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Productivity

How To Have An Insanely Productive Morning

 

Confession: I’m pretty rubbish in the morning. I’m not one of those people who needs to be fed caffeine intravenously before they can even swing their legs out of the bed but I do really like my bed and I don’t like leaving it much. I’ve been working on my sleep hygiene this year and it’s made such a difference to my morning routine. Here are a few tricks I’ve been using in the past few months to make sure I have totally productive mornings.

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Prepare the night before

I always spend about 20 minutes at night preparing for the next day. I pack my bag, I prepare my snacks, I lay out my gym clothes, I make sure all my gadgets are charged. It seems like such a no brainer but pre-preparing will prevent you from starting your day on the wrong foot when you wake up and there aren’t any apples left and you can’t find your sneakers for your morning gym class.

Do not sleep with your phone next to your bed

I cannot stress this enough. There is no need to have your phone in your bedroom ever. If your mobile phone is also your house phone (like mine is) make sure the volume is up and leave it another room over night, as if it were an old fashioned phone attached to the wall. This stops that distractive early morning behaviour of scrolling through your phone for 20 minutes before you get up. If you’re awake in bed with nothing to do you’ll get up pretty quickly. If you’re awake, in bed with a phone, you’ve got the world at your finger tips and getting up will be super painful. Remove the temptation and you’ll totally improve your mornings.

Use food as a reward

I’m a bit weird because I’m one of those odd people who doesn’t like showers. I just find them really boring and I can’t do anything at the same time so I tend to procrastinate. I combat this in the morning by not allowing myself breakfast until I’ve had my shower. I love food and I want to get it in my gob ASAP so I jump in the shower pretty quickly in the morning. If you have a morning task like walking the dog that you dread a little bit, make yourself do it before coffee or food so you have a lovely reward when you’re done.

Write down 3 things to do before midday

I adore the three things concept where you write down three things to get done in the day but I love it even more if I give myself a midday deadline. Write down three tasks that you absolutely have to have done by midday today and get them done. It will totally free your mind for your afternoon tasks and you’ll get in to a fabulous groove of completion that you’ll want to continue through out the day.

Fake a positive attitude

Sometimes if I’m really not feeling it in the morning, I pretend my life is a movie montage of a perky blonde American college student or Cher from Clueless. There’s nothing like thinking you have an audience to make you try super hard to put on a good show of going for your morning run, packing the dishwasher, grabbing your perfectly constructed healthy lunch and then strutting out the door.

Are you a morning person? Or an evening person? Do you struggle with getting out of bed too?

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31 Comments

  1. merilyn 8 years ago

    thanks hun! always good tips!
    as you can see, I am a morning person! I do most of my creative stuff then, like write a poem, draw pictures etc!
    I need to be more productive with housework! so I will write three things down and do them!
    tip for shower … incidental exercise wipe down tiles and screens and do spinal twists!
    I don’t function after 6pm! … lol m:)X

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 8 years ago

      You definitely are a morning person! You’re always the first one to comment around these parts.

  2. Great tips. I definitely procrastinate getting out of bed by playing with my phone.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 8 years ago

      That’s a huge one. It took me ages to break that habit but it’s so gone now. I’m trying to break Mr Smags of the habit now too.

  3. sassydrcil 8 years ago

    Great tip re the phone. My reward should be coffee. No coffee till after shower

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 8 years ago

      Yes! I do that too – I absolutely have to have something to look forward to after a shower. Otherwise there’s no motivation for me!

  4. chrisatpb 8 years ago

    I am such a morning person, I absolutely avoid making afternoon appointments for anything. My 3 things for today’s morning list. 1. 9am massage 2. come home, shower wash hair. 3. Go out for early Christmas lunch with my darling dad and stepmum. There will be bubbly, so definitely no appointments this avo! xx

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 8 years ago

      That sounds bloody amazing! I wish that was my to do list today – I’ve swallowed the frog on a few things today which is great but I’ve got a big day full of lots of stuff so I need to be super productive this morning.

