Mourning Routine Tasks
It’s the crack of dawn. Your alarm clock goes off, and you hit the snooze button. In five minutes, the alarm goes off again. Your night is over, and it takes you a few minutes or more, to figure out what day it is, where you are, and what you have on your schedule for the day. If there were a magic potion that could ensure you would have a great day, you would drink it, right? Well, as you know, there isn’t. But check out these 10 tasks to add to your morning routine for a great day.
1. Drink Water
Really! Simply drinking a glass of water in the morning can help you have a great day. While this may sound silly or simplistic, drinking a glass or two will help you get rid of the staleness in your mouth.
Drinking more water will also get you moving, which is half of the battle. A nice glass of water will get you nicely prepared for the next step of your morning routine.
2. Exercise
One of the best activities you can add to enhance your morning routine is exercise. Training can take whatever form you want it to be; it can be intense or light. It can take an hour or just ten minutes.
It is up to you to decide what fits best your morning routine. The important thing is just to make sure you add it in.
An exercise routine wakes you up and gets both your body and mind moving. If you incorporate your full daily workout into your morning routine, there is no chance that you will fail to get your workout in, no matter what happens with the rest of your day.
This will allow you to feel better about yourself, and remember, good thoughts lead to good days!
3. Hop in the Shower and Get Ready
While many men, as a matter of habit or routine take a shower in the evening before going to bed, taking a nice warm shower in the morning will help wake you up if you haven’t exercised. If you have exercised, a shower will be a welcome respite and recovery before you start on the rest of your day.
Standing under the running water will give you the needed time to gather and organize your thoughts and plan out your day, all while the steam will open your pores and soften your beard, which is essential if you shave daily.
You will get a much smoother and comfortable shave by taking a hot shower immediately before shaving in the morning. Fewer nicks and cuts from shaving will naturally lead to a great day!
It’s a known fact that many men do not take care of their face as well as they should, and this can lead to dry skin, oily skin, or even acne. Taking care of your face is easy, and will help you increase your chances of having a great day. While you are in the shower, refrain from using a plain bar of soap to wash your face. The bar of soap may, in fact, clean your face, but it will also likely dry it out. What you want to use is a facial cleanser, and there are many types and brands on the market to choose from.
The next step in this portion of your routine is to make sure that you moisturize. Use a face moisturizer that includes a sunblock, as this will protect your face from all of the harmful effects of the sun. This step will also improve the overall health of your skin, and may even slow the aging process. If that doesn’t allow you to have a great day, I don’t know what will!
If you have a beard, one of the most important steps in your morning routine will be to use a beard brush before you go on your way. The best brushes are made from animal hair, such as boar hair or horse hair. These hairs naturally reduce frizz and tangles and even redistribute oils throughout your beard. A well-manicured beard allows you to look your best.
If you are a man who is still lucky enough to have a natural head of hair, sometimes it is beneficial to use hair gels to keep your hair looking good all day long. These gels will come in different styles, from light hold to firm hold. Choosing the right one is very important, as picking one with a firm hold will weigh down fine hair, and make it look unnatural. On the other hand, if you have thick, coarse hair, a light gel, or even a hair spray, will not offer enough control. Selecting the correct gel and using it correctly will be vital to having your hair look great all day long.
The next step in getting ready for your great day is brushing your teeth. Nobody wants to start their day with morning breath! The best way to make sure that your pearly whites are ready for the day is to use an electric toothbrush. Dentists say that they are much better than regular brushes, as they do a much more thorough job. You can add a good mouthwash to it, and you are ready to go. A clean mouth will allow you to smile more, and the more you smile, the better the day you will have!
Before you are done with your skincare and grooming routine, another great way to make sure that you are setting yourself up for the day is to pull out that manicure set you have hidden in the bathroom cabinet. A simple way to boost your self-confidence is to make sure that you look your best. Make sure your nails are trimmed and neat and remove any rogue hairs that are growing in places they shouldn’t be. Looking your best will allow you to feel your best. When you feel your best, you have set yourself up to have the most fabulous day.
4. To Be Good, You Have to Smell Good
After you have allowed the hot shower to assist in waking you up and getting you mentally prepared for the day, it is important to make sure that you keep yourself smelling fresh throughout the day.
Deodorants and solid colognes will do their part to keep you feeling fresh and clean, and this will give you more confidence as well. More confidence is a vital component to having a great day. Think about it, if you go around all day knowing that you don’t smell clean or fresh, are you really going to be doing and feeling your best?
5. The Sound of Silence
All too soon, you will be dealing with the sounds of the morning commute, the ringing of cell phones, constant chatter from your co-workers or children, and all of the other sensory stimulation that a regular day can give you. Why not take advantage of the silence you have when you first get up to clear your head?
You may only have ten minutes of silence, but cherish this silence, get your thoughts together while you can, and set yourself up mentally for a great day ahead.
6. Time for Caffeine
This step should ideally occur at the same time as the previous step. Brewing a cup of your favorite coffee and taking the time to enjoy it, even if it is only for the ten minutes of silence you get in the morning, will put you on the path to waking up and being able to face the day. When done as part of a morning ritual or routine, a cup or two of coffee can be extremely medicinal.
7. Be Prepared
Only taking a few moments and reviewing your calendar may prove to be one of the very best things you can do to ensure that you have a great day. This step, which is done as a part of your routine, should take just a few minutes and focus you on the priorities of the day, and perhaps the upcoming week.
Nothing ruins a day quite like a missed deadline, a forgotten appointment, or a friend or family member’s birthday that was off your radar.
A few minutes spent reviewing your calendar, which can even be completed while enjoying that coffee, can truly be a day saver!
8. What is Your Goal?
This addition to your morning routine can be done while you are reviewing your daily calendar. If you can take a few minutes each morning to set your goals for the day, you then have a way to make sure your day can be measured as a success.
Having a goal or two in mind will allow you to be proactive instead of reactive during your day. How many goals is ideal? As many as you believe you can realistically meet in a day.
This way, you will feel like you are making progress throughout the day, and when you finally get home, you can feel like you accomplished something. This, in turn, will allow for a better night’s rest, which will then feed into a better day following.
9. Take Time for Yourself
Most of your upcoming day will be spent making sure that other people are happy, satisfied, and taken care of. Before you get into the day and spend all of your energy on pleasing other people and meeting their needs, why not take a few minutes, or perhaps 30, and work on something that helps you satisfy a goal you have set for yourself?
Perhaps there is a book you have wanted to finish but never had the time to. Maybe you want to teach yourself a new skill. Whatever it is, if you spend time meeting this goal every morning, you will reach this goal more quickly, and this, in turn, will make you feel better about yourself.
When you feel better about yourself, it is much more likely that you will have a great day. Then, even if your day does not turn out so well, you can end it knowing that at least you made some progress towards a personal goal, and maybe that thought will help you sleep just a bit better.
10. The Most Important Meal of the Day
You need sufficient energy during the day. Running out of stamina halfway through the day leads to a lack of productivity and an increase in the odds that your day will not go well.
Merely taking ten or fifteen minutes to prepare a healthy nutritious breakfast, such as oatmeal, fruit, and eggs can ultimately change your entire day. Stay away from processed and greasy foods, as these will likely cause more problems for you throughout your day.
Now, go and have a great day!
