8 Things You Should Do Every Day Before 8 A.M. to Be More Productive
When you start your workday, do you
feel like Superman or like a zombie?
When you start
your workday, do you feel like Superman or like a zombie? If you're like most people, you probably feel
like a zombie.
Most
people's mornings are a chaotic mess. Exhausted. Stimulant-driven. Rough.
However, Benjamin Franklin is quoted to have
said: "Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and
wise." To be sure, when you consciously develop an effective morning
routine, your entire life will change and improve.
Let's begin.
1. Get a quality 7-plus hours of sleep
(wake up between 5 and 6 a.m.)
The National Sleep Foundation (NSF)
conducted surveys revealing that at least 40 million Americans suffer from
over 70 different sleep disorders. Not only that: 60 percent of
adults, and 69 percent of children, experience one or more sleep problems a few
nights or more during a week.
In addition, more than 40 percent
of adults experience daytime sleepiness severe enough
to interfere with their daily activities at least
a few days each month--with 20 percent reporting problem
sleepiness a few days a week or more.
On the flip-side, getting a healthy
amount of sleep is linked to:
·
Increased memory
·
Longer life
·
Decreased inflammation
·
Increased creativity
·
Increased attention and focus
·
Decreased fat and increased muscle
mass with exercise
·
Lower stress
·
Decreased dependence
on stimulants like caffeine
·
Decreased risk of getting into accidents
·
Decreased risk of depression
If you don't make sleep a priority, the rest
of this article is irrelevant. You may use stimulants to compensate, but that
isn't sustainable.
2. Don't check your email or social media (0
minutes)
Eighty
percent of people between the ages of 18 and
44 check
their smartphones within 15 minutes of waking up.
Checking your smartphone puts you in a
reactive--as opposed to a proactive--state. Emails and other notifications are
databases for other people's agendas. They're distractive inputs that get in
the way of creative outputs.
3. Prayer and meditation (5-15 minutes)
Rather than immediately checking your email,
and thus setting a reactive tone, go to a quiet place. Take some deep breaths,
inhaling through your nose, holding deeply for a few seconds, and exhaling
through your mouth.
Close your eyes and express gratitude for
this day. Gratitude unlocks within you a view of abundance, as opposed to
scarcity.
4. Journaling for two purposes (5-15 minutes)
After
reflecting deeply on your blessings, pull out your journal. Write down your top goals--both long-term and for this particular day.
Writing down your big picture "vision" everyday keeps it both
conscious and subconscious.
Research
confirms the brain, specifically the prefrontal cortex, is most active and
readily creative immediately following sleep. So, thought-dump into your journal about the projects you're working
on. With practice, you'll become proficient at getting clarity and ideas.
5. Exercise (20-45 minutes)
Despite endless evidence of the need for
exercise, only one-third of American men and women between the ages of 25 to 64
years engage in regular physical activity.
Getting your body going floods your system
with dopamine, increases your confidence, and makes you work more productively.
6. Listen to inspirational or instructive
content while you exercise (0 minutes)
Ordinary people seek entertainment.
Extraordinary people seek education and learning.
By listening to podcasts or audio books while
you work out, you'll improve mentally and physically at the same time.
After a long enough period of time, you'll have listened to hundreds of books.
7. Take a cold shower (3-5 minutes)
Tony
Robbins starts every morning by jumping into a
57-degree Fahrenheit swimming pool.
Why would he do such a thing?
When practiced regularly, cold-water
immersion provides positive long-lasting changes to your body's immune, lymphatic,
circulatory, and digestive systems. It can also increase weight-loss because it
boosts your metabolism.
A 2007 research study found that taking cold showers routinely can help treat
depression symptoms, often more effectively than prescription
medications.
8. Consume 30 grams of protein (3-15 minutes)
Donald Layman, professor emeritus of
nutrition at the University of Illinois, recommends consuming at least 30 grams
of protein for breakfast.
Similarly, Tim
Ferriss, in his book, The 4-Hour Body, also recommends 30 grams of
protein 30 minutes after waking up. According to Tim, his father did this and
lost 19 pounds in one month.
Protein-rich foods keep you full longer than
other foods because they take longer to leave the stomach. Also, protein keeps
blood sugar levels steady, which prevents spikes in hunger. Eating protein
first decreases your white carbohydrate cravings.
Eggs, nuts, meats, and seeds are great
choices. For me, I just grab a protein shake. Takes two minutes in a
blender-bottle.
Conclusion
This morning routine will take you between
60-100 minutes, depending how in-depth you go on each activity. It will change
your days, and eventually, your whole life.
BY BENJAMIN
P. HARDY
http://www.inc.com/benjamin-p-hardy/8-things-you-should-do-every-day-before-8-am-to-be-mentally-stronger.html
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