10 Micro-Habits to Improve Your Life in the Next 10 Days

Microhabits to change your everyday life 

 

21 days is a lot to develop a habit. These micro-habits will change your life in 10 days.

Yousuf Rafi

 

It takes backbreaking work to create a stunning life.

Sadly, people want instant success, instant fame, and instant money. I don’t believe that it takes 21 days to create a habit. No one wants to wait that long. So if you follow these micro-habits from today, you’ll get instant results within 10 days.

1. Learn to say ‘No’ more

Get hold of your hours. Learn to say ‘No’ more. Each day will present you with tons of opportunities, but you must say ‘No’ to most of them to live a peaceful life.

Figure out your priorities and reject everything else. Don’t attend the call when you are talking with the client. Don’t take extra work just because your friend is offering it. Reject the client if you are already working on another project.

Once you start saying ‘No’ to unnecessary things, you’ll automatically say ‘Yes’ to things that matter most to you.

2. Journal every day

Even if you’re not a writer, journaling every day will provide enormous benefits. Whether you have a business plan, new startup idea, an event that changed your life, jot it down with details in your journal. Once you build the habit of writing something every day, your mind will be trained to look for ideas and new insights in everything.

And most importantly, journaling daily will eliminate all your stress.

3. Sit in silence

A normal human has around 6,200 thoughts each day which means 258 thoughts per hour. To make your mind at peace, you need to sit in silence each day for at least 5–10 minutes. If you can, meditate; otherwise, close your eyes and don’t think about anything. If thoughts arrive, let them; don’t fight them.

When you stop controlling your thoughts, that is when your mind will find peace.

4. Don’t react; respond!

Most of us react to things that make things difficult for us. Instead of reacting, start responding to things.

When an event occurs, don’t react; take a step back, think about what outcome you want from the situation, and respond accordingly. For instance, if a co-worker shouts at you, in reaction, you can shout back. But who will benefit from it? Instead, if you think about maintaining a healthy relationship with that person, you will either remain silent or leave. That’s how you respond to a situation and take control of it.

5. Take action, fast!

In her best-selling book The 5 Second Rule, Mel Robbin talks about taking action for things that require less than 5 minutes. Need to reply to an email? Just do it. Have an amazing idea? Write it down. Found a solution while you’re showering, take a break and jot that down.

6. Read a lot

One micro-habit that will change the course of your life is daily reading. Even if it’s an hour or half an hour each day, read everything that helps you grow personally, professionally, or financially.

If reading is too much for you, listen to an audiobook or podcast. Read, listen or watch a YouTube video from TED. For self-growth, reading plays a vital role in your life.

7. Observe your patterns

Instead of blaming yourself for procrastination or unhealthy behavior, notice what prompted you to do so in the first place.

Observe and learn the patterns of your life. From waking up till you lie down to bed at night, notice what prompted you to get angry, what made you happy, and what irritated you throughout the day.

Once you understand yourself, there is a good chance that you’ll be able to do something to improve it.

8. Stop complaining and start doing

No need to enroll in a course to make more money. With a laptop and internet, you can do that all in your home. Watch YouTube videos, talk to experts and join forums that you’re interested in.

If you plan on starting a business, join relevant groups and learn from people who are already successful. Your life will start changing the moment you stop complaining and start executing things.

9. Drink lots of water

Don’t limit yourself to 8 glasses of water. Drink as much as you can. Apart from keeping you hydrated, water helps digestion, stabilizes the heartbeat, flushing bacteria from your bladder, protects organs and tissues, along with tons of other benefits.

10. Begin each day with “What can I change today to make my life better?”

Get out of the habit of “how to get through this day?” and start your day with “How to improve my day today?” Do whatever improves your life. It must get you closer to your goal in life or makes you financially independent.

Start a small business. Pick a side-hustle. Help someone establish a business. Teach someone what you already know.

The good thing about micro-habits is that they are easy to develop. You don’t need long hours to develop it. You can take these habits and add them to your life.