  5. Sarah 8 years ago

    Love these tips! Am in a ‘getting motivated’ frame of mind, which I’m hoping is ongoing, and these are great πŸ™‚

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 8 years ago

      Awesome! It’s so hard to keep your spirits up at this time of year when all you want to do is curl up in a tiny ball with a book and a bottle of wine. I’m powering through though!

  6. Adeline 8 years ago

    Maybe a stupid idea but why not shower at night? That way you don’t have to do it in the morning and you can go straight for the HB (hot beverage)? I always shower at night so I can go to bed smelling all fresh and clean, and mentally now it signals the end of my work day too. Although if you exercise in the morning I guess it wouldn’t really work hmmm..

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 8 years ago

      I’ve tried that but I do exercise in the morning and also I find I don’t ‘wake up’ properly without a morning shower. I need to kind of jolt myself awake with water. πŸ™‚

  7. Alix 8 years ago

    Definitely a morning person! Am a big fan of completely cleaning the kitchen before I go to bed so it’s lovely and clean when I come down to make a cup of tea at 5.30am. I’m never groaning at the sight of dirty dishes and it makes a good start to the morning. Also, make work lunch the night before so you can grab and go.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 8 years ago

      I actually have Mr Smaggle on kitchen cleaning duty – I cook most of the time and he cleans! I do make his breakfast though because he is rubbish in the mornings and he likes for me to have a clean kitchen to make it in. πŸ™‚

  8. If I had Cher’s amazing computerised wardrobe, I would get along a lot better in the mornings. Life would be so much better in a yellow tartan pleated skirt and blazer combo (white knee socks completing the look)

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 8 years ago

      Oh totally. I think all us 90s gals would appreciate a little bit of Cher in our lives.

  9. Kathryn 8 years ago

    I’ve not done this but I have thought about getting an internet blocker program and scheduling it so no internet until say 11am. It’d work but it’s a bit too hardcore.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 8 years ago

      Oh it’s not hardcore at all! Give it a go! I think it will be a total game changer. I often just turn my wifi off – works a treat!

  10. Love the 3 things before midday tip. I’m going to write my list for tomorrow right now! x

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 8 years ago

      It works brilliantly and totally stops you from procrastinating until the end of the day and making a few hour long tasks last all day.

  11. my2morrows 8 years ago

    Haha! I’m totally going to channel Cher in the mornings from now on. Love it! Xx

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 8 years ago

      Chanelling Lara Croft during exercise also works/ πŸ™‚

  12. KezUnprepared 8 years ago

    I am naturally a morning person, but I have been struggling lately, with my sleep cycles all out of whack. I like the tasks before midday idea. But what do you mean about showers being boring?? I waste so much water because it’s my thinking place. Oops. Maybe I could be more productive if I spent less time procastishowering haha.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 8 years ago

      So boring. I just want to get in and out and be dressed and fully clothed. I find the whole process so mind numbing.

  13. At this time of year, I’m going for the last option of faking it. Especially since our air-conditioning at work is broken!

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 8 years ago

      Oh no! Think hard core positivity right now! And maybe stick your feet in a bucket of ice?

  14. Bec 8 years ago

    I’m a shower hater too – I always feel a bit ick because I have friends who shower at least twice a day.. what?! My hangover cure: don’t shower!

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 8 years ago

      I never shower twice in a day unless it’s absolutely necessary.

  15. Tahlia Meredith 8 years ago

    Oh I’m with you on the shower thing – I love to be all clean and fresh but actually showering feels like such a waste of time! Great advice πŸ™‚

  16. Merlindie 8 years ago

    Loving these ideas. I spend too much time dicking around on my phone too.. Have to change that now!

Pingbacks

  1. […] be making more of an effort next year to embrace the mornings a little more with the help of Carly’s tips, especially the one about channelling Cher from Clueless! […]

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