Habits are purpose driven actions that ultimately become a part of you. Developing habits as a part of a winning morning routine that keeps you charged throughout the day can be a bit difficult to form, but it can do wonders for your efficiency and productivity. Furthermore, a good morning regime and activities that you consistently perform encourages a healthier and happier life. These habits go hand in hand with some of the qualities of an entrepreneur.
We outline below six habits that you can develop as an entrepreneur for an effective morning routine.
1. Wake Up Early
The first part of your day involves you waking up. But how early do you wake up to seize the day ahead? Entrepreneurs make it a habit to wake up early so they can make more time to complete their other morning habits and then get started on tasks earlier so you can also get closer to getting them completed.
There are only so many hours in a day and maximizing your time is essential. Giving you more time also means you can avoid hurrying around and you get to have a clearer mind in preparation for the day ahead.
In the beginning, it is a discipline that one has to make an extra effort to do, but if you consistently wake up around the same time daily, your body will adjust.
2. Meditate
In order to tackle the day, entrepreneurs also meditate. Meditation helps the mind to relax, provoke positive thoughts and provide inner peace. Robin Sharma, advised in his book, the Greatness Guide that “clarity precedes success. By thinking more, you will have a better sense of your priorities and what you need to focus on. You will make better decisions and wiser choices.”
Meditation also helps to inspire new ideas by increasing imagination and creativity.
3. Exercise
We mentioned that entrepreneurs get up early to make more time for their other morning habits. One of those habits is to exercise.
We won’t even bother to emphasize the benefits of exercise and the long term effects it has on the body and mind because we all know how important it is. Exercise can involve jogging, going to the gym to lift weights or just doing a few jumping jacks to get the blood pumping. With consistent exercise, it can relieve stress and improve your mental health and mood which in turn boosts productivity.
4. Eat Breakfast
When you don’t have breakfast, you may find that your body operates at an all time low and you constantly feel sluggish and tired. This is because your brain has not received the energy to get going. Entrepreneurs know they will not be able to produce effective results at this level.
If you want your body to perform at its best, eating a healthy breakfast is also important. You are also fueling your mind so it helps you to pay attention, concentrate and retain more.
Research shows that the best pairing for breakfasts is a combination of carbs and protein. The carbs provide the nutrients that give energy to get you going and the protein helps your brain to function at the optimal level and keeps you full longer until your next meal.
Accompanying your meal with tea or coffee is best to get you even more energized.
5. Listen to or read the news
This one goes without saying. Entrepreneurs are always wanting to learn something new so they also want to stay up to date with world events, local news and of course business. It is also another great source of inspiration and finding solutions.
In the morning is a great time for this activity, which you can engage in when having breakfast.
Notably, we want to avoid social media when carrying out this one because that can prove to be a distraction.
6. Plan Your Day
A good entrepreneur is organized. When you are organized, it creates structure, order and you are able to accomplish more. It is hard to execute anything, if you are not prepared. It also helps with time management to balance your work and life. You can plan your day the night before as well and review your plans at this time.
Make a to-do list
First, you want to pen down all tasks that you perform on a daily basis. This includes every activity that you perform at your workplace and home. Be sure to eliminate unnecessary tasks.
You can make plans for not only today but for tomorrow and the rest of the week. Assign due dates where necessary. Review and revise your list when needed.
Get specific and stick to the schedule
Getting specific is also an effective way to develop an effective morning regime. For instance, you can note down a routine that looks like this:
6 a.m.: Get up, brush your teeth, and take a bath.
6:30 a.m.: Walking or running
7:00 a.m.: Have a healthy breakfast.
7:30 a.m.: Drop kids to school or plan your day
That’s only an example, as you can write the tasks as per your priorities.
You also want to be able to stay on course with your schedule. Your schedule is a guide so let it do just that with the limited time you have in a day.
Get the harder and big tasks done early
Another to keep in mind while developing a winning morning regime is, get big tasks done early. Mark Twain famously said:
“If the first thing you do in the morning is eat a live frog, you can go through the rest of the day knowing the worst is behind you.”
Here we don’t want you actually to eat a frog; it simply means address the big tasks or the most difficult ones first. This is because when you deal with big tasks early on, the whole day passes smoothly.
Additionally, to make things simpler, group your various tasks that are similar and can be handled simultaneously.
Once you are done with these tasks, reserve the rest of your time for critical thinking and troubleshooting other tasks.
Nevertheless, each activity takes time and effort. If you take a look at each activity, it will improve your mind, body and your health. You do have to be in the best shape to be able to work hard and do it consistently. But as mentioned, with persistence and consistency, your regime will become part of your subconscious until it gets to a point where it takes little effort in carrying them out.
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