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7 Things you Shouldn't Be Doing in the Morning but Probably Are
The morning is prime time to reset and refuel for your day. If you’re not consciously aware of it, certain habits can wreak havoc on your well-being, especially first thing in the morning. These 7 things are simply not worth doing. They sabotage your focus and productivity while decreasing your mental and physical health. Set up your day for success by kicking these habits to the curb.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I haven’t always been perfect with these habits, but let me tell you, when I’m on point, I show up as my best self. And you can too. Show up as the apex predator you were born to be, bring your A-game.
1. Waking up at Different Times Each Day
Consistency is key. Consistency in the gym, consistency in how you treat others, and consistency in how you show up in life. Being consistent in all areas of your life contributes to your own self-worth and can make or break how others perceive you.
As it turns out, consistency in the time that you go to bed and the time you wake up significantly benefits how your body functions. Having an inconsistent sleep schedule disrupts your quality of sleep – even if you get the same number of hours.
If you shrug off missing out on high quality of sleep, did you know that waking up at different times on the weekend (compared to your typical weekday schedule) can have the same effect that jet lag does? It has been shown to adversely affect your mental performance and those who have inconsistent sleep schedules increase their likelihood of being overweight. Hopefully that sparks the uh-oh, eyes wide, maybe this does actually matter.
Be consistent when you go to bed and when you wake up each day – even on the weekends!
2. Snoozing Your Alarm
What you do in the morning, especially as soon as you wake up, conditions your mind and influences your attitude and behaviour towards the rest of the day.
You want to begin your day in a state of abundance, not lack. When you snooze your alarm, you reduce the amount of time you have in your day and depending on how much of a snooze-aholic you are, you may end up racing around in the morning in a frenzied state. You prime your mindset of believing that you have a lack of time which you believe for the rest of the day. Instead of unnecessarily stressing yourself out you could be focusing on fueling your mindset and empowering yourself with exercise, intentions and affirmations in the morning. Commit to doing the things you say you will do – wake up with your alarm.
Just like Beyoncé, you have 24 hours in a day, don’t waste them snoozing.
3. Checking Your Phone
The first habit of Steven Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is to be proactive. Being proactive in the morning means nourishing and conditioning your mind for success.
When you check emails or social media first thing in the morning you put yourself in reactive mode. You react to other people, give your time away, and surrender your energy and confidence. Would you rather give away your focus and emotions to external distractions, or focus on yourself and reinforce your self-worth?
Instead, choose habits that will inspire and empower you and choose to prioritize yourself in the morning. Journal about what you’re grateful for and reinforce affirmations to make you feel abundant, worthy and happy.
We all know not to check our email and social media first thing in the morning, but actually refraining from the temptation can be a game changer. Commit to spending the first 30 minutes of the day without your phone.
4. Drinking Coffee Before Water
You naturally get dehydrated overnight,, so drinking plenty of water first thing in the morning is necessary to bring your body back to appropriate levels of hydration. Drinking enough water can promote a faster metabolism, increase weight loss, flush out toxins and maintain healthy skin and cells.
If you get in the habit of drinking coffee before water, you dehydrate yourself further. Studies have shown that dehydration can have a negative effect on your mood, can decrease alertness, increase fatigue and cause confusion.
Plus, cortisol levels are already at their peak in the morning, so you don’t want to fuel the fire by immediately drinking coffee upon waking.
5. Not Prioritizing YOU
Do you like showing up as your best self or do you prefer being the meh version of you?
Having a consistent morning routine full of habits that empower you reinforces the belief that you put yourself first, that you are committed to self-improvement and that you consciously choose to be the best version of yourself.
6. Maxing Out Decision Fatigue
The great Benjamin Franklin said it best that “failing to plan is planning to fail.”
Decision fatigue is the consequence of too much decision-making over the course of a day. As the day goes on and the number of decisions increases, the quality of decisions begins to deteriorate. Having too many decisions to make in the morning causes you to feel disorganized, confused and can result in chaos. You don’t want to cause unnecessary stress and you don’t want to waste time and energy on minuscule unimportant decisions.
Wouldn’t you rather be saving up your energy and mental focus for decisions that are important and actually matter? Plan, prepare and prioritize for peak performance!
7. Watching the News
What you expose your mind to in the morning significantly impacts your attitude and mindset towards the rest of your day. Watching the news, which is predominantly focused on negative reports, increases your mind’s susceptibility to negativity. According to author and positive psychology expert Michelle Gielan, “three minutes of negative news in the morning can increase your chances of having a bad day by 27 per cent.”
Be careful what you expose your mind to in the morning, what you listen to, what you watch and what you consume whether that be reading or social media feeds. Choose to cultivate gratitude, happiness and optimism and expose yourself to empowering beliefs and content.
Check Out: The Ultimate Morning Routine to Wake up with Determination and Go to Bed with Satisfaction
