Further to our empowering morning rituals post we thought it would be beneficial to also bring you the top 7 things you must stop doing to get your day started right!
Often when we think of being successful, we focus on things we can implement to improve our lives. But its just as important to step back and analyse the things we are doing that have a negative impact, the ones that take us further away from our goals or where we want to go in our lives.
1. Avoid hitting that Snooze button
We have all done it, the alarm goes off, its a cold morning, your enjoying a deep sleep, you reach for the snooze button for the 4th time…. you say to yourself “just another 5 minutes!”.
The most effective way I have found to prevent the snooze cycle happening is to move the temptation out of my reach by placing my alarm clock on the other side of the room. Now if I want to hit the snooze button i have to actually get out of bed to do it, by then I am usually wide awake.
If you find yourself tired during the day, its an indication that you are not getting enough restful sleep and you need to get to bed earlier, not look to hit the snooze button. Science is now showing that hitting the snooze button can disrupt healthy sleep patterns, but can also have the effective of making you feel drowsy for the rest of the day because you trick your body into going back into full sleep mode.
Ironically you will most likely find yourself feeling more alert and energised if you get up when your alarm goes off and avoid hitting snooze!
2. Don’t neglect your bed
An untidy bed tends to reflect an untidy mind!
Making your bed may seem like a trivial task, one which has no bearing on the success of your day. But nothing could be further from the truth.
Making your bed is an organised way to start your day, it gives you a feeling of achievement firs thing in the morning and this can flow on for the whole day.
Alternatively if you don’t make your bed, you start of your day without an organization anchor and when you jump into bed at night it doesn’t feel fresh, which inturn promotes unhealthy sleep conditions.
You also feel like you achieved something, no matter how terrible or unproductive you were that day, when you get into bed you will be reminded of one small achievement, one act of organisation and discipline.
So tomorrow morning, make sure you make your bed!
3. Don’t neglect your hygiene
Yeah I know some days you wake up late, are in a hurry and decide to skip the shower or brushing your teeth, or perhaps you are feeling down and cant be bothered facing the shower. Its days like these its critical you force your self to maintain hygiene.
Missing a shower or two, not brushing your teeth or practicing good hygiene is a slipper slope that can lead to low mood, productivity and even in extreme cases depression.
Just like making your bed, showering and brushing your teeth etc gets you into a “doing” mode, it makes the rest of your day easier and energised by feeling clean and alert.
4. Avoid screens
This is one i personally struggle with. Upon opening my eyes first thing in the morning, I find myself reaching for my phone before I have even fully woken up.
Bleary eyed I scroll through my twitter feed to try and make sense of whats going on and whilst its a great way to be informed, exposing yourself to blue light and a myriad of what often can be useless or negative information is just silly.
Depending on the nature of the information i read, it can see my day start with a feeling of panic, anger or even fear.
Give your eyes a chance to naturally clear, let your mind be empty or focused on gratitude, when you wake up. There is plenty of time in the day for scrolling your twitter feed or getting envious of what people are posting on Instagram, Facebook or Snap chat.
5. Skip the morning news on
Similarly the news of the world can wait a couple of hours at least.
Whilst its good to stay informed, a lot of the news we consume is “bad” news. Reading or watching negative, fearful or unpleasant news first thing in the morning will set your mood into one of negativity, at times anger and even anxiety depending on the news you are exposed to.
Replace the news with something positive, do some exercise, read a good book, practice gratitude or read out some affirmations, there are so many better ways to get your days mood set.
6. Don’t ignore your morning rituals
Creating healthy, empowering morning rituals is an extremely powerful way to set yourself up for success, not just for the day but for your life.
You will be amazed at how much it effects your mood and can change your life to one of productivity, health and joy.
Once you have developed your own morning routine, try not to break it, if you do for more than a day or so, you will find resistance builds up and you will find it hard to get going again.
I use an app to check off the elements of my routine each morning, it helps keep me on track and its always satisfying to check off another day.
Check out my morning ritual here
7. Avoid checking email first thing in the morning.
Here is another one many of us are guilty of, checking our emails as soon as we wake up.
No one needs to get a reply at 6:30am, the email can wait at least until business hours. Allow yourself an hour or so to practice your empowering morning rituals before opening your emails.
Emails will often contain questions and problems that once you read them will stay front and center on your mind.
You may be tempted to skip all your other morning rituals to get your emails answered and problems sorted, do your stress levels a favor and make the first hour or two of your morning sacred time where you only focus on things that make you feel good.
If you open your email before doing your morning routine you run the risk of ruining the mood and motivation for it.
The email isn’t going to go anywhere, read it after you have started your day.
These are, in our opinion, the 7 most important tasks you shouldn’t do each morning.
Like to add to this list? We would love to hear your ideas by entering them in the comment box below.
