7 Morning Habit Ideas to Improve Your Day & Your Productivity

Creating the perfect morning routine is crucial for a productive day. The way you start your day sets the tone for how the rest of it will go. If you want to make sure that your mornings are as efficient and effective as possible, you’ll need to create a detailed routine that leaves little room for error or distraction. The sooner you get into a rhythm, the easier things will be going forward. The morning hours are some of the most valuable ones in your day, so making sure you use them wisely is key. In this blog post, we’re going to explore some great ideas on ways to improve your morning routine so that your days become more organized and streamlined from start to finish.

If you feel like you do not have enough time in your day and that the time you do have belongs to others. Take a look at how your day started. Did you roll out of bed and immediately have to rush off to work? Well, there is your problem. This is not a groundbreaking insight. It doesn't have to be. Google how getting up early can improve your daily productivity and mindset. You will find a library of case studies that proves just that. You can even go to a library and find shelves of books that also confirm this. This is the most important morning habit you can implement.  The hard part isn't knowing this - it's doing this. Maybe it is that damn snooze button or that damn show you are binging that puts you in bed at 11pm rather than 10pm, or maybe it is that you are up early but you just mindlessly scroll through social media for an hour before getting up. I've been there. It's not easy to overcome. You have to prepare and be persistent to establish this morning habit.

I finally broke free and have been able to consistently be out of bed between 5am-6am every morning. This has allowed my morning habit routine to flourish. Even with a newborn baby in the mix. So how did I do it? 

1.) In bed by 10pm

I made this a priority. If you are serious about implementing a morning routine, then you also need to be serious about your nightly habit routine. This leads me to #2.

2.) Plan the next day in a productivity planner

 I use my Unsung Hero Journal every night before bed to plan for the next day. In that planning, I make sure to plan my morning habit routine. This daily plan goes from conscious to subconscious while I am sleeping. When I wake up, it is the first thing on my mind. If you are looking for tips on how to start a journaling routine and the different types of journaling to explore, here is a great blog we found on this topic.

3.) Read before bed

If you are like me and have a mind that is similar to the Energizer Bunny, then you most likely can't just lie down and fall asleep. So I read. Reading calms my thinking mind and allows me to relax, and I eventually fall asleep. I prefer fiction books before bed.

4.) Use Habit Tracker

Habit trackers can be used for more than establishing good habits and routines. 

Today, I use my Unsung Hero Journal's habit tracker to make sure I am consistent in my morning routine. But when I first started, I used it to break bad habits. I put in the bad habits I wanted to break. Every day I did not hit snooze and/or browse social media aimlessly first thing in the morning, I got to mark it off in my habit tracker. It was beyond satisfying to watch my habit score for my morning habits improve week after week. I am a competitive person, so I always strive to beat my previous score. It became an easy way to start the day with a win. Before I knew it, I broke those bad habits.

It was not without obstacles to overcome. For nearly 3 months, I slept with my phone in a different room just so I wouldn't be tempted to hit the snooze button or aimlessly browse social media.

Everyone wakes up a little tired in the morning. It takes a bit for the engine to heat up. Funny enough, that is exactly why you should exercise as part of your morning habit routine. It not only wakes you up, but it gives you an energy boost for the day. Working out also increases your brain's production of endorphins. Endorphins help reduce stress and promote a positive state of well-being for your mind. Your ability to focus and handle stressful situations also improves. If you want to start every day with a fresh positive outlook, working out will create the ideal conditions in your mind and body to do so. 

Not to mention the health benefits of exercising in the morning. Starting your day by picking up a dumbbell or going for a run rather than having a sugary iced coffee will promote a healthy lifestyle. This will encourage you to eat healthier throughout the day.

There are a lot of benefits to meditation, and they are finally starting to be universally accepted. Meditation is no longer just for the monks. It is essential for self-care. Meditation is good for both the body and the mind, so it’s a great habit to add to your morning routine. We are always on the go in life. If you are not doing something, you are thinking about what you have to do. Meditation gives your mind and body a break from doing. The benefits of meditation include reducing stress, boosting your immune system, and improving your mood. There are many meditation apps and programs that you can utilize to help guide you. I am a fan of the Headspace app by Andy Puddicombe. I have heard a lot of great things about the Calm app as well. Making time to meditate can be the biggest challenge. My tip is to tie it to another piece of your morning habit routine. I always meditate right after I finish my workout. 

"The first meal of the day is the most important meal of the day." 

Starting the day off with a big heavy breakfast is not appealing. You just spent 6–8 hours in bed. Don't start your day off with a heavy breakfast that makes you want to go right back to bed. Your breakfast should be one that supports your daily goals. It needs to provide energy and nutrition. Now, that does not mean you have to go above and beyond. For example, a simple protein shake can be a great breakfast. Not to mention fast! 

My recommendation would be to get 30g of protein and drink 18oz of water in the morning. Protein is a great nutrient for helping the brain produce vital chemicals like dopamine, but it can also help curb that pesky afternoon hunger craving. It will also support your body's recovery after your morning workout. As for the benefits of drinking water first thing in the morning, this list is almost endless. First off, you need to rehydrate your body after 6–8 hours of sleep. How often do you go for 6–8 hours without water throughout the day? Not very often, hopefully. Not only that, but it also helps boost your daily energy and jump-start your metabolism. These are just a few of the benefits of drinking water in the morning. There is a lot more. The best part about both of these is that they are fast and simple.

Finances are one of the 4 Pillars. Being mindful of your current finances and how much money you have to spend vs. how much you owe is the very first step in helping you get your finances in order.  While you are eating your breakfast or having your morning cup of coffee, check in on your finances. What did you spend yesterday? What can you spend today? What future expenses are coming? Sometimes, breaking bad spending habits is as simple as being aware of how much money is in your account. It is way too easy to spend money these days. $100 doesn't get you much but is also very easy to spend. Especially with Amazon's 1 click checkout. 

An added benefit of checking your finances as part of your daily morning habit routine is that it allows you to catch any fraud on your account before it does severe damage. I have first-hand knowledge of this.

Work can be overwhelming as it is. Having a cluttered, messy workspace is like pouring gasoline on that fire. This can take as little as 10 minutes, and the process of cleaning is considered to be a form of meditation. As you declutter your office, you are also decluttering your mind.  Making it easier to prioritize your day and overcome negative impulses when chaos strikes.

Work-life balance is something we strive for here at the Unsung Hero Company and was one of the main reasons we created the Unsung Hero Journal, our productivity planner. You can not attain work-life balance if you allow your workspace to turn into a teenager's bedroom. Don't turn on your computer until your workspace is in order.

Oh yes, there is no way we were not going to pump the tires on the benefits of incorporating a productivity planner into your morning habit routine. There are only 2 things in this world that are undefeated. Science and Father Time. There have been numerous scientific studies that support the benefits of utilizing a productivity planner of some sort. Here is an article from Psychology Today for you to reference on this topic. Especially, ones that incorporate scientifically proven productivity methods into their design. Things like habit trackers, goal tracking, daily journaling, daily motivation/affirmations, and priority to-do lists, just to name a few. 

Not to mention, it has been scientifically proven that you are more likely to retain information that you write down than the information that you type. 

The key to implementing a daily productivity planner/journaling routine is similar to how you would implement your meditation routine. Tie it together with another routine. Our recommendation would be to do it right after you have cleaned up your workspace, which is before you turn that computer on and start your work day.