When your workday starts as early as mine once did, it’s difficult to start any beneficial morning habits. When you need to be changed into scrubs and ready to start seeing patients at 0600, it’s all you can do to be awake, showered, and present.
Every sunrise brings with it a new day, a fresh start, and a chance to make progress towards your overall goals. Plenty of successful people count their morning routine as (at least one of) the keys to their success, so it may be time to re-evaluate yours.
One of the most important morning habits starts the night before. The CDC recommends that adults aged 18-60 get at least 7 hours of sleep per night. If you’re planning on waking up early, it’s important that you’re getting to bed early enough to account for those 7 hours of sleep.
If you’re getting enough sleep, a 5 am wake-up call means that you’re going to sleep by 10 pm. Sleep, not bed. Make sure that you leave time for bedtime routines without encroaching on your recommended daily allowance of ZZZ’s.
One of the best ways to set yourself up for success is to begin your day with plenty of time to get off to a great start. That might mean getting up earlier than you’d like. While the perfect time to get up will vary from person to person, aim for getting up by 6 am.
The early morning hours are often the quietest and least stressful. If you have kids, they’re generally asleep. The phone doesn’t ring. Even noise from outside is less intense early in the morning. There are fewer Amazon delivery drivers or dogs barking to distract you.
It’s the perfect time to relax by doing something for yourself (exercising, painting, reading, whatever piques your interest), focus on what needs to get done, and get in a mindset to do it all.