Having a hard time getting on track during lockdown? I think we all are. Right now it’s an uncertain time, and we all have a bit of reorganising to do. Maybe it comes to finally starting up those at home workouts you’ve been wanting to do for months. Maybe it’s finally taking the time to start preparing our meals.
A lot of people have completely lost all sense of routine and have struggled to get it back. They’d built up a schedule that they were working with for months, maybe even years and now it’s gone. Now they’ve allowed themselves to fall into a complete free fall when it comes to their health and fitness
We shouldn’t let what we’ve already done go to waste…
We should build upon this, and take the opportunity to put in place new habits and even better routines for ourselves. And a great way to do this is by starting your day off right. Focusing on implementing a few habits right before we go to bed and then first thing in the morning. This will allow us to have some ‘wins’ that we can improve upon.
Firstly, we’ve got to think about a few things:
Structure
We need to sit down and think about what exactly it is in the morning we’re currently doing that we want to change. Are we sleeping longer than we should? Are we allowing ourselves to stay up late? We need to define what it is we want to change. Below I have a list of 9 great habits to implement!
Planning
Next we need to figure out how we’ll implement these changes. At what time will we take action on them? Do we need to prepare anything before we get started? These are crucial as without a proper plan we’ll never truly implement them long term.
Mindset
We have to actually want to change. It’s ok to take a step back for a second and realise some aspects of our life aren’t as they should be. Calling ourselves out sometimes can be a painful, yet enlightening experience. Once we accept that there is something we need to change, then we can take the steps necessary to get there.
How To Start
When starting, I only ask for one thing. Don’t try to do everything at once. For the last two months we’ve been thrown into uncertainty, believing constantly that it would all be over soon. Only to continue on the path we’re on. We might have fallen deep into old habits and routines, but that’s ok. Once we make the commitment to take the first step and just keep going we’re already halfway there.
So, you’re probably asking what exactly you should be doing to start your day off right?
Well here are 9 things that I suggest implementing to improve your structure.
1.
Read Before Bed
A great way to entertain ourselves before bed is to read a good book. Fiction or nonfiction, we can find joy out of delving into either. This is a way we can lull ourselves into a sleepened state, without watching television or using any devices with blue light. Blue light decreases our production of melatonin, our sleep hormone which will disrupt our circadian rhythm and cause a lower quality of sleep. A great way to enhance this is to use a blue light blocking app on our devices or using blue light blocking glasses before bed.2.
Sleep Away From Our Alarm
Sometimes, we just don’t want to get out of our beds. Our alarm goes off and we hit snooze right away, and we wake up two hours later wondering why our alarm never went off. A quick trick to stop this is to put our alarms across the room. This way, we have to physically get up to turn it off. Once we’re up the likelihood of us making ourselves stay up is much higher.3.
Don’t Eat Or Drink Before Bed
We shouldn’t be eating any foods, or drinking any liquids before bed. Now, bringing a bottle of water to bed is fine, but digestion before bed can cause stomach pain and irritation before we sleep. This can delay the beginning of our rest. We should be avoiding late night eating 2-3 hours before bed.4.
Aim For 7-9 Hours Sleep
It has been found that the optimal amount of time we should sleep for is between 7-9 hours each night. It has been shown sleeping any less than this can cause a 12% increase in health complications, while sleeping longer has shown a 30% increase. It also allows us to have adequate recovery time while helping our memory, immune system and appetite.5.
Sleep In Total Darkness
As with blue light, any room light at all disrupts our melatonin production. The darker the room is, the better quality sleep we will get. When we can see light, our body is less inclined to prepare itself for sleep. Another benefit is first thing in the morning, it will be easier for us to wake as natural sunlight can come through our curtains.6.
Jump Out Of Bed
We sometimes can tend to lie in after a hard previous day. This can lead to us becoming groggy as we wade in and out of sleep for a couple of hours before finally getting up out of bed. Once we finally do, we don’t want to do any tasks and just want to crawl back into bed for the rest of the day. It’s of utmost importance we avoid this altogether. As soon as our alarm goes off, we should jump out of bed right away, make our bed and look straight to our next habit which is…7.
Do Our Most Important Tasks First
A great way to win our day initially is to do our most important tasks first. This means we won’t be procrastinating for the rest of our day on that one project we need to finish or that one job we need to get done. Once we’ve got over the hurdle of our first task, we can build upon this and realize the rest of our work isn’t so bad after all. We can have fun with this then and even look to time how long this task takes us. Look to complete it as soon as possible while also making sure it has the required level of work necessary.8.
Plan A Satisfying Breakfast
A great motivating factor for us to get out of bed right away in the morning and be excited for our day is a satisfying meal. You should be looking for a lean protein source, vegetables, carbohydrates and a healthy fat. Poached eggs, spinach, sprouted seed bread and organic butter is a great example I use.9.
Meditate In The Morning
A great way to bring ourselves back down after our breakfast is to find the time to meditate. This will allow us to calm down after a busy start to our morning and prepare us to get right into our work. We need to find a quiet space in our home where we know we won’t be disturbed for 10 minutes. This could be our bedroom, our living room or even our garden. When meditating, we need to focus on our breath and look for deep diaphragmatic breaths in and out…So that’s that.
Unfortunately there’s no quick fix or easy way out. We just have to commit to building on habits like these and eventually even more will follow. As once you win the day, it really becomes a lot easier to keep going.
I always make sure to reiterate that adherence comes first, so again, make sure you take this slowly if you’re having trouble. If you’re looking for more helpful fitness content just like this, then check out my Instagram account.
