Are your morning habits affecting your day in a good or bad way? There are some amazing habits that everyone should be doing, but there are also some very bad morning habits to stop right now. They will affect your day in a negative way – and who wants that?
I am NOT a morning person.
I have said it many, MANY times on this site.
I wish I was – I’ve tried – but to no avail.
As such, I need any morning habits that I do have to be as effective as possible.
They need to help rather than hinder my inability to rally myself each day.
We’ve already looked in detail at some really GOOD habits to start doing – so I thought it was about time to look at the opposite.
You see, bad habits are just as important to work out as good habits – as they will affect your whole day.
So – let’s get started, and hopefully they will help your day get going the right way…
Morning Habits To Stop Doing Now
#1 – Sleeping In
It’s all too easy to hit the snooze button on the alarm clock – 1, 2 or several times – but it can be bad for you for so many reasons.
Whether it makes you more dopey first thing, or affects your sleep over time because you are changing your waking time every day – it’s SO much better to just bite the bullet and get up straight away.
SOLUTION:
A great idea to break this bad habit is to position your alarm clock away from your bed, so you HAVE to get out of bed to turn it off.
OR what about this – I haven’t tried it as yet, but I LOVE this idea to get you out of bed – an alarm clock in a mat! – you have to stand up and get out of bed to turn it off. Genius!
OR – get a family member to get you to get out of bed without taking NO for an answer (harsh, but it works!).
#2 – Checking Your Phone First Thing
Our phones are not the best idea to start out day well – as they can be so distracting AND time sucking.
Whether you are checking your email (and finding urgent items to deal with that stress you out before you get out of bed), looking at social media (seeing what the highlighted parts of others lives are, and possible feeling like yours doesn’t compare), or playing games (just no!) – you will find that you end up either stressed or late before you’ve even really started the day.
SOLUTION:
Ideally don’t have your phone as your alarm – and keep it way out of reach in the morning so you’re not tempted to check it at all.
#3 – Drinking Coffee Instead Of Water
This is something I am bad at, but getting better slowly!
It’s all too easy to grab a cup of coffee to get going in the morning, but your body has been craving hydration all night.
You’ve gone 6+ hours without a drink – so water is the perfect way to wake up from the inside out. It will get your body moving and you’ll become more alert more quickly.
SOLUTION:
Ideally have a big glass of water as the first thing you do each day.
Make it easy to do by having it by your bedside when you go to sleep so it’s there waiting for you in the morning – or why not break bad habits #1 AND #2 together by making yourself get up and walk to the bathroom to get it when your alarm goes off.
#4 – Not Getting Fresh Air / Sunlight
Our bodies wake up better when we have fresh air and daylight coming into our bedroom. Fact. So it makes sense to have as much light and air as possible in the space.
SOLUTION:
Ideally have a window open throughout the night (I got into this habit a few years ago, and even in the winter it’s lovely to have fresh air when you’re cosy in bed!) if you can, so you are breathing in fresh air rather than stale.
I also like to have the curtains (or in my case, shutters) open slightly to let daylight in.
This is controversial as a lot of experts say to have complete darkness for a good nights sleep, however, I found that when I tried this, I couldn’t wake up easily at all. Do what works for you!
While not exactly proper daylight – another great idea is to use a daylight alarm clock that will wake you up with light – which is a much nicer way than hearing that horrible alarm noise each day.
I would much rather wake up in a more natural-feeling way!
This is also a fantastic idea in the winter months when (even if you have your curtains open) it’s still dark way past getting up time.
#5 – Leaving The House Untidy
When you come back in the evening, you want to be faced with a tidy home as much as possible. A home where things are pretty much in place, where you can start from scratch with your evening.
Much better than being faced with piles of washing, breakfast items still out, etc…
SOLUTION:
If you tend to rush out the door without looking back each morning, then make a new habit of spending the last 10 minutes in your house tidying it up.
Trust me, you’ll thank yourself in the evening!
#6 – Planning Your Day
Yes, planning your day is so very important, as you want to get the most out of it. BUT I would always say that planning it in the morning will waste more time than it saves.
SOLUTION:
Ideally you want to plan your day the night before. This means that you wake up knowing what you need to be focused on. You have less chance of changing your mind, and you can get started asap.
By all means check your diary and plan when you wake up – but do the actual planning the previous evening and you’ll wake up in a much better position.
There you have it – morning habits to stop right now
Which are you guilty of right now?
I think I am pretty much doing them all – note to self – must focus on mornings for a while!!!
If you’d like to make your mornings even better, then why not check out this article on GOOD Morning Habits, or if you’re ready to start tackling your morning as a whole – then why not start your very own morning routine – I can help with that as well if you click HERE
