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How To Take Control Of Your Day From The Moment You Wake Up

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Morning routines can be just that – routine. And the habits we have formed may not be the ones that will make us the most successful – or the happiest.

I used to have a terrible morning routine. Most of my work is public speaking, so I am usually on the road, but when I’m not traveling, I work from my home office. My routine looked like this:

After waking up, I always turned on the Nespresso machine. After brushing my teeth and taking a quick shower, I would return to my Nespresso machine, get a shot of caffeine, open my laptop and begin checking email.

This was my routine - even on weekends.

I finally said, “Stop! This can’t be the most productive way to start the day.” The first minutes of your day impact the rest of it. So I decided I needed to be more thoughtful about my morning actions. For a month, I tried a whole battery of different beginnings.

You may need to try out a variety of starting line routines to find the one that feels right for you. Here are some things to consider:

View the forest before the trees.

Think about what you want to accomplish that day and document up to three goals – any more than that and you are creating extra pressure on yourself. Put your goals where you will see them as a reminder to prevent you from moving off track during the day.

Put elation before email.

Do something that makes you smile. You want to set a positive tone for the day. It’s like a force field that protects you from negativity. How can you do this?

Do something for others

Read a positive quote or the optimist’s creed

Listen to uplifting music (my happy playlist includes “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and the Waves, “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers and “Happy” by Pharrell Williams)

Watch a funny YouTube video

Exercise.

Working out in the morning doesn’t work for me (I have tried it many times without success and always end up working out in the late afternoon or evening; I’m living proof that not every proven tip is right for every reader). I wish I could make it work, though, because there are countless benefits to getting the blood flowing and the body moving at the start of the day. Cosmopolitan Magazine listed 15 here. My favorite of the 15: Even if you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, a morning workout will boost your endorphins for extra smiles the rest of the day.

Take a whiff of success.

Aromatherapy. I have changed my shower routine to include peppermint shower gel. It’s a scent that makes me happy. The scent of clove can be comforting. Other scents are energizing. Kathi Keville, director of the American Herb Association, published a formula for a bath/massage oil she calls the “pick me up combo”:

  • 8 drops lemon oil
  • 2 drops eucalyptus oil
  • 2 drops peppermint oil
  • 1 drop cinnamon leaf oil
  • 1 drop cardamom oil (expensive, so optional)
  • 2 ounces vegetable oil

Things to avoid first thing in the morning:

Let’s face it. The news should be called the bad news. Although there is often a bright spot in the news, most of it is a big bummer. I’m not saying you should avoid being informed; I’m just saying you shouldn’t get your news at the start of the day.

Doing before thinking. Make sure you’re fully mindful before embarking on the day’s activities.

Your personal stress-inducers. While you’re getting in gear, avoid people or projects that you know will set you on a path of negativity. Save those for later, when you’re fully revved up.

So what happened after I renovated my mornings? The new routine I decided on (after trying out many different scenarios) is quite different from that caffeine-fueled email marathon of the past, although caffeine is still involved. It includes:

Invigorate in the shower. I tune my Sonos to my favorite happy music station and use Bigelow Mentha gel.

Put others first. The first thing I do each morning is something for someone else. Sometimes I share a colleague’s Blog post with my network or I give someone advice on how to enhance their LinkedIn profile.

Express gratitude. I start out with thanks. Today, I wrote a thank you note to a client who sent me a glowing testimonial. Sometimes I just acknowledge something special in my life. I often reach out to members of my team to tell them I appreciate their work.

Document my goal. I write on a post-it my ONE major goal for the day and post it on the wall in front of my desk.

Then, I get to my emails. And guess what? They are still there. But they feel less like a burden and more like an opportunity.

Let me know what’s working and what’s not in your morning routine in the comments.

Learn about building your personal brand. Download my complete list of 50 eye-opening questions to ask yourself when uncovering your brand here.

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