What are the micro-habits that helped you improve your life? Share and let others learn from it.

Know Thyself, Heal Thyself

6 Positive Habits We Often Mistake As Negative

Positive 

 

 

One of them is talking about money

Sinem Günel

 

 

 

 Photo by Ryland Dean on Unsplash

Most of us know that daily routines shape our lives. And just about everyone wants to build better habits. The problem is, we barely validate our current routines and thinking patterns.

Instead, we often mistake certain habits as negative even though they might actually add lots of value to our daily lives. In fact, we often focus on building and avoiding the wrong routines because we only look at the surface. The real power of habits, however, is often hidden behind.

Some patterns might not have an immediate impact on your life but subtly change how you think and behave in the long run.

Here are some of them:

Asking for Help

Modern success stories often make us believe that big successes are the result of one single person.

It seems as if Steve Jobs built Apple on his own and if Elon Musk is the only superbrain responsible for SpaceX.

Similarly, we easily get fooled by social media when looking at the daily Instagram stories of our favorite celebrities. We see our favorite creators looking beautiful, eating healthy, and taking care of their kids with ease.

What we don’t see is that they have a team that does their make-up, prepares delicious meals, and entertains the kids when mommy is busy recording Instagram stories.

Don’t get fooled into believing you need to master life on your own.

You can’t be great at everything and asking for help is the greatest form of self-care you can practice.

Quite often, we want to get everything done on our own because we’re too proud to ask for help and don’t want to come across as weak.

The reality, however, is that asking for help is a strength, not a weakness.

There’s no point in spending five hours on a task if an expert could do it in ten minutes.

Don’t let your fear of being judged stop you from asking for help when you feel stuck.

“Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and to learn something new.”

— Barack Obama

Comfortably Talking About Money

In most countries, talking about money is worse than talking about sex.

While this might not sound like a big deal, it’s one of the primary reasons for. the lack of financial literacy in our society.

If you can’t even talk about something, how can you learn to manage it?

Even though most people try to deny it, money plays a massive role in our lives. Money itself might not make you happy, but the absence of it will surely make you unhappy.

Changing your mind from I shouldn’t talk about money to talking about money is necessary and fun can be your stepping stone to creating a better relationship with your finances.

This will also help you let go of the pressure around money because keeping secrets is always a burden. By talking about your income, expenses, and investments, you can let go of some anxiety and view your financial journey as a natural process.

However, this doesn’t mean you should post your paycheck on social media and let everyone know how much you spend on groceries. It’s more about improving your money-consciousness than sharing your numbers with others.

If you’re not doing it yet, your first step could be tracking and reviewing your income and expenses.

You can download a free tracking app on your smartphone and review your finances weekly or monthly.

Most people don’t even check their bank accounts because they’re afraid of facing their financial reality. By tracking and reviewing your expenses, you can easily improve your relationship with money.

Once that’s done, you could ask your partner or close friends to discuss money-related topics.

Again: This doesn’t mean you need to reveal all your numbers and secrets. You might start by talking about budgeting, how much you spend on certain items, or your favorite tips to save money.

Every conversation around money is better than none because it helps you be more aware of your resources.

“People don’t feel comfortable about money because they have it; they have it because they feel comfortable about it.”

— Bob Proctor

Tapping Out of Your Routines

Most self-improvement gurus preach how essential routines and strong habits are. And while that’s true, they often forget to emphasize how regularly tapping out of these routines can make them even more powerful.

Even though our lives can become significantly easier through meaningful habits, these routines shouldn’t hold us back from living life to the fullest.

If you’re always stuck in the same pattern without ever daring to tap outside, you’ll likely miss many opportunities and unique chances to experience beautiful memories.

This is particularly important for creative minds and those pursuing a career that requires a high level of productivity as well as creativity (e.g., writing).

Repetition can lead to increased productivity, but spontaneity is the sister of creativity.

