At one of my virtual speaking events recently, a participant asked, “You have so much energy. What’s your morning routine?”
Having a morning routine that works well for you will set your day up for success. Part of a good morning routine is eating a great breakfast and stretching.
For me, my body feels more relaxed and at ease, ready for the day, once it’s stretched.
In order to really get my energy moving and flowing, there are two vital components of my morning routine.
The first one is sleep.
How much sleep do you get in a night? How much do you want to get?
Having worked in restaurants for many years, I tend to be a night person. It’s very rare I can fall asleep at 10 pm. Well, as I say that, I’ve been known to doze off while my son reads to me at 8 pm.
When I usually fall asleep, it’s midnight, and I’m getting less than eight hours of sleep. When my sleep falls below eight hours or if I didn’t sleep well throughout the night, after I drop my son at school, I’ll take an hour nap. This nap reinvigorates me, and my energy gets pumping for the day.
Now you may say, “Jessica, that sounds great, but I can’t go back to bed. I have to get to work.”
If you need to go to work, you can either take a nap on your lunch hour, which I used to do in order to get more energy in the afternoon, or you can get to sleep at a better time.
One great way to feel more well rested is to go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every time. That might sound great in theory, but are you really doing it?
You probably wake up around the same time, but you might be going to bed at different times each night or aren’t able to fall asleep straight away.
Set a timer an hour before it’s bed time. This will remind you to start getting ready for bed and will help you actually get into bed on time.
Just like with anything else, you’ve got to train your body and mind. When you train yourself to go to bed at the same time every night, your mind will start to follow. Do things that allow your mind to unwind, relax and rest.
Don’t watch TV or be on your phone late at night.
Relax with a hot bath or drinking hot tea.
Read or do meditation.
Stop thinking about the things you’re worried or stressed about.
Focus on stillness and the blackness when your eyes are closed.
Do things that relax you instead of things that make your brain think which stimulates it.
Making sure you’re getting better sleep will help you better perform, get more things done, improve your mood and attitude, and decrease stress and burnout.
Sleep helps you have more energy without caffeine, and it will trickle over to enhance other areas of your life and work. Quite frankly, sleep will help you function so much better.
It’s not a matter of just saying, “I need to get more sleep.” It’s about putting it into practice so you ensure you’re getting better sleep.
Make it a priority to get to sleep on time and watch how this impacts the rest of your day, including increasing your energy.
Stay tuned for the most important component of morning routines.
ABOUT JESSICA:
Jessica Rector’s mission is simple: transform lives. With a BBA, MBA and BS, Jessica started, hosted, and produced her own TV talk show in Los Angeles with just an idea to help others launching her first company jessICAREctor International.
Jessica uses first-hand research, experiences, and strategies, to ignite your brain, extinguish burnout, and ignite your people through her process called Blaze Your Brain.
As a mind wellness and burnout expert, keynote speaker, and #1 best-selling author, Jessica consults with companies, trains teams, and speaks at conferences, conventions, and organizations helping you change thoughts, change your outcomes, and ignite the power within. She has shared the stage with Michelle Obama and worked with Fortune’s #2 Best Company to Work For, NBCUniversal and the Dallas Mavericks.
Jessica is a Contributor for The Huffington Post and has been seen on ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX for creating change. Get Jessica’s recent book, Blaze Your Brain to Extinguish Burnout: 52 Tip to Prevent, Break Through and Eliminate Burnout at jessicarector.com. Connect with her on LinkedIn by CLICKING HERE.
