How to Get a Great Start to Your Day: 7 Simple Tips

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.”
Marcus Aurelius

“Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.”
Buddha

It’s still dark as your alarm bell goes off. You pull up the curtains and the world is waiting for you outside of the window.

As you stumble out of bed and into the shower a new day begins.

So how can you make it more likely that it will be a good or even great day?

Well, in my experience, what you do early in the morning often sets the tone for the rest of the day.

So let me share 7 simple tips that have helped me to create both better mornings and days.

1. Plan the night before.

Put down just 1-3 of the most important things you want to get done on a to-do list.

By keeping the list very limited it becomes easier to actually get the most important thing(s) done.

And to not start procrastinating by doing a few of the less important and often easier tasks that I know I always used to add to a longer to-do list.

2. Prepare the night before.

Reduce the stress during your morning by getting the simple details out of the way the night before.

So:

  • Pack your bag.
  • Prepare and pack your lunch.
  • Put your keys, wallet etc. in their “home” if they are not already there so you can quickly find and grab them before heading out the door.

3. Keep a simple reminder on your bedside table.

What you see during your first minutes after you have woken up can in my experience have quite the effect on the morning and as an extension of that the whole day.

So try putting a small note with a reminder on your bedside table.

Three things you could put on that note are:

One of your favorite quotes.

A powerful and timeless quote is one of the easiest ways to charge the mind with positive emotions and to find a helpful perspective.

So write down one of the own favorite quotes. Here’s a list of 101 of them about happiness if you want some help.

Set a low bar for happiness.

I love this simple reminder.

I tell myself: “Today I will set a low bar for happiness”.

And then I keep that thought in mind for the rest of the day as best I can.

It helps me to feel grateful for the little and everyday things that I too often take for granted like having a roof over my head and all the tasty food I have available.

It makes it easier to stay positive and to find a simple happiness throughout the day.

Write down your most important whys.

Here’s a quick exercise that I use to recharge my motivation again.

It involves finding your deepest and most personal reasons for why you want to make a positive change in your life.

Keeping these most important reasons written down on your bed side table can give you a powerful start to your day and make it easier to stay on the right track from the moment you get out of bed.

4. Go slow.

When I start my day slowly and keep doing things at a slow pace then it becomes easier to keep the stress away. It becomes easier to focus on what I am doing and keep my priorities in mind.

When I go slow I stay in the present moment more of the time and so less negative feelings come my way.

And I appreciate the everyday things in life more because my attention is focused outward and not aimlessly inward towards what happened in the past or may happen in the future.

When I start my day slowly I sometimes get worried that this slow pace will mean that I get less done during my day.

But at the end of the day I most often discover that I got more done.

Because I did things well the first time and because when I go slow I tend to spend less energy on draining feelings and on having my attention bouncing around between many things.

And so I have more energy during the last few hours of my workday to spend on things that matter to me.

5. Get some positive information into your mind over breakfast.

Start your day with something that does not depress you or makes you feel powerless to change your life or the world in some small or bigger way.

Add inspiration and optimism by for example:

  • Reading one or a couple of new posts from positive, funny or uplifting blogs or websites.
  • Listening to a podcast that boosts your motivation.
  • Reading a chapter from a book that inspires you.
  • Watching a motivating or uplifting video on Youtube.

6. Start your workday with the most important task.

Find the most important task on the very limited to-do list you created. Do it first thing when your workday starts.

This task is in my experience often quite hard so it is easy to fall for the temptation to procrastinate.

If you feel that urge, then just be still and do nothing. The most powerful part of the impulse to procrastinate by checking email or Facebook passes pretty quickly.

When the worst is over then go easy on yourself instead of trying to push yourself hard.

Tell yourself that you will only work for 1-3 minutes on this important task. Then you can stop if you like.

But you may not want to do that once you have gotten started. This seems to be the case for me most of the time.

Because getting started is most often the hardest part.

7. Build a right thing string.

Doing what you deep down think is the right thing will make you feel good. It will boost your self-esteem and put a spring in your step for an hour or more.

One way that I like to do that is by creating what I like to call a right thing string.

Here’s what you do:

Do something that you deep down think is the right thing. Do it right now.

  • Give a genuine and encouraging compliment to someone at work or in your life.
  • Help someone who seems lost with directions.
  • Unclutter your workspace for 2 minutes.
  • Go and work out.

Then add another thing that you think is the right thing to do.

