Getting a good start to your day sets the tone for the rest of the day. And as a “non-morning person”, I have set the tone for my day many times to be…a struggle. I typically get up very early on workdays. But on other days, I prefer to sleep in when I can. I really feel that people are just made a certain way. I have family members that prefer to get up every day early and they enjoy that. But me…I have gotten up on many days feeling depleted with no energy and no idea how I would make it through the day. The early years of having children were a good example of this. Sleep-deprived and living off of gallons of coffee…surely we weren’t the only ones, right? Now my kids are getting older and I am working to energize my days!
As I get older, I try to find new ways to feel energized and jump start my day. I understand that the stay up late and drink a lot of coffee method, results in a day of dragging on and not really living to my full potential. So I have tried a few different things over the years to try and change that feeling. It is still a work in progress (especially when I want to stay up late to watch something!) but something that I consciously work on to improve. I am a firm believer that you are never too old to change for the positive.
Some ways that you can energize your day are as follows:
Get a good night’s sleep
Getting a good night’s sleep helps with so many things, and energizing your day is no exception. I have found that the amount of sleep that I get deeply affects my mood, clarity of thought, and how I treat others during the day. A good night’s sleep can make me feel chipper. A bad night’s sleep makes me feel just downright bad some days. When I got one of those little fitness gadgets that track sleep, I was shocked to see how bad the quality of my sleep actually was. Since learning this, I have made quite a few changes to try and remedy this and improve my sleep.
Exercise
This is something that I currently have a love/hate relationship with. Some weeks I love it and some weeks, well let’s just say I don’t. I struggle to find time to get it into my day. It is so easy to take the “I don’t have time” route and skip it. But one thing I know, when you get into routine exercise it most certainly helps to energize your day! Exercise increases the oxygen to the brain and most definitely makes you feel better. And speaking of exercise, I don’t just mean the physical kind. Don’t forget to do some mental exercise! Take care of your mental health, do some puzzles, and brain-boosting exercises. All of these will help you to energize your day and an added benefit would be that it could add to your longevity!
Have a plan
This step is probably the most important in my mind. Having a plan for your day is so helpful to be energized and ready for success. I literally don’t think that I could have a successful energized day without a plan. Just take a few minutes, jot down (mentally or on paper) what you need to accomplish, and how you need for your day to go. This will get your brain organized and aware of what you need to accomplish so that you can go through the activities of the day seamlessly.
Prepare the night before
Preparation is key! Even if your plan for the day is to relax. I like, especially on Sunday, to take some time and prepare for the week. Maybe prepare a few meals or lunch items, have the kids clean out school folders, and put out some outfits for the week and things that will need to grab on the go. Any preparations that you can do ahead of time are so helpful to get your mornings going because you are ready! You have prepared for this time and you are ready to roll.
Have a positive attitude
This is something that is most helpful in many areas of life. When I stray from positive thinking, I remind myself of all the things that I have to be thankful for. This is great to do in the morning to energize your day. Don’t have time you say? Well, how about thinking positive thoughts while you are in the shower. When you come out, the positive mindset will help you to start your day with lots of infectious energy. You can’t go wrong with this one.
There are so many more…
In addition to those listed, there are so many ways to energize your day. Improving your health, for instance, can give increased energy. I am someone who struggles with health and taking care of myself, so I am trying to improve my health in many ways. Another thing that you can do is to get a yearly physical to make sure that nothing is holding you back from having a fully energized day or year. Underlying health problems can really drag you down so you should stay on top of that. Also reducing your obligations and stress can help increase energy. Finally, getting your home organized and decluttered can help to energize your day. When you wake up and everything is in its place, it is a pretty good feeling.
There are so many improvements that we can make to have a more energized and therefore more productive day. My goal is to going to keep trying these and I hope that you will do this as well. In addition to energizing my day, I am also working on becoming more focused. Check out my blog post on focus if you are as well.
I would love to hear some thoughts and suggestions from you, the readers on what you do to energize your day. I am constantly improving and looking for new ideas to add to my regime.
Wrapping this up, I know what I will do tomorrow and try and have the most energized day. What will you do?
patty says
I try so hard to do these things. I meditate regularly and have a routine “Coffee, exercise, list, goals, routines” in that order. But the planning ahead part I struggle with. I always start my day by writing a list. That’s my planning. I have had several friends suggest doing it the night before. I haven’t actually done that successfully. I think I am going to try adding that to my strategy. And the exercise totally helps me but I am so off track. Great post with great tips.
Dee | Grammy's Grid says
Great tips you’ve covered here! Thanks so much for linking up with me at the #UnlimitedMonthlyLinkParty 20, open until January 26. Shared on social media.
Katelyn says
I love this! I agree, it is hard to get started on the right foot if you haven’t prepped at all for it the night before. Making an effort to change how you are thinking about the overall situation (i.e. looking on the bright side) is a game-changer for sure!