How to Build Effective Morning Habits 

Mornings are the perfect time to get things done: Your supply of willpower is fresh from a full night’s rest and you encounter less interruptions. But if your morning schedule is generally hectic and saturated with tasks, you may need a little help getting things done. We found 4 steps to building effective and productive morning habits.

1. Track Your Time

In order to spend your time better, you must first know how you’re currently spending it. Start by writing down what you’re doing, as often as you can. Jot your activities down in a notebook, a spreadsheet or a Word document. Do this not just for an entire day, but an entire week, which will allow you to see how you’re investing your time.

Are you spending time on important projects or insignificant tasks?

If your mornings seem like a fire drill each time, chances are it’s because of mismanaged time during other parts of the day.

2. Visualize the Perfect Morning

Ask yourself: “What would a great morning look like?”

Maybe it starts with a full breakfast with your family, or perhaps a morning jog. Or maybe it means starting early on a long-term project. It’s important to picture the ideal morning, and then work at achieving it, one element at a time.

One very helpful activity that can be routinized fairly easily is reading. Read, read, read. Especially articles in professional journals or blogs from industry experts to keep with new trends, benefit from the research of others, and gain new insights about your field.

3. Build the Habit

This is the most important step. Turning a desire into a ritual requires willpower. Use these steps to optimize your routine:

Start slowly - Go to bed and wake up fifteen minutes earlier for a few days until this new schedule seems doable. Swap a bad habit out for a better one, or eliminate it altogether. But do it in baby steps, little by little, so that you don’t get overwhelmed and give up.

Monitor your energy - Building a new habit takes effort, so take care of yourself while you’re in the transition phase. Eat right, get adequate rest, and exercise regularly. Surround yourself with supportive people who want to see you succeed, as this will motivate you and sustain your willpower during this journey.

Work on one new habit at a time - If you want to run, read, and write in a journal, choose one of these and make it a habit before adding another.

Track your progress - Habits take time to establish. Sometimes weeks, sometimes months. Keep track of how you’re doing for at least thirty days. The habit should become just that -- a habit, something so ingrained in your daily operation that something feels off when you miss it.

Motivate yourself with external things - Eventually habits produce their own motivation, but until then, external motivations, like promising yourself dinner at your favorite restaurant or tickets to a ball game, can keep you moving forward.

4. Adjust as Necessary

As we go through the fluctuations of life and business, it’s important that we adapt our routines to these changes. If a ritual or activity no longer produces its desired result, if it loses its efficacy and becomes obsolete, replace it with something new. This will recharge your motivation and help you feel like each day is full of new possibilities.

Mornings are new chances to do things right. It’s a literal fresh start, a new day with new opportunities. Follow these steps and you’ll take control of your mornings. Supercharge them and the rest of your day -- and week, and month, and year, and entire life -- can be better.

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