Have an apple instead of an unhealthy snack.

When you feel like judging someone in your life or on TV or in the newspaper try to find a kinder and more understanding perspective. Smile and ask how someone’s day is going (and really listen to the reply).

Then add another thing. And another.

Build a small string of doing the right things during for example 10-30 minutes to boost your energy and the positive feelings you have about yourself and your life.

Continue the string during your day as best you can.

After you have added a right thing to your string – no matter how small it is – make sure to take a few seconds to pause and to appreciate the good thing you did.

I usually think one of these things to myself:

  • Awesome!
  • Well done!
  • That was a good thing to do.
  • That was fun!

This boosts the positive mood within and ups the motivation to add another thing to your string.

If you break the string, no worries. Don’t beat yourself up.

Take a deep breath and then start a new string instead.

 

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About the Author

Henrik Edberg is the creator of the Positivity Blog and has written weekly articles here since 2006. He has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Gothenburg and has been featured on Lifehacker, HuffPost and Paulo Coelho’s blog. Click here to learn more…

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • THINK POSITIVE, very good motivational tool

  • ydal navarro

    I wonder why there are just a few people like you. god bless and keep you on ways of real happiness

  • The tips are really useful. Thank you for sharing

  • awesome very helpful and makes us refresh….

  • I will follow your tips, it is hard to get out of bed on a cold winters morning, we need something to inspire and motivate us to get up, work does not usually fit into that criteria. You are right in what you say, planning the night before is the key. Go to bed in a positive feel good mood and you will wake up feeling good, we have a few minutes on awakening to decide what sort of day were going to have.

  • Leslie

    Thank you Henrik, for another wonderful post. I love the 2 quotes at the top that you started with, too. I want to tell you, I often turn to your blog when I have been reading too much “news.” Your words help me to feel grateful and inspired, ready to accomplish good things. Thank you so much for that.

  • meital

    Light therapy alarm clock! I can’t recommend this thing enough! (http://www.light-therapy-reviews.net/how-to-wake-up-early/)

  • Andreea

    Thank you
    My monday mornings are always busy and hectic. Hope I will survive better using your tips -_-.
    No 4 will become like a mantra to me I’ll tell you that.

  • Marcia

    Henrik,
    Thank you very much for such wonderful advice, here and in many other postings. I just need to remind myself to keep reading and acting on them, as if I were studying for any other school subject. I hope you and your family have an excellent 2014, full of health and joy. Keep up the wonderful tips. Marcia.

  • Very good advice here!

    I have found that I always planned too much or aimed too high. Now that I have realistic goals, I reach them, and feel content. I have accomplished much more that way, too. :-)

  • Beautiful article, Henrik! Powerful, yet simple points you make, I like the smart way. I must say I never realized I try to “set a low bar for happiness”, this formulation is wonderful. Thank you very much!

  • Sam

    What a great post!

    I kick started life a few months ago with some of the ideas you have here:

    1) I set out a priority list the day/night before and tackled it first thing without changing anything

    2) I made sure I achieved these set goals before I took in any news, distractions or negativity

    3) I made sure I took in some good, positive, inspiring stuff before any news or negativity.

    One thing I would add, for me, I got out of bed earlier than I had been and made a private ritual out of these steps.

    I look forward to reading through the rest of the blog, I am glad I found it!

  • Ian

    Thanks for all your advice Henrick. It helps a lot. My more positive nature attracts like minded people to me and me to them, The ball keeps rolling and things get better and better.

  • Beth

    Love the right thing string Henrik. It really is that simple isn’t it? Love your blog- I try to start each day with a piece of positive, uplifting content. I know I can always rely on you for this! :)

  • Morgan

    When I read your blogs, I always end up bursting out in mid sentences, “Oh my god, So True!” or “Yes! Yes, Me too!”. Thank you Henrik, thank you for knowing exactly how I feel, and what I have been trying to deal with every single day since I turned 18 years of age! I’m now 21 and currently attending University. I’ve been undergoing inner turmoil of night/day of self contradictions, pursuit of happiness with myself, my purpose and most of all my self esteem; both physically and mentally. I am not usually one to take the time to leave a comment on various blogs, However it hit me suddenly that the right thing to do is to share how I feel at this very moment, and to let you know how much I appreciate your words of wisdom. I am ending my night with my very first “string of right thing”.
    PS. I wouldn’t consider your blog to be “any various blog”, quite the contrary!

    Cheers !