How to Have the Most Productive Morning Routine

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The way you start your day sets the tone for the rest of it. If you want to have a productive day, you need to start strong with a productive morning routine. 

It’s not a secret that many entrepreneurs and successful people have a series of morning habits that they religiously follow (if you want to find out more, I wrote a post about “The secret morning routines of highly successful people”). 

Before we dive into some of the habits you can adopt to have a productive morning routine, I want to highlight that you don’t have to follow all the steps if some of them don’t resonate with you. 

Find what habits work for you, and at what time. Never sacrifice sleep to follow a rigid morning routine: that takes out the purpose of it! 

If you want to wake up at 5 a.m., please do. Same if you want to wake up at 8 AM. Or, if you work night shifts, feel free to apply this at 2 p.m. 

It’s your morning routine, and it’s your responsibility to find what works for you and leave the rest out.

Here is the list of 10 habits to guarantee you have the most productive morning routine ever! Are you ready? Then, let’s get started!

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1. NO HITTING THE SNOOZE BUTTON

We hear this all the time, yet so few of us follow this rule. 

Don’t roll your eyes because I know that this morning you snoozed in once again.

I get it: you think that you’re giving your body 5 or 10 extra minutes of well-deserved rest. 

Well, that’s not the case. You’re setting up your body to feel more tired. 

Every time you snooze and turn to the other side of the bed to continue sleeping, you’re entering a new sleeping cycle – that gets abruptly interrupted by your next alarm. 

So, once it’s finally time to get up, your body feels like it has just been hit by a train. 

The first step to a productive morning routine is to stop hitting snooze.

I know that it’s hard – I’ve been there too. Do you want to know what has worked well for me? Following Mel Robbins’s advice and applying the 5 seconds-rule.

What is the 5-second rule? Picture this: you hear the alarm, you count “5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1” and then you get up and turn it off! So simple, yet so powerful! 

Why does the 5-second rule work? The author, Mel Robbins, explained the science behind it in-depth in her book “The 5 Second Rule”. Basically, by counting down, you’re distracting your brain from coming up with thousands of excuses that would convince you to not do what you have to do.

Remember: we are creatures of habits, therefore we hate discomfort. That’s why your brain will always lead you to make the choice that gives you some instant gratification but that, in the long run, will end up causing you more harm than good.

2. NO PHONE FIRST THING

Waking up feels like a traumatizing event on most mornings, am I right? 

Then why would you overstimulate your brain with meaningless information first thing in the morning? 

You’re still trying to get rid of that brain fog, yet your thumb has already clicked on the Instagram app. This is a huge NOPE!

Why? You’ve just woken up, yet you’re already putting others before yourself. 

You are prioritizing the external world over you.

You’re numbing your thoughts and feelings, not giving yourself a chance to listen. 

If you’re on Instagram, you’ve probably already entered the “comparison trap”. 

If you’re checking your emails, you’re overloading your brain thinking about work. 

Or, if you’re on TikTok, you’re giving your brain a dopamine rush that it will keep on seeking out for the rest of your day. That’s why you’ll be so tempted to check your phone every 5 minutes.

So, if you still have any doubts regarding the harmfulness that using your phone first thing in the morning has on your health, I hope that my words made you change your mind.

The most beautiful thing you can give to yourself when you wake up is your undivided and total attention. 

Notice how your body feels. 

Be aware of the kind of thoughts you have. 

Feel the sensations your body is experiencing. 

Give yourself that first part of the day to just be. Nothing more than this.

3. MAKE YOUR BED

There is something magical about making your bed first thing in the morning, and I’m still figuring out where that magic comes from. 

Every time I walk through my bedroom and the bed is made, I feel like everything is in its place – including me. 

On the other hand, when my bed is messy I also feel like I’m in a state of chaos. 

It takes me 2 minutes, literally. It’s such a small, simple habit – yet so powerful. 

It’s telling my brain “Wow, you’ve been up for 2 minutes and you’ve already accomplished something. Now this is a clean environment in which you can thrive and strive”. 

Maybe I’m weird. 

But if it is something that brings me peace and makes me feel somewhat good about myself, why wouldn’t I do it? 

If only making the bed is making me feel like I’m having a productive morning routine, then…why not?

I can find 2 minutes in the morning to improve my well-being. So can you.

4. INCREASE ALERTNESS

If you’re feeling tired and are thinking of crawling back to bed – please don’t! 

Instead, go to the bathroom and splash your face with some cold water. Maybe even put your wrists under the freezing water. 

If you’re a person who prefers showering in the morning, then take a cold shower. The shock that your body will experience when exposed to cold water will instantly make you feel more awake and alert.  

I don’t shower in the morning but, when I do in the evening – I still like to shock my body by alternating cold and hot water. 

In the morning, what I found most helpful was to wash my face with cold water, followed by my next tip.

Want to find out what it is? Then keep reading.

5. CHUG WATER

Not only exposing your body to cold water can make you feel more awake, but also chugging a big glass of water will do wonders! 

After a restful night of sleep, your body is dehydrated. After all, you haven’t drank a sip of water for the past 7 to 9 hours.

I know, for most people it’s kind of automatic to think: “Oh gosh, I’m so tired! Let me reach for the coffee maker”. 

I won’t talk about the negative effects of caffeine because I love my morning coffee! (See, nobody’s perfect)

At least, what I am trying to do is to refill my body with some water before I further proceed to dehydrate it with some caffeine. (Work smarter, not harder!)

If you’re new to this habit of drinking water first thing in the morning, you might experience some resistance. 

Sometimes you will decide intentionally to skip the habit. 

On other mornings you might forget to do it. 

For these reasons, one suggestion I can make is to fill a glass of water the night before and either place it on your nightstand or right next to your coffee machine. 

