Most of us start our day in a predictably routine manner—by snoozing the alarm a couple of times, rolling out of bed to have a cup of coffee and then getting dressed for work. If we work at an office, then some time invariably goes in commuting there, by car or by public transportation. And by the time we get in, we’re probably ready for another cup of coffee. In fact, the morning coffee is perhaps the only source of good feeling in our entire morning, and although a cup of joe is not necessarily a bad thing, whatever happened to breakfast? Here are some ways to start your day in a more pleasant and productive manner:
- Sleep Early: The first thing to do is make sure that you go to bed at a decent hour; you don’t have to sleep incredibly early, but even going to bed half an hour before your usual time will help you to feel better in the morning.
- Meditation: You might say that you don’t have time for meditation in the morning when you’re rushing off to work. But you don’t have to meditate for hours like a yogi in the Himalayas! You can just try to squeeze in 15 minutes of meditation at some point, maybe even during your commute, if you take public transportation. This will create a great feeling of calm and wellbeing in your morning and help your entire day to go better.
- Writing: Julia Cameron, writer of The Artist’s Way, suggests that you write three pages of whatever comes to mind first thing in the morning. After you’ve been doing it for a couple of months, three pages of writing doesn’t take that long to do—only 20 minutes or so. But if you don’t have time for three pages, go for one or two. This is a great way to write down everything that’s on your mind; it’s therapeutic and also gives you new ideas.
- Breakfast: You say you don’t have time to do more than grab a granola bar on the way to work. In that case, stop somewhere and get an egg sandwich to go; you can always eat it at your desk. Healthy cereals like granola and muesli are also good to keep around; you can wash them down with a protein shake or some soymilk.
- Dress Up: Whatever you choose to wear in the morning is going to be what you end up wearing throughout the day. So make sure that you wear something in which you feel good and which is comfortable. Don’t go for the same drab neutrals everyday; shake it up a little with some colorful scarves or blouses. Men may not have as many options when it comes to colors but they can at least make sure that the neutrals they’re wearing are crisp rather than worn.
These are just some ideas about how you can start your day in a pleasant manner, but you can feel free to come up with your own morning routine.
