Wake, drink, exercise, mediate, wear, eat, travel, clear, listen and start – all before 9am.
Do you ever find yourself half asleep on your way to work, slamming down a coffee, puffing on a vape and wondering why you’re always struggling to get stuff done in your day? It’s time to change your morning routine.
Here’s a research-backed, morning schedule to help you become more productive in the day ahead.
It’s a fact: “morning people” are more productive, so wake up bright and early. The first few days may be a struggle, but your body will adjust soon enough.
Note: while it’s nice to enjoy the odd weekend sleep in, try to avoid doing it two days in a row – you’ll get “jet lagged”.
Enjoy a glass of water. Your body requires about two litres of it a day to work effectively, and our bodies are normally a little dehydrated first thing.
Note: Health experts advise to drink at regular intervals throughout the day. If you drink too much before your next activity you may get cramps.
Stretch and then go for a 30-minute fast walk or jog, making sure you raise the heart rate.
Research shows it helps with short-term concentration and energy levels. If you do this regularly, you’ll improve your fitness and enjoy a number of health benefits.
Find yourself a quite room and meditate, using an app like Headspace to guide you, or one of these techniques.
Mediation reduces stress, improves concentration and makes people feel more “centred”.
Put on something that makes you feel comfortable and confident. Then consider wearing something like that every day, like a uniform. Steve Jobs wore the same style black top and jeans every day as a way to remove unnecessary decisions, which he believed helped him to be more productive.
Enjoy a wholesome breakfast. Skipping this will make you overeat later in the day, which will cause sluggishness.
Tip: If you’re short of time, try making these naturopath-approved, tasty breakfast jars.
Make yourself a cup of tea or coffee and plan your day by listing action-items in order of priority. This will give your day direction.
Tip: We suggest doing the hardest job early on so it doesn’t hang over you during the day.
Catch public transport (if you're not working from home). It’s often quicker than commuting by car and allows you to do the things that may distract you later at work, like reading the news or replying to personal texts.
Also, consider using this time to do some work admin, like sorting through and filing emails.
Once at your workspace, put your phone on airplane mode and remove as many distractions as possible, like dirty dishes and irrelevant paperwork.
Research shows that physical clutter in offices competes for your attention, resulting in decreased performance and increased stress.
Organise a playlist. Studies have shown that listening to music can improve productivity.
Note: Listening to “rainforest sounds” and instrumental songs at mid-tempo have been shown to be most effective.
Start earlier than you’re supposed to. You’ll get distracted somehow during the day, so having a few extra few minutes up your sleeve will help you fit everything in.
Photography: Gareth Sobey
