One-minute morning routines for the non-morning person
Do you start your workdays struggling to get out of bed, hitting snooze every five minutes, scrolling through your Facebook newsfeed, leaving only a few minutes to get dressed and jump into a CNG? If mornings are difficult for you, and ambitious morning routines even more so, try these six one-minute ones to ease out of the lazy weekend and into the workweek.
1. If alarms do nothing for you, hydrate
According to research, hitting snooze is actually bad for your health. It confuses the body and leaves you groggy multiple hours after you've gotten out of bed. Instead, throw back a glass of cold water. Keep a bottle of water in the fridge the night before. And since it is winter now, you can leave it by your bedside and it'll be nice and chilled by the time you get up.
2. If you wake up agitated, try mindfulness
Mindfulness is a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique. There's an entire industry dedicated to it, with many free and paid apps and classes dedicated to it. But if you're strapped for cash, worry not because you can still start your day without spending a cent.
Try the 4-7-8 breathing method taken from pranayama, the practice of controlling your breath. Start of with a big exhale, then inhale for four seconds, hold your breath for seven, and exhale for a full eight. Repeat this three times while still in bed and clear the physical and emotional obstacles in your body.
3. If you want to wake up ready to take on the world, say a mantra
Studies have found that people with ambitious goals are happier and more satisfied. And what better way to be aggressively ambitious than to start the morning by focussing on what you want to achieve. One good way to channel the good vibes is to repeat positive affirmations. One writer at The Muse spends one minute in bed saying "I am good at my job and I will lead my team in sales for the month!" If you can visualise a life goal this way, it will make you much more confident to jump into the rest of the day.
4. If you just can't plan ahead, imagine the perfect day
Olympics athletes who put a major focus on training with mental visualisation were more successful than those who only focussed on physical training. Imagining major events in your day going perfectly—getting that client, finishing a write-up, acing a presentation—stimulate the brain in the same places as when you do that job for real. This basically makes you more likely to do well.
5. If you wake up feeling miserable, appreciate more
One study that had participants spend a few minutes each day jotting down three things they were grateful for found that each subject experienced an improvement in his or her sleep quality and felt refreshed overall. Practice appreciation by writing down three things in your life you are grateful for every day when you wake up. You'll be happier for it and it will put the things that stress you out into perspective.
6. If you can't start the day without coffee, pick up exercise
You might be thinking what a minute of exercise can do for you, but one study found that when people replace coffee with 30 seconds exercise, they experience an increase in energy and cognitive functioning. There are plenty of exercise routines out there so find one that works for you. It could be 20 push-ups and 20 sit-ups or 60 seconds of jumping jacks. Just get that body moving!