If you follow the same structures and patterns day in and day out, you don’t leave any room for unexpected discoveries and surprises.

“If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine. It’s lethal.”

— Paulo Coelho

Being a Little Selfish

Most of our historical heroes have one thing in common: They sacrificed themselves or their comfort for the common good. Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks, or Martin Luther King Jr., just to name a few.

Their sacrifices and courage are why we memorize their names and remind ourselves of their generous acts.

And quite often, we might think of these heroes and believe we’re not as good as them if we don’t sacrifice parts of our lives as well.

But the truth is that this comparison doesn’t make much sense.

There’s a big difference between making a real impact in the world and trying to please everyone around you.

The former doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to sacrifice yourself. The latter, however, often ends up in frustration and a lack of self-worth.

If we always try to please those around us, we mostly neglect our own desires and needs. As a result, we lack energy and passion, making it way harder to show up as our best selves.

The harsh reality is that you can’t please everyone anyway. There will always be people who don’t like how you do certain things or don’t understand why you do what you do.

But guess what? Their opinions shouldn’t matter.

We all have one single life and the painful truth is that nobody will help you live an extraordinary life if you don’t allow yourself to do so.

Sometimes, being a little selfish and prioritizing yourself can make all the difference.

This might mean canceling a date to spend some time alone, saying no to someone or something, or just prioritizing your own needs before helping others.

“You can’t really be present for the people in your life if you aren’t taking care of yourself.”

— Kerry Washington

Dreaming About the Process

We often judge dreamers and praise the action-takers.

But research proves that visualizing the process of how you achieve a particular goal can actually help you create better results.

For decades, self-help gurus were preaching how visualizing an outcome would help you to achieve your goals.

But in 2011, researchers at the New York University found out that visualizing an outcome is destructive, not beneficial.

That’s because visualizing the final state you want to achieve makes you believe you already accomplished it. And this might diminish your motivation to actually take action and make things happen.

Visualizing the process, however, is different as it helps us follow through on the action and actually achieve our goals.

While visualizing yourself sitting at a beach, sipping cocktails might decrease your chances for achievement. Visualizing how you master your craft and get things done, however, can indeed help you get closer to your goals.

“Visualization is daydreaming with a purpose.”

― Bo Bennett

Wasting Some Time

While laziness is not particularly interesting, taking time for recovery isn’t only recommended but necessary.

In our output-driven economy, we often find ourselves in a doom loop of working more, achieving bigger goals, and taking less time for recovery.

The reality, however, is that we all need some time to sharpener our saw. You can’t give 100% all the time and you don’t need to.

Even though life is too short to waste lots of time, this doesn’t apply to taking some time off to relax, unwind, and let your mind wander. Nobody can operate at peak efficiency and creativity all the time and the sooner you take some time off, the earlier you’ll reach your goals.

If you need to wait in line at the grocery store, wait in peace. Don’t check your emails to use that time productively.

If the bus is late, take those few minutes to think of something you’re grateful for.

We all need these downtimes to recharge and refresh. Don’t judge yourself for wasting a few minutes of your day by disconnecting from the outer world and listening to your inner guidance.

“Taking time to do nothing often brings everything in perspective.”

— Doe Zantamata

Written by

Sinem Günel

Entrepreneur, Coach & Dreamer. I write about Personal Growth & Business. 🇦🇹 🇹🇷 Grab your Personal Growth Toolkit: http://bit.ly/pgtk0320 I IG: sinem.guenel

7 Daily Habits to Change Your Life Forever

Habits to change 

 

 Written by joshua becker · 

 

Photo by Dana Marin-Amsterdamian on Unsplash

 

“You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.” —John C. Maxwell

The direction of our lives is decided more by the daily choices we make than anything else. And these choices are more influential to the person we are becoming than we often realize.

Habits become ingrained, automatic, and often slowly creep into your life so subtly that they become routine. So if you want to change your life, start by changing one thing that you do each day.

