How to make the first hour of the day effective?

How do we start the first hour in the morning? The first hour means the first 60 minutes after we wake up. The activities that we perform after we wake up in the morning has a lot to do with our productivity throughout the day. Subsequently, adding more meaning to our life. 💖

What to do in the first hour of the day?

1. Make your bed

We can start our day by making our bed so that once back home after work, our bed is ready to welcome us! And as great people say, making your bed is the first job that we can accomplish after waking up.

2. Drink a glass of lukewarm water 🥛

Drinking warm water on empty stomach in the morning improves bowel movements and alleviates stomach pain. Bowel stimulation helps body return to normal functioning.

3. Practise Pranayam/Yoga/Meditation

Breathing exercises keep us relaxed. Coupled with a few Yoga asanas performed correctly can do wonders. Meditation for 5 to 10 mins in addition to Yoga also helps calm our mind and bring a good control on our mind and body.

4. Exercise/Work Out 💪

You can also choose to exercise for half an hour or do a work-out. Additional to keeping us fit, it also improves our mood and mental health.

5. Write a Journal

You can record your thoughts on a daily basis by maintaining a diary. It will hardly take 5 minutes. You can start writing about anything, does’nt matter it has to be something important.

6. Go for a 🚶‍♀️ or 🏃‍♀️

Going for a walk or a run is also something which can boost up your day. If you don’t have the luxury of a park near your house, try out on the terrace or garden. You can also check out the sunrise timing and enjoy a beautiful sunrise while you walk or run!

7. Plan out your day

Planning out your day saves you from a lot of stress during the day like finishing off some important tasks at work or paying bills or booking for the regular health check-up etc.

8. Read or Watch a motivational video

Reading inspirational stories/quotes and watching motivational videos on YouTube or social media helps to keep the mind positive. Though I would ask you to stay away from your mobile in the first hour but in this case, we can consider it.

9. Write a gratitude list

Thinking about people who helped you the day before and writing a thank you note for them to let them know how grateful you are for their presence in your life. And also appreciating everything that you are blessed with at present! I have a friend who calls up few people end of every year, to thank them for their positive contribution in my friend’s life. That’s a sweet and thoughtful gesture right!

10. Spend time with your family

We often take our family for granted and we think that doing our duties towards them is the only thing to be done. However, we forget that everyone needs some time to talk to each other and share their views. Let them know how important they are in your life. It makes a big difference in their life as well as yours.

Benefits of waking up early and planning the first hour

1. Conquer the morning demons 😈

The first thought that often comes to a stressed mind when we wake up is that ‘Ohhh God, I am late, I have to rush now!’. But if we plan the first hour of the day a little early then we can overcome that feeling. I mostly used to have Monday morning blues almost every single start of the week and I dreaded that feeling. Was it the laziness to start the day of the working week after resting for two days or was it the uncertainty of whats in store for the coming five days which gave that uneasy feeling, I am not sure. But once I started waking up early, I got a lot of time to relax my mind and think about the day. As a result, I felt much better and in more control.

2. More energy and productivity

Since we had a good and energetic start into the day, the energy remains with us for the rest of the day. Consequently, we are more productive and efficient.

3. Mental fitness

Yes, our mind is not lethargic anymore because we already trained it a bit in the morning and all the endorphins work in our favour for the rest of the day.

4. Better sleep quality 😴

Since we woke up early, and had a very active day so we feel sleepy right on time and the quality of sleep is also better.

5. Positive outlook

If the first hour of the day is effective then subsequently it gives us a feeling of lot of work being accomplished. As a result of which we feel more positive.

6. Become more organised

When our day starts early, we become more organised because we get more time in our hands to write things down, make schedules and deadlines, to keep only what we need etc.

How to practise waking up early?

1. Start slow with patience

To start the practise of waking up early, we have to maintain a very slow pace and have patience with ourselves else we would get frustrated easily. As an example, if you normally wake up at 7:00 Am, then for the first week you can plan to wake up half an hour earlier like 6:30 AM. Consequently, the week after that plan to wake up at 5:30 AM, then 5:00 AM etc. Remember, slow and steady wins the race!

2. Plan the night before 👍

You can already plan ahead your tasks for the next day and accordingly keep your running clothes, shoes and a clean towel ready if you want to go running/walk OR a mat and comfortable clothes if your want to do yoga. That would save time the next morning and make your tasks hassle free.

3. Its all in your mind

If you think that you want to get up early, then the first step towards the mission ‘first hour’ is already accomplished.😀 Stick to that thought and get it done.

4. Try keeping the alarm far away from your bed ⏰

Keep the alarm such that it forces you out of your bed due to its distance from your bed. It’s a good idea unless you jump back to bed again after switching it off!

What you should not do?

1. Force yourself if you are sick 🤒

Listen to your body. If you are sick, do not force yourself to wake up early. Instead, get that additional hours of sleep and recover. Be careful that you do not mix sickness with laziness!!

2. Weekend holidays

No, don’t take a break. Let ‘early to rise’ become your habit and way of life. If you give a gap, there is a high chance that it becomes difficult to start again. Therefore, it will become more of a task and not something that comes naturally to you.

3. Focus on yourself

Focus on the first hour of the day for yourself. Let your main motive be to discover the inherent power within yourself. The power to create a better lifestyle for you.

4. Do NOT check email and social media📱

Keep yourself strictly away from social media for the first hour of day unless you want to watch a motivational video on your mobile OR you are in an very critical project which needs your urgent attention OR there exist medical reasons where someone close to you is admitted in a hospital.

5. Plan too many things

Do not plan to do a lot of stuffs in the first hour of the day else you will be left disappointed in case you are unable to fulfill all of them. You can start with something like-

• 05 min – make your bed
• 15 min – drink water, washroom, brush, get freshened up etc
• 05 min – meditation
• 30 min – yoga or simple exercise or a walk
• 05 min – journal