12 Things You Should Be Doing In Your First Waking Hour

Morning Routine, Anyone?

Do you ever wonder why some days “get off” on the wrong foot? Why some days are not as productive as others? Why you are dragging through some days and floating through others?

Simple. Morning routine!

How your day turns out is directly related to the things you do and the thoughts you think in the first hour of the morning. That sets the course of your day, your mood, your energy, and your level of focus and concentration. If you want the day to be amazing and extraordinary, you have got to focus first on how you begin it, darling!

“Begin at the beginning,” the King said, very gravely, “and go on till you come to the end: then stop.” ~Lewis Carrol in “Alice in Wonderland”

Whether you are an early riser (which I used to be until the current phase of night owl took over my life), or rise close to mid morning, your first hour of coming back from the underworld – the sleep world – is critical. You have got to have a methodical plan of greeting the day.

The first hour sets the groundwork for the rest of day, just as the first week in a relationship sets the tone of the days and years to come.

So be careful what you do that first hour after waking up!

Do you have a morning routine? Does it stay the same or change depending on your days or routines or travel schedule? Are there certainly routines that you are disciplined about doing regardless? Do you notice a relationship between your morning routine and how your days turn out?

12 Things to Do In Your First Waking Hour

Here are the 12 things you should be doing in the first morning hour to maximize your focus, concentration, productivity and pure happiness for the rest of the day. It’s best if you do them in the right order. If you must skip any, just go on to the next one. Make this a part of your morning routine:

1. Say your morning affirmations - Before you get out of bed, say these 10 quick morning affirmations.

2. Hydrate your body – Sleep dehydrates us. Drink one glass of room temperature water right away after waking up. Add a slice of lemon if you like. Have it ready by your bedside.

3. Brush your teeth and tongue – Bacteria and bad breath need immediate attention. Use a good mouthwash or brush your teeth and tongue with toothpaste. Wash your face while you are at it!

4. Stretch your body - Stretching is love for your body. The more you stretch, the more you love that body. The less you stretch, …. ! I teach you simple moving and breathing techniques to do in 10 minutes in the 10 Minute Invigorator Program. Or you could do a long exercise or yoga routine.

5. Meditate - It’s easy to fall back asleep if you meditate right upon waking up, so I like to delay it to let the body wake up naturally with stretching, movement, exercise, yoga or whatever activity I choose. Then meditation can make you get grounded and balanced for the day without making you sleep (hopefully!).

6. Warm up your voice - Before speaking, do some gentle voice exercises to warm up your pretty voice. Your vocal chords are still slowly waking up and you need to wake them slowly. YouTube is your friend here to learn some basics.

7. Make a fresh raw green juice or smoothie - If you want to be super loving to your body, make a fresh green juice such as spinach, celery, apple, lemon juice or a hydrating green smoothie. Let that be your first meal for the first 1-2 hours of the day. If you don’t do this, do #8.

8. Eat something light – Whoever came up with the idea of a huge breakfast? Nothing weighs you down like a heavy meal when your body is just waking up and your digestion system needs to kick in and eliminate the accumulated waste from the body rather than take in a thousand calories! Have a light breakfast. Very, very light. Eat again in a few hours.

9. Read something stimulating – I am in love with books. Books require your focus and attention and nothing kickstarts your brain like a short focused reading exercise. Always have books around, whether on your Kindle or in print. Reading on the iPad or iPhone is fine too but the LED light is not so good for the eyes early or late in the day.

10. Review your goals for the day – Whatever  tool or system you use to keep you on task, review your goals for the day. If you do not set goals for the day, start now. Every day, have at least 3 goals. Know them. Review them. Knock them out first thing if possible!

11. Drink loose-leaf tea – Yes, tea. With caffeine if you like, I am not a caffeine police. Loose-leaf high-quality tea steeped right is too good for you to bypass, and it will do wonders for your mood, health and digestion. Plus, tea promotes creativity!

12. Set an intention for the day – An intention is not the same as a goal. A goal says you’ll write 2 blog posts and a newsletter. An intention says you’ll do everything with care, put your best into every task and bring your genius to work. Intention goes deeper than goals.

Every day is a gift, a dear chance to strive to become a better person, to do sweet things for others, and to be of service to the world but before you can do any of that, you’ve got to start your day right. Make these 12 morning starters a part of your daily routine.