But change can be hard. So let me offer today, a list of 7 simple, daily habits that will positively change your life forever.

Most of these habits can be completed in just a few minutes each day. And each of them I have seen personally alter the trajectory of my life.

1. 3-Item To-Do List.

The 3-item to-do list has revolutionized my life. Every morning, with my cup of coffee, I write down the three most important tasks that I need to complete that day. It is a practice I cannot recommend enough.

The 3-item to-do list will keep you focused on your priorities. But more than that, it will allow you to feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day (assuming you accomplish them). It has taken away my feeling of “I never get enough done” and replaced it with “I accomplished my most important work.” And that is a beautiful feeling.

2. Exercise.

When I lived in Vermont, I had a mentor named Jeff that I looked up to quite a bit (still do actually). Jeff used to ask me and other men an unusual question when we would spend time together.

He’d ask, “So, are you staying physically active?”

I used to think Jeff was concerned with my physical health—which I’m sure he was. But as I have embraced a daily practice of exercise, I have learned the benefits are not just physical, they are mental and emotional as well.

Jeff knew physical activity was an important key to a healthy and productive life.

Don’t overthink “exercise daily.” This doesn’t need to be a 3-mile run or tennis match every day. Go for a walk, stretch, mow the lawn, workout to a YouTube video, or have sex.

3. Turn off Television.

Not only are the negative effects of TV detrimental to our lives, the opportunity cost is great. There are just better, more life-fulfilling things we could be doing with our lives than watching someone else live theirs.

When we decided to watch less television years ago, we were immediately forced to fill our evenings with something else. Surprisingly, it wasn’t that hard to find a more life-giving activity than television.

We spent more time together as a family. We spent more time outdoors. I began to write more. I visited the gym more frequently. I took more control over my life and my decisions.

These are all good things—healthy habits—and cutting out television provided opportunity for me to accomplish them. The same will happen for you.

4. Practice Gratitude.

Say a prayer. Keep a gratitude journal. Meditate. Or discuss the high points of your day over dinner with your family.

Whatever works best for you, express gratitude at some point every single day.

Gratitude reframes our circumstances. It drives out discontent. It directs our attention to the good things in our lives. It brings attentiveness and intentionality. And it more appropriately positions our attitude in relation to the universe and world around us.

Gratitude, as a habit, is a discipline to practice daily. Because when gratitude is the hardest to find, is when we need it the most.

5. Write something.

Every day, sit down and write something. Anything. It can be a 3-sentence post on Instagram, a 3-paragraph private journal entry, or a 3-page blog post to share with the world.

Where your writing ends up means far less than the impact it will have on your life.

The habit of writing will force you to see the world in a more observant way. You will rethink conversations, circumstances, and relationships.

I once heard an old quote by Dawson Trotman, “Thoughts disentangle themselves when they pass through the lips and fingertips.” And I cannot tell you how true that it is. Writing helps us think better and interact better with the world around us.

I was recently asked on Twitter, “With the growth of YouTube and video content, do you intend to keep blogging?” My response was, “Yes. I have found that I think and live better when I write—because it forces me to become more observant. I am a better person because I began writing.”

6. Reset Your Kitchen.

Every night, before you go to bed, clean your kitchen.

In a practical sense, it will help brighten your mood in the morning. After all, there are few things less desirable early in the morning than needing to clean up yesterday’s mess.

The habit helps brighten your morning in the kitchen… and quickly spills over into other daily habits focused on keeping your home tidy. By the way, if resetting your kitchen every evening seems too difficult, you’ll find it easier if you own less stuff.

There is something magical about not dragging yesterday’s mess into today—and this practice extends far beyond clutter.

7.  Eat Together.

I realize, of course, if you live alone, this final habit may not apply. But I fear there are too many people living together who are also not applying this habit to their lives.

If you are a parent… or a spouse… or a partner… or a roommate, make every effort to eat one meal together each day. When shared with others, food becomes a bonding experience that is difficult to replicate anywhere else.

