Why getting up 30 minutes earlier affects my productivity?
As much as I love being up early, so I don’t waste the day and the daylight (living in the UK you need to make the most of it), I have always struggled getting up when the alarm goes off. I am a serial snoozer, and I don’t see that changing to be honest. But what I do know, is that by setting my alarm 30 minutes earlier, by the time I eventually get out of my slumbered state (usually after 2 x 5 minutes snoozes), I am now a little more awake and still have time to now meditate before I start my day.
I truly believe that my new routine has helped me to be more productive through a better mind set before I set off and leave the house for the day ahead. Not rushing and feeling anxious in the morning before I leave the house makes the world of difference, trust me. It might make you wonder how I stay so strict with myself on making sure I get up to allow myself the time do this, and it’s quite an easy answer really, I know how it’s changed the way my day starts, the results I have noticed mentally and physically from waking up and meditating, it’s noticeable in my moods and body language, and I want more of that, to leave the house happy, positive and ready and raring to go, not hot and flustered with a SULA, unbrushed hair and bad mood, that won’t help anyone, especially you and your day ahead.
So let me start by explaining why this new routine of mediating is affective and you need to start getting involved too. Rule number one, do not wake up and go on your phone to reply to messages, emails or check social media, it's not a positive way to start... so just don’t do it!
Many people face the morning blues, I especially feel them on a Monday and during winter and it’s a really negative way to prepare for the day. You’re probably now thinking, but “if I meditate in the morning, it’s just one more thing I need to do”, instead of something of benefit. However, I can tell you, hand on heart, that morning meditation is the perfect antidote to the morning blues. If you can think of morning meditation as a way of conquering the morning blues and an essential way of improving your day ahead, you’ll be much more motivated to do it, and you’ll soon be reaping the benefits.
The best time to take 15, 20 or even 30 minutes for a meditation session is when the day breaks in the morning and the world is still asleep where you normally won't have the disturbance of the postman or phones buzzing with people demanding your attention. Some people have extremely busy mornings and since the morning is when a lot of things have to be done, many of you might feel you don’t have enough time or are too stressed with what you have to do to begin a morning meditation routine.
But meditation can help you get through your busy morning, all you need is to set that alarm 30 minutes earlier to give you enough time to wake up and find a quiet place. Morning meditation can help ease the stress of whichever tasks you do in the morning, allowing you to get them done more efficiently with a positive mind set. (Trust me on this, I am not preaching, I am speaking from my own experience).
Try to find a designated quiet space in your home to carry out your mediation, you might even find the more you get into it the longer you want to try it too.
Don’t panic, if you can’t establish a regular habit of morning meditation right away, don’t beat yourself up because it always takes time to change a routine. But if you don’t try in the first place, you will not feel the rewards I am talking about from morning meditation right? Use the above tips to help motivate yourself to meditate when you wake up, and soon you will know what it’s like to be truly ready to seize the day!
I would suggest using a guided mediation at first to help you clear your mind. Meditation is about silencing those busy thoughts of what you need to do, who you need to email, what's for dinner tonight, what will I wear out Saturday night, etc etc... and focusing on your breathing, to clear the mind of it's busyness, teaching you to be in the moment, and get your positive pants on for the day ahead.
Here are some I would recommend trying to begin with:
10 Minute Guided Meditation for Beginners
Meditation to Relieve Anxiety & Overthinking
10 Minutes to Set Your Intentions
Give it a go, let me know the results! I am always happy to talk to anyone about this and my experiences with meditation, so do feel free to drop me a line if you want some more information or to learn more about my experience with it.
Have a good week everyone :) and as always, thanks for stopping by,
Alex. x