Unlock Your Full Potential With The Habits of High-Achievers
Most people have never been taught to indulge in productivity, and that’s why they’ll never escape the rat race.
Your level of productivity is the key determinant of your long-term success.
Wake Up The Same Time Every Day
This might seem a little basic, but this will dictate your energy levels and behavior for the rest of that day. Don’t just take my word for it.
Waking up at the same hour every day is important to regulate your Circadian Rhythm. That’s your body’s internal clock that is responsible for regulating sleep/wake cycles.
When you stick to the same wake time, your Circadian Rhythm is better able to predict what stage of alertness you should be at. Depending on how your body’s clock is set, it’ll initiate processes such as digestion, metabolism, and the release of important hormones.
If your internal clock is all over the place, your Circadian Rhythm will find it difficult to time these processes, and you’ll feel tired throughout the day.
Have a 30-minute Morning Routine
You’ll have your own style for waking up but most people will fail at these 3 steps.
Don’t use or check your phone in the first 30 minutes of waking up.
Your phone is a distraction you don’t need to have. Scrolling through your notifications, social media, and news articles will only put you in a stressed state and impact your productivity for the rest of the day.
Seek out natural sunlight.
Try to get sunlight in your eyes within the first hour of waking up at the latest.
Exposure to sunlight in the morning tells your body when to release a pulse of Cortisol hormone. Cortisol is a stress hormone that is important for regulating mood. Too much, or too less, is a bad thing.
You want the Cortisol release to happen as early as possible in your day so your body feels alert straight after waking up.
Drink water instead of coffee.
Drinking water first thing will immediately rehydrate your body and flush out any toxins that accumulate during the night. A cold glass of water will wake you right up.
It’s also recommended to avoid caffeine intake in the first 90 minutes of waking up due to something called ‘The Caffeine Crash’. This is a feeling of sleepiness and drowsiness several hours after consuming caffeine. It often happens in the middle of the day.
Most morning coffee drinkers will then go for another caffeine fix in the afternoon when their first coffee ‘wears off’, leading to a further crash later in the day and a heavily disturbed sleep.
Secure Your First Win of The Day
This can be something as small as making your bed. If you make your bed, you’ll have completed the first task of the day which will give you a sense of accomplishment and set you on the right track.
The idea is, that by the end of the day, your first task will have turned into many. Making your bed in the morning will remind you that it’s the small things in life that matter.
If you can’t do the small things, you won’t be able to do the big stuff.
Feed Your Mind And Your Body
The morning is the best time of the day to take care of your mind and body.
Life is so fast-paced, that on some days, I feel as though I’m being pushed along.
Practicing Yoga and stretching first thing will help to improve your focus for the day by training your mind to be present in the moment.
Movements and deep breathing exercises will promote blood flow and Oxygen to all parts of your body, ramping up your energy levels. You can substitute Yoga with going for a brisk walk or going to the gym, as long as you do some kind of physical movement and exercise.
To feed your mind, you should practice meditation.
Mediation will allow you to start your day with a clear mind and heavily reduce stress & anxiety if you think you’re going to have a busy day.
It can be done at any time in a way that works for you. Meditation doesn’t mean connecting your fingers and crossing your legs. It’s about being mindful and connected to your thoughts and feelings, as well as what is around you.
Tackle The Hardest Part of The Day First
The idea here is that if you complete the most challenging task of the day, you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment and you won’t have anything to feel anxious about.
This will help you avoid procrastination, increase your motivation, and promote productivity.
Final Thought
Productivity makes life happen. One of the main causes of failure to achieve a goal is procrastination, and that’s because we don’t set ourselves up for success, first things in the morning.
We can’t expect to make the same mistakes every day and expect a different outcome. If we want success, we need to make changes, and change is rarely easy.