, why not have a go at it?
•  Leave people better than you found them, as Marvin J. Ashton famously said. I believe this one is self evident and doesn't take too much elaboration. Be sure to add value to their lives instead of taking from them. Hug the hurt. Kiss the broken. Befriend the lost. Love the lonely. Give of yourself and never fear your loving energy will run out. It is eternal and never ending. The more love you give, the more is returned to you. So give freely. 
• Be the politest person you know.Indeed, in a time when politeness is considered to be outdated, an act of subservience, it would be quite act of rebellion almost to possess the dignity and subtle art of choosing among one's thoughts and choosing consciously to behave politely, even when faced with rudeness. When considering that politeness actually is extremely helpful in forming friendships and acquaintances as well as acquiring or maintaining your good name, it certainly will not harm you to become more polite.
• Finally, the fun part.Building music lists. Being a hugely enhusiastic music lover - I sincerely believe not a day has gone by that I haven't listened to music- I have lost count of how many music playlists I have. I don't make too many discriminations when it comes to music. To me, a day without music is a wasted one. Like Plato said:

  Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.

  You can't argue with one of the most famous philosophers of all time, can you? Besides, music is fun. It makes you feel happy when you are sad and helps you vent your feelings when you are angry or sad. So, go ahead, make those playlists and dive in the endless sea of notes and feelings! 
  

  I do hope  you will find the tips I offered you of some use. I know they certainly have done me a great service in improving my personality and my life in general.

  Do drop me a line if you would like to add a hack that I forgot or that helped you to better yourself.