Your alarm goes off in the morning. You hit snooze for the 10th time. Then you’re faced with multiple notifications emails, messages from friends, social media alerts. Before you know it you’ve wasted 30 mins and have to frantically leave the house to get to work on time. (Or make your first zoom meeting if you’re currently working from home). You feel rushed, unprepared and stressed and it’s not even 10am.

Sound familiar?

In this blog I hope to share with you 3 strategies I’ve used to be more productive in the morning. 

1. Say no to snooze.
   I went from dragging myself out of bed at 11 am with no purpose at the beginning of lockdown, to getting up at 8 am with no excuses. By setting only one alarm you’re holding yourself more accountable to have structure in your day.
   
   
2. Say no to social media.
   It’s so easy to get sucked into the social media hole, scrolling through Instagram images, getting bombarded by marketing emails. This is not how you want to set yourself up for success!
   
   Instead, I would suggest finding your morning motivation. I do a 10-minute meditation that relaxes me, centres me and makes me feel ready to face the day. Meditation might not be your thing. You could find a daily devotional reading, a 10-minute motivational ted talk, a series of affirmations. Whatever it is make that be the first thing you do.
   
   
3. Say yes to getting moving.
   I’ve started running for 30 minutes each day. I’m doing the couch to 5km so I must admit some of the time is walking. But I’ve progressed in 6 short weeks from struggling to run 60 seconds to bossing a 25-minute run.
   
   Find a way to get moving that you love! Maybe it’s a fun dance routine to your favourite tunes, a bit of yoga, a walk in nature. This is a sure way to wake you up and feel ready to kick ass in your day.
   
   
4. Say YES to fun! (Bonus tip)
   The key to making these habits stick is holding yourself accountable. You have to find your why. What will a productive morning help you achieve for the rest of your day? Finally, make it fun. The only way I’ve been able to stick with my new morning routine is because it’s enjoyable – bring a friend and you can boss your mornings too!

What’s your favourite way to start your day?

I’d love to read what you do in the comments below.

Nadine x

Photo’s  Unsplash