Travis Bradberry says that mornings are best for energy and self-control and are precious hours that should be used wisely.
I don’t know anyone who couldn’t use a little boost in their energy and self-control.
Researchers at the University of Nottingham recently published findings that will change the way you start your day.
They found that self-control and energy are not only intricately linked but also finite, tiring much like a muscle.
Even though we don’t always realise it, as the day goes on, we have increased difficulty exerting self-control and focusing on our work.
As self-control wears out, we feel tired and find tasks to be more difficult and our mood sours.
This exhaustion of self-control kills your productivity.
It makes the morning hours, when self-control is highest, the most important of the day.
The trick isn’t just to spend your mornings working; it’s to do the right things in the morning.
The Nottingham research has led me to uncover ways we can break bad habits in the morning and maximise our energy and self-control throughout the day.
Whether you naturally wake up feeling alert and productive or rise with the brainpower of a zombie, these tips will help you transform your morning routine.
Start with exercise:
Researchers at the University of Bristol found that people who exercise during the workday have more energy and a more positive outlook.
Getting your body moving for as little as 10 minutes releases GABA, a neurotransmitter that makes your brain feel soothed and keeps you in control of your impulses.
Drink some lemon water:
Drinking lemon water as soon as you wake up spikes your energy levels physically and mentally.
Lemon water gives you steady, natural energy that lasts all day by improving nutrient absorption in your stomach.
You need to drink it first thing in the morning (on an empty stomach) to ensure full absorption.
Lemons are packed with nutrients; they’re chock full of potassium, vitamin C, and antioxidants.
Don’t drink the juice without water because it’s hard on your teeth.
No screen time until breakfast:
When you dive straight into emails, texts, and Facebook, you lose focus and your morning succumbs to the wants and needs of others.
It’s much healthier to take those precious first moments of the day to do something relaxing that sets a calm, positive tone.
Jumping right into electronics has the opposite effect — it’s a frantic way to start your day.
Exercising, meditating, or even watching the birds out the window are all great ways to start the day.
Eat a real breakfast:
People who eat breakfast are less likely to be obese, they have more stable blood-sugar levels, and they tend to be less hungry later.
A healthy breakfast gives you energy, improves your short-term memory, and helps you to concentrate.
Set goals for the day:
Research shows that having concrete goals is correlated with huge increases in confidence and feelings of control.
Setting goals specific to the day puts everything into motion.
Narrow your goals down to a few achievable ones that can easily be broken down into steps.
Vague goals such as “I want to finish writing my article” are counter-productive because they fail to include the ‘how’ of things.
Getting your morning started off right at home is important, but it’s only half the battle.
If you fail to maintain that tone once you set foot in the office, your morning can lose momentum quickly.
First, clean your workspace:
Even though it’s a pain to clean right when you get into work, it makes a big difference to your ability to concentrate.
A Princeton University study found that people who worked in a clean workspace out-performed those who worked in a cluttered one.
In fact, the effects of clutter on concentration are not all that different from the effects of multitasking.
No email until you’ve eaten three frogs:
‘Eating a frog’ is the greatest antidote to procrastination.
Spend your morning on something that requires a high level of concentration that you don’t want to do, and you’ll get it done in short order.
Make a habit of eating three frogs before you check your email because email is a major distraction that enables procrastination and wastes precious mental energy.
Keep morning meetings on schedule:
Meetings are the biggest time waster there is, and they can ruin an otherwise productive morning.
People who use their mornings effectively know that a meeting will drag on forever if they let it, so they inform everyone at the onset that they’ll stick to the intended schedule.
This sets a limit that motivates everyone to be more focused and efficient.
Don’t multitask:
Multitasking in the morning when you have lots of energy and it feels like you can do two or three things at once is tempting.
However, it sets your whole day back.
Research conducted at Stanford University confirmed that multitasking is less productive than doing a single thing at a time.
Multitasking reduces your efficiency and performance because your brain can only focus adequately on one thing at a time.
When you try to do two things at once, your brain lacks the capacity to perform both tasks successfully.
Say no:
No is a powerful word that will protect your precious mornings.
When it’s time to say no, avoid phrases such as: “I don’t think I can” or “I’m not certain”.
Saying no to a new commitment honours your existing ones.
Research at the University of California Berkeley showed that the more difficulty you have saying no, the more likely you are to experience stress, burnout, and even depression.
The right morning routine can make your day, every day.
The trick is to be intentional about your mornings, understanding that these hours are precious and should be handled with care.
* Travis Bradberry is the co-founder of TalentSmart, a provider of emotional intelligence tests, emotional intelligence training, and emotional intelligence certification. He can be contacted at TalentSmart.com.
This article first appeared on the TalentSmart website.
