Do you have great days where you’re completely productive and in control, and you get loads done and feel great about it? Then do you have other days when you feel sluggish and down right from the start and only manage to do the bare minimum (and sometimes not even that)?
If that’s the case, you’re not alone. The thing is that we all have good days and bad days. However, if you think it’s just a matter of luck (or bad luck, as the case may be), then you need to think again. The fact is that the kind of day we have is generally (with some exceptions, of course) linked to our morning routines or even the routine we have the night before the day ahead. In other words, by knowing what it is that goes into ensuring you have a productive day, you can create a morning (and evening) routine to make it happen. With that in mind, keep reading to find out more so you can create your own routine to help you have a productive day every day.=
Get A Good Night’s Sleep
As we mentioned above, having a productive day actually starts the night before, and that shouldn’t really come as a surprise. After all, we’ve all had those days when we didn’t sleep well, and we felt tired, moody, and unable to focus throughout the whole of the day ahead of us, which seemed to stretch out for much longer than usual.
That’s why, if you want to have a productive day, you need to sleep well, and there are a few different things you’ll need to do to ensure that happens. Firstly, you’ll need to wind down at the end of the day so your body and brain know it’s time for bed; don’t do strenuous activities and relax as much as possible (taking a warm bath is a great idea, for example). You’ll also need to turn off the TV and other devices at least an hour before you intend to go to sleep. This can be the hardest habit to get into. Still, it’s worth it when you wake up feeling so refreshed - take that bath we mentioned and read a book in bed for a little while, and you’ll easily drift off without blue light interrupting your circadian rhythm or social media making you feel bad for any reason.
It’s also wise to go to bed early if you need to. Most adults need around seven to nine hours of sleep a night, so think about when you have to get up and work backwards until you get to when you need to go to sleep. If it’s earlier than usual, just give it a try, and the results might surprise you.
Avoid The Snooze Button
If you follow the advice above, you probably won’t feel like hitting the dreaded snooze button because you’ll wake up feeling refreshed and raring to go (it’s a wonderful feeling when that happens!), but that doesn’t mean you won’t still hit the button out of habit. And if you didn’t get a good night’s sleep and it feels as though you only just dropped off, you’ll definitely want to snooze for a bit longer.
That’s going to seem like a good idea at the time, but when it comes to your productivity, it’s a big mistake, and you’ll actually need to avoid the snooze button if you possibly can.
The problem is that one snooze can become two or three or four or more, and before you know it, you’re rushing about because you’re running late, your morning routine is all over the place, and you’ll feel out of sorts for the rest of the day - that’s not a good way to be productive. On top of that, when you have these ‘microsleeps’ between snoozes, your body never really gets to sleep properly; ten minutes or so just isn’t enough time to get any decent, restorative sleep. In fact, it can do more harm than good because it completely disrupts your circadian rhythm, making it hard to get to sleep in the future.
This is a habit you need to get out of, but some tricks can help. The first is to count to five before you do anything after your alarm goes off. That stops you from hitting the snooze button, and it helps you wake up, meaning it’s easier to get out of bed without feeling the need to snooze. It’s also not a bad idea to get the best coffee machine you can find - ideally, one you can set the night before so it starts brewing the perfect cup when your alarm goes off (or even just before). You’ll possibly be able to smell the coffee brewing, which will help you get out of bed, but even if you can’t, you’ll know it’s being made, and that can be a great incentive to get out of bed.
Drink A Full Glass Of Water
We’ve mentioned coffee, and, if you’re a coffee drinker, that definitely has its place in your morning routine and will certainly help you have a productive day. However, before you get to your coffee, there’s something else you should drink - a full glass of water.
The fact is that after sleeping for eight hours or so, you’re going to be dehydrated when you wake up. You might not realise it right away because it takes a little while to really get a sense of how you’re feeling, but the thing is, you don’t want to wait until you can feel it; you want to do something about it before it becomes a problem.
The best solution is that glass of water. Get it ready the night before and put it on your bedside table (if you’re worried about bugs or dust getting into it during the night, use a cup with a lid, a reusable water bottle, or simply put a book or something similar on top of the glass. Wake up and count to five and then have your drink of water - by the time you’re done, you’ll be feeling awake, and you’ll be hydrated earlier than usual, ensuring you can be productive throughout the day ahead.
Have A Healthy Breakfast
Do you allow yourself enough time in the morning to enjoy a healthy breakfast? A lot of people don’t, preferring instead to sleep for longer, but that’s usually a big mistake - a good breakfast will make you a lot more productive than an extra 20 or 30 minutes of sleep will, so if you have to pick one or the other, breakfast is generally the way to go (and of course, with the useful tips you’ve learned about not snoozing so much and feeling more awake when you get out of bed, this is going to become a lot easier).
Eating healthier isn’t a hardship either - you don’t have to eat boring food or anything you don’t like, you just need to be aware of the ingredients you choose. You could have oatmeal or even a smoothie (ideal if you’re short on time and still want to have some form of breakfast), for example, and a bowl of fruit is never a bad thing to enjoy. While you’re making your breakfast, you can also make your lunch - after all, having to stop work to make lunch if you’re working from home can disrupt your productivity, and so can having to leave the office to buy lunch if you go out to work. Having it ready to eat means less disruption and more time to enjoy a proper break as well.
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