Your morning determines the progress of your day. If you wake up grumpy, you are likely to spend the rest of the day feeling grumpy, unless you do something to change it. Mornings are very important and how you start them matter equally as much. So, below are eleven of the best ways to start your morning.

1. Start the night before

The best time to start your morning is the night before. So make a to-do list of what you want to accomplish early in the morning. Sleep early, because the saying “early to bed; early to rise” is more than just a saying. Sleep when you’re tired, not after one more episode. Keep a notebook, water, and some snacks by your bedside.

2. Get up an hour early

If you want to have a good start to your day and avoid rushing through all you have to do, then, wake up an hour earlier than you need to. If you need to get somewhere by 10 am, wake up around 7 am or 8 am. You don’t realize how much you have to do until you start, trust me!

3. Drink water

Keeping water beside your bedside is important. As soon as you wake up, you should reach for a glass of water. Staying hydrated is important, so start your day by drinking water. Water has a way of waking you up. Plus, it’s also good for your health.

4. Eat breakfast

Eating breakfast may not be possible every morning but you should make time for it. Breakfast is called the most important meal of the day for a reason. So whenever you can and as often as you can, make sure you eat a healthy breakfast.

5. Get moving

Get out of your bed and just get moving. Exercise, stretch, or go on a walk. Just get moving. It doesn’t have to be for more than 30 minutes but get your body moving.

6. Listen to something positive

What you listen to affects your mood, so, make sure you listen to something positive. This sets your day up with good vibes. Positivity sets you up to have a wonderful day.

7. Affirmation

Start off your morning by saying good things to yourself and about your day. What you believe affects how you act. Therefore, what you believe in yourself and your day is very important. Affirmations can help you change how you see yourself and your day. Spend some time staring at yourself in the mirror while saying good things about your day and yourself for at least ten minutes. Tell yourself that this day will be a good one.

8. Make your bed

Make your bed before you leave home, no matter how tired you may be. Just make sure you stretch out the sheets. We all know that as you lay your bed, you lie on it.

9. Have a routine

All the ways to start your morning this article provides are important, but the order in which you choose to do them is determined by you. So, sit and decide which comes first. Do you get out of bed and exercise or drink water? That’s left for you to decide. But, make sure you have a routine that contains all the things you want to do in your morning.

10. Write and review your to-do list

One of the things to do the day before is creating a to-do list. Once you wake up the next morning, make sure you review the to-do list. Rearrange the list and put the urgent ones on top. You can also edit a few things out of the list. As soon as you are done writing and reviewing, get up and do something.

11. Don’t reach for your phone

Without realizing it, you can spend an hour just scrolling aimlessly on your phone. So, make it a habit to not reach for your phone as soon as you wake up. Instead of reaching for your phone, get out of bed and do one thing on your to-do list. There are several good habits that you can incorporate into your morning, and these are simply examples of what your morning may need to start off right.

Author's Bio: 

Mary is an Editor at the online women’s magazine, AmoMama, and is passionate about improving quality of life for the African girl child.