Meals around a table are one of the rare moments in our day where we sit down facing one another. As the food nourishes our physical body, community and relationship feed our soul. It is difficult to be an intentional parent or spouse without sharing meals together with those we love the most.

Again, this daily habit may not be possible for everyone. But if it is, do not neglect to make it a priority—there are many who would gladly switch places with you.

Pick a habit above and begin practicing it daily. Just one—not all seven.

Once you take control of your habits, you begin taking control of your life. Any from this list will lead to positive results.

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About Joshua Becker

Joshua Becker is the WSJ Best-Selling author of The More of Less and The Minimalist Home. He has appeared on numerous media outlets including The NYT, WSJ, USA Today, and CBS.

 

Practice These 10 Tiny Habits Every Day And Watch Your Entire Life Change

Little Things to Change Your Life 

 

 Photo Lala Azizli on Unsplash

 

Nicolas Cole

Nov 10, 2020 · 5 min read

I am a firm believer in the power of positive habits.

It’s so easy to point at the clouds and say, “This is where I want to be.”

Anyone can do that.

The challenge is to get your hands dirty and do what you need to do each and every day in order to turn those dreams into a reality.

1. Keep your first promise of the day.

The first promise all of us make to ourselves every day is what time we’re going to get up.

And you know what? A large majority of us break that promise.

The alarm goes off. You hit snooze. And without even meaning to, you’ve already started the day on the wrong foot.

You made a promise the night before that you decided not to keep.

Get in the habit of practicing making a promise to yourself and keeping it.

This is about more than just “waking up.”

This is about the habit.

2. Dress for success.

Look good, feel good.

Part of your morning routine should involve embodying the energy you want to bring into the world.

This has less to do with “looking professional” and more to do with getting yourself in a positive frame of mind.

When you feel comfortable in your own shoes, you carry yourself with a different energy.

It’s the energy that matters.

3. A meditative moment.

Before the chaos of the day begins, take a moment to yourself.

For some, this is meditation.

For others, it might be reading a few pages out of a book, or sitting quietly with a cup of coffee and the newspaper.

But take a moment and feel the calm of the day. It will help you later on, should a storm hit (metaphorically).

You’ll think back to these early morning moments of calm and remember that life is full of waves.

It’s all about riding them out.

4. Eat lunch!

So many people underestimate the value of taking a break for lunch — even if it’s just 15 minutes to eat a sandwich.

Personal health is so important to the long game, and if you ignore it, then you’re only setting yourself up for a much bigger problem down the road.

If your schedule is so busy you can’t make time to feed yourself, something is out of balance — and I promise you, it’s not the lunch that’s the problem.

5. An afternoon moment.

How many people take five minutes in the middle of the day to just reflect on where they’re at?

Not too many.

Instead, once our days get started, we push and push and push until we land on our couch at 9 p.m. and say, “Wow, I am exhausted.”

Life is not a sprint. Life is a marathon.

Instead of having only a quiet morning and/or a quiet night, make time to have five minutes of quiet in the middle of the day as well.

If it’s “impossible” to find that, then excuse yourself to the bathroom for those five minutes.

Everyone has to use the bathroom, right?

Whatever it takes, make those five minutes happen sometime in the afternoon.

You’ll be amazed at what five minutes of quiet can do for the rest of your day.

6. Find some free time.

If you’re a driven individual, the concept of “free time” doesn’t really exist.

Free time is more time you can spend working toward your goals.

However, in the long run, this can also produce problems.

Everybody needs time to unwind.

It’s not the length of time that matters as much as the quality of time.

An hour completely detached from your daily grind is much more productive than 5 hours detached in which you mentally punish yourself for “taking a break.”

Free time is crucial, especially for creatives.

Let your mind wander.

Take a step back.

See the forest instead of the trees.

7. Manage your money, don’t let your money manage you.

A lot of stress is rooted in money.

But is it really money’s fault?