If you struggle because you need something more flavourful, then you can opt to squeeze some lemon drops in it or prepare some fruity water ahead of time. 

Make it easy and visible, and you’ll adopt this habit in no time!

6. FRESH AIR

This trick works on the same basis as the cold water tips mentioned above. 

You can adapt the habit of getting some fresh air in as you’d like. 

For some, this might mean opening the window for 5 minutes (yes, you can do this even if it’s cold outside!) 

For others, this might be paired up with the habit of exercising: so you might go for a walk or a run if that’s your thing. 

It all comes down to your lifestyle and priorities. 

Of course, this is not a perfect order. For example, if you like showering in the morning but also exercising, then you might take a cold shower only after getting some fresh air. 

For me, for example, working out in the morning doesn’t fit with my schedule – or more with my set of priorities -, so I would just open the window of my kitchen while sipping on my glass of water. 

It’s all about finding a system that works for you, not against you.

7. BALANCED BREAKFAST

Next up is my favorite meal of the day! Seriously, sometimes I go to bed excited thinking about what I’m going to have for breakfast the next day. 

There is something so peaceful and cozy about holding a hot cup of coffee in my hand while tasting an easy – yet delicious – bowl of oatmeal. (Yes, oatmeal is my go-to breakfast! What’s yours?)

I’m fuelling my body with some nutritious food that is going to help me perform and make it through the day. I could never run on an empty stomach.

I noticed that if I don’t eat a balanced breakfast I have lower energy throughout the day. That’s why I made eating a healthy breakfast a non-negotiable of my morning routine to be the most productive.

Hey, have you thought that you might be so grumpy in the morning because you’re running on an empty stomach and coffee? Maybe that’s the cause of your grumpiness, who knows…

You can have so many breakfast options, even if you’re short on time. 

But again, giving yourself the time to sit down and eat something nourishing is setting up your day to be less frenetic and stressed. 

You’re making time for yourself. You’re making time to fuel your body and enjoy it. 

It is an unconscious way to say to yourself that you matter too. 

Your days can be spent both focusing on you and others. 

The rest of the world can wait a little longer.

8. MORNING AFFIRMATIONS

I won’t lie to you: I had adopted this habit in the past, but then I put it aside (I don’t even know why I let it go). 

Then, I found myself having a negative mindset for most of my day, in most circumstances. And I was like “What?! You weren’t always like this! What happened to you? Where did all of your hope and positivity go?”.

So I did what everybody would do: I looked at the past to notice what things I was doing differently. 

It was at that moment that it hit me. There was something that I was not doing at all: my daily affirmations! 

Yes, maybe I didn’t immediately notice the shift in mindset, but over time I felt that something was just “off”. 

Next thing, I sat down with myself and asked: “What areas would I like to improve about myself and my life?”, and starting from there I wrote my affirmations.

I can share them with you –  and please feel free to share yours in the comments! My current affirmations are:

• “I am in control of my thoughts. Happiness is a choice and today I decide to be happy”
• “I trust the Universe in my self-discovery journey”
• “I am focused and present”

I repeat those affirmations 2 times, every morning and night.

And yes, I can already see the positive impact it had on my thinking patterns!

Feel free to use my affirmations – if they resonate with you – or come up with your own. Give it a try, you won’t regret it!

9. DO ONE THING JUST FOR YOURSELF

Okay, I know that here you want to know the secrets for a productive morning routine, and here’s one that I’m sure you weren’t expecting: do something for you, and you only.

Your morning routine should make you feel good. That’s non-negotiable. 

Ok, maybe you won’t feel good at first – especially when rolling out of bed without snoozing, or when taking that cold shower – but, over time, it should become something that you look forward to. 

If that’s not the case for you, it means you need to make some adjustments to make it feel more magical for you. 

For example, you can add a habit you do just for yourself. That could be:

• Journaling
• Reading
• Stretching your body
• Yoga
• Pilates
• Listening to uplifting music
• Listening to a podcast
• Drawing
• Working on your blog
• Writing your book
• Knitting

It can be anything. There’s only one condition: it needs to bring you joy!

For me, for example, the three things (not including breakfast) that excite me the most about starting my day are: journaling, reading, and working on my blog.

I know that those are the things that I care the most about and that, if I didn’t do them in the morning, I would have a hard time creating some time and space during the day. 

“What do you enjoy doing but never find enough time to work on?”. That’s a good place to start to know what to add to your morning routine.

10. MEDITATION

Last – but not least important – is practicing meditation or some sort of breathwork.

As I mentioned earlier, having a morning routine is a way to give back some time to spend just on yourself, for yourself. 

Days can become hectic pretty quickly and, since most of the time we are doing something for the external world, I’d like for you to give yourself 5 or 10 minutes of your mornings in which you can focus on what’s going on internally.

If 5 or 10 minutes are too much, take 3 deep breaths. As simple as that. 

We take for granted the beauty of breathing when, instead, it’s what keeps us alive.

How many deep breaths do you take in a day? I’m sure the answer is either none or not enough. 

Only when you stop and allow yourself to focus on your breathing, only then you realize how much time you were spending in apnoea of the chaos. 

Let’s do it together now:

• Inhale for 1, 2, 3, 4
• Hold for 1, 2, 3, 4
• Exhale for 1, 2, 3, 4

You’re not underwater. Allow yourself to breathe deeply. 

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If there is one bonus tip that I’d like to share with you is the following: make sure to create a morning routine that excites you!

It doesn’t have to feel like a chore!

You should be truly excited to wake up in the morning and spend some time on yourself first, no matter the way you decide to do this. 

And yes, I believe that having a productive morning routine is the first step towards increasing your productivity for the rest of the day and – ultimately – creating a successful life.

What does your current morning routine look like? Let me know with a comment!

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