Rather than beginning and ending their workdays in an exhausted mess, successful business people begin their days by avoiding work altogether. The time invested in these habits pays enormous dividends throughout workdays, careers and lifetimes. You might not be a morning person, but doing any of these six things before you start your day can have a positive impact on your quality of life.
1. Exercise
Probably the most commonly cited habit among highly successful people is working out during the morning. Doing an exercise routine before you start your day has been credited for improving everything from an individual’s mood and metabolism, to helping the body build muscle and reduce fat faster.
Fitting in your exercise during morning hours, you’re less likely to be sidetracked by distractions and more likely to stick with the healthy habit of exercising regularly. Exercising or playing sports as one of the most effective stress-relief strategies.
Waking up early to squeeze in a morning jog or a trip to the gym also preps you for the challenges you face in the day ahead. Even if you’re not a morning person, try waking up 15 to 30 minutes earlier for a quick session of stretching, crunches or jumping jacks to get your heart rate going and to prepare you for the workday.
2. Eat Breakfast
Plenty of medical and scientific research has shown that eating a hearty breakfast is essential to the health of both children and adults. Besides adding much-needed fuel to your body, it can help boost concentration, memory, alertness and problem-solving ability throughout your day.
For busy parents with young children or for road warriors with hectic traveling schedules, breakfast tends to be rushed or skipped altogether. However, if planned accordingly, you can use breakfast as a time to connect with family or catch up on news and email.
3. Make a To-Do List
It can be difficult to adequately prepare for the day ahead if you only have a vague idea of the tasks and issues that you will face. Summarizing your day’s responsibilities, starting with the highest priority to the lowest, allows you to strategically map out your daily schedule in order to better achieve your goals.
Jotting down a to-do list in a daily planner or time-management app is especially helpful if you have a family at home or are often bombarded by emails and work demands as soon as you walk into the office. In fact, reviewing your schedule during the early hours before breakfast may be the best time for reflecting on and prioritizing your day’s tasks.
4. Engage in a Creative Activity
Take up drawing, play an instrument, build an app or write the next chapter of your memoir; successful people make time for creative projects such as these in their morning rituals. Engaging in a creative venture during the morning also allows you to set aside time for these projects before other obligations or evening fatigue gets in the way.
From enhancing your work talents, to flexing your creative muscles, working on side projects that reflect your personal passions can help shape, inform and inspire the work you do in the office. It also gives you the freedom to make mistakes, experiment with new ideas and look for alternate ways to tackle issues.
5. Handle High-Priority Projects
As with personal pet projects, successful people frequently use the quiet morning hours to get a jumpstart on high-priority tasks that require uninterrupted focus and attention. In other words, choose a top-priority project each day to tackle, or start by handling the least desirable task on your to-do list first.