Or is it rather our relationship with it?

Take the time to learn a bit about finance and how you can set yourself up for success.

Implement positive habits here and then stick to them.

Put away a chunk of each paycheck to a retirement account.

Put away another chunk to your personal savings. Make purchases within reason.

And then once a month, do a quick review with yourself and look at where your money is being spent.

The more diligent you can be here, the more you will be able to build habits that set you up for the future you truly want.

8. Introduce yourself.

When was the last time you struck up a conversation with someone on the train?

At the grocery store?

In line waiting for your coffee?

You never know who you could meet — and it’s these moments of serendipity that keep life moving in a playful way.

Some of my best business connections I met through random conversations at the gym.

Some of my favorite stories have been the result of deciding to talk to someone new.

Make it a habit to introduce yourself to people who cross your path.

It’s the easiest way to keep life interesting.

9. Explore.

Building off the above, it’s so easy to fall into routines of going to same places, ordering the same dishes, meeting up with the same people.

Make it a habit to explore new things.

If you’ve been wanting to go to that new coffee shop down the street, then go.

If you’ve been thinking of trying a new restaurant, make a reservation.

It’s never going to happen unless you make it happen.

10. Keep a journal and sleep.

And of course, there are two of the most underrated habits in the world — journaling before bed, and then actually sleeping.

The reason I advocate so much for journaling before bed is because it is one of the few moments during the day when all is calm.

This is time that is best used to reflect, see how the day went, see how you feel, see how you can improve for tomorrow and then set your intention.

The other reason it’s crucial to do this right before bed is because it will then soak into your subconscious while you sleep.

If you can make this a habit, then you will find yourself consistently waking up the next day very clear on what you need to do in order to be successful.

You will have just spent a whole night planting those “next steps” into who you are — and when you rise, it’ll be time to get to work.

Sleep is so undervalued.

For a long time, I thought the less you slept, the harder you were working.

And actually, that’s true — less sleep and you will feel like you are the hardest working person on the face of this planet.

But that doesn’t mean you’re working smart.

Seven to seven and a half hours of sleep is the sweet spot. If you can get eight, great. If not, that’s OK.

But do not settle for five or six.

A well-rested mind is far more productive than a tired one (regardless of how much coffee you drink).

Better Advice

Written by

Nicolas Cole

100M+ Views | 5x Author | Founder of Digital Press | Want to build a Daily Writing Habit? Join me in Ship 30 for 30 all of 2021: https://ship30for30.com/

5 Morning Routines To Feel More Energized

Morning Energy

Skip your cup of coffee and do these instead.

In summer, I love getting up early, but during the cold, dark months, mornings are not my happiest time of the day.

While I can easily get up at 5 AM during the summer, sometimes I sleep until 8 or later and still feel sluggish after getting up during winter.

I deeply admire anyone who lives in a city where the sun shines throughout the whole year. I guess my life would be much easier in one of these cities. Yet, I don’t plan to emigrate anytime soon, so I had to come up with other ideas on how to increase my energy level on cold, lazy mornings.

Here are five of my favorite morning routines to increase my energy and level up my mood:

Drink a Cup of Warm Water With Lemon

I am a sweet tooth, so drinking my water with lemon is quite a challenge, but it’s totally worth it.

It doesn’t only give me an energy boost and wake me up through the sour taste, but it also comes with many more benefits.

Drinking a sufficient amount of water in the morning is critical anyway as our bodies dehydrate during the night. Warm water with lemon adds up to that and helps you fight dehydration right after getting up.

But besides that, it comes with several health benefits:

• We all know that lemons are a great source of vitamin C and help to strengthen our immune system, that’s a good reason to drink your cup of warm lemon water.
• However, lemons are also rich in potassium, calcium, and magnesium.
• On top of that, lemons fight infections as they are antibacterial.
• Your digestive health will thank you too, and lemon water can even act as a detoxifying agent, especially if you practice intermittent fasting.

I guess these are enough reasons to prepare your cup of lemon water tomorrow.

Sometimes, I also add other ingredients like turmeric or ginger, as these come with additional health benefits, but on most lazy mornings, I just go for the lemon.

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Use a Dry Skin Brush Before Showering

You shouldn’t do that more than two times per week, but you can use it as a secret weapon for your super-sluggish days.

Dry brushing the skin helps with the blood circulation, and as a result, you’ll feel more energized and awake.

This one also comes with additional benefits as it helps to avoid cellulite and makes your skin softer and more radiant.

Additionally, I also find dry-brushing meditative. Even though it doesn’t take more than five to ten minutes, for me, dry brushing is a great self-care ritual when I don’t feel very well after waking up.

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Take a Cold Shower

If the brushing doesn’t help to maximize your energy level, jumping under a cold shower might be the most effective way to energize your body.

Admittedly, I hate cold showers. I hate the cold in general, and putting my body under cold water is a considerable challenge. And I don’t do it too often, but when I feel too lazy, it’s the best way to give my body a quick energy boost.

There is no chance of feeling inactive or slow after taking an ice-cold shower. Promised.

And guess what? This routine also comes with additional health benefits!

For example, cold showers improve your immune system. So, if you take a cold shower and drink your warm lemon water daily, you might be able to decrease the odds of getting a cold drastically!

Additionally, cold showers strengthen your discipline and lower your stress level. As it takes lots of effort to put yourself under cold water, your emotional resilience tremendously increases through cold showering.

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Practice Yoga or Stretching

I know that many people like to meditate in the morning. For me, that’s impossible. I almost sleep-in whenever I try meditation before being fully awake and energized. It just doesn’t work for me.

However, what works perfectly is a slow yoga practice or stretching exercises.

I am not a yoga-professional. I’ve never done professional yoga at all. I just chose a YouTube video and try to follow the yoga girl on my laptop’s screen.

Of course, I can’t keep up with every exercise, but that’s not necessary. I just do what works for me and what feels good for my body.

I realized how even a 10-minute stretching routine helps me to improve my energy level and feel happier, especially if I turn some nice, slow music on.

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Tidy Up

For some reason, I find tidying up relaxing and energizing at the same time.

My boyfriend and I are living in quite a small apartment, and our living room equals our workroom. Even though he doesn’t care, I need a clean and tidy workplace in order to concentrate and get my work done efficiently.

If the room is messy, I get distracted all the time. And for some reason, I find it refreshing to tidy up before even doing my morning routine.

It gives me a sense of clarity and control, which, in return, energizes me mentally. Plus, I move my body, so I also get energized physically.

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Bottom Line

I honestly admire those who wake up and start their days full of energy. Even though I’ve already read many books around morning routines and habits in general, I find it really hard to win my mornings during the cold, dark winter months.

I had to try a lot of routines until I finally found my top five that help me energize my body and mind quickly during my lazy mornings, but it was totally worth the trial and error.

1. Drink a cup of warm water with lemon: The sour taste will instantly wake you up. Additionally, the health benefits make this habit worth trying, even if you are already a morning person.

2. Use a dry skin brush before showering: It’s meditative, and it improves your circulation. However, don’t do that more than two times per week as it could irritate your skin.

3. Take a cold shower: That’s undoubtedly the quickest way to boost your energy level. Also here: Health benefits included!

4. Practice yoga (or stretching exercises): There is no right or wrong to moving your body slowly; however, I prefer doing it with the help of a YouTube video.

5. Tidy up: Especially for those of you working from home, this might have the same effects as for me: tidying up gives me a sense of control and energy. I usually do it right before my morning routine as it helps me to wake up fully and also energizes my body as I need to move around.

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Written by

Sinem Günel

Entrepreneur, Mentor & Speaker. I write about Personal Growth & Business 🇦🇹 🇹🇷 Join my weekly growth letter: http://bit.ly/gbnl0703 I IG: sinem.guenel