By Dr Attia Anwar
When we talk about long-term well-being and happiness, we must talk about practical steps that can help to achieve happiness instead of just emphasizing theoretical aspects. A lot of work in research is being done to give people stepwise scientifically proven guidance to improve.
Starting your day in the right way is one of these practical steps that have long-term proven effects. If you want to spend your day without chaos, you should start it with clarity and deliberateness. This will give you the power to spend the rest of your day according to your plans, not doing everything that comes on way.
There are many ways you can do that. There is a whole miracle morning community who start their day with certain things like meditation, exercise, reading, setting goals, etc. These all are very helpful to make your day more productive. You feel less anxious and you feel in control. There is a famous saying of naval officer if you want to change the world make your bed in the morning. All these things make sense, as they give you an unhurried approach with a positive mindset for the new day.
Your morning routine can be highly personalized for you. Do whatever suits you. But you should start your day with intention, not anything that drags you. Basically to start a productive day you have to set your intentions on the previous night. You should have a fixed bedtime on most of the days. We will discuss this in detail in another section. You should wake up at least half an hour before your required time so that you are relaxed and not in a hurry. You are not supposed to touch your phone first thing in the morning. The idea is to first connect with yourself and then with the external world. You can start your day with prayer, meditation, exercise, a good breakfast, or coffee. You should do it on your own without any external influence. That will set your intentions for the day. And you will feel under control.
A perfect morning will be a mixture of exercise, meditation, reading, journaling, and revising your goals. Exercise in the morning gives you an energy boost. Meditation brings you clarity and you become clearer in your objectives. Reading and journaling enhance these things. If you want to have breakfast of your choice in the morning you can have that. Otherwise, you can have a glass of water hydrate yourself and start your day. You can have coffee or tea first thing in the morning if you want to. But before having tea or coffee hydrate yourself with water. Some people mix lemon in water which is also a good idea. After a full night of fasting hydration is very important. Then not checking your phone before you do certain morning rituals is important. Because if you find something urgent before you start your day that will influence you and destroy your intentions and control. You will be in a mood that is influenced by that message. If you start your day by connecting with yourself then you read the message. Your mind would be clear and you can decide whether it is something urgent or it can wait after you have done your more urgent tasks which you have decided on the previous night. Things that have waited the whole night, can wait an hour more.
Starting your day with full intentions and control will help you to spend the rest of the day with clarity and calmness. That will set the tone of the day. You will make better decisions deal with people in a better way and treat people well. Your productivity level or efficiency will increase. You will not feel tired, your energy level will be high. Your mood will be better. You will anticipate the problems and work like a pro. You will be more persistent and resistant to fatigue, frustration, and difficulties. That will result in higher life satisfaction and less anxiety and depression. I like the routine that which Miracle Morning community has opted the word, SAVERS is for silence. Silence means nothing. You have to start your day with some deeper connection. It can be meditation, prayer, reflection, deep breathing, or gratitude. Silence is a form of meditation that lowers your cortisol level and reduces your stress.
A is for affirmation. It is proven scientifically that affirmation if done correctly can make you the person you want to be. It is also a bad trap if not done correctly. Lying to yourself does not work. V is for visualization. Visualize the life that you want to create. Visualize yourself to take action for that. That can rewire your subconscious and you will take the necessary actions to achieve a goal. E is for exercise. Starting your day with a bit of physical activity has very good results for your long-term well-being. It can be running, jogging, a specified workout, or simple walking. You can do yoga also. You should exercise your brain also. R is for reading. Reading is going to enrich your life. If you start your day with reading you will have an unhurried approach toward the day. Your decision will be deliberate. The last S is for scribing. Scribing means writing. You can do proper journaling. You will gain clarity, capture new ideas, and track your progress. After doing all this you are all set for a new day. You can use other ways to start your morning and they are also effective but I have described the method from the book Miracle Morning. It is very effective.
Moreover, to have a perfect morning you have a strict bedtime routine. After setting your intentions for the next day or making your to-do list you should sleep on a fixed time. You should wake up at a fixed time. It should be early and before so that you can do your morning routine. You cannot have every morning an ideal morning if you can do your morning routine more than fifty percent of the time. It is good enough. There will be times when you will not be able to start your day as planned and that is okay. But starting most of your days with intentions is good for your well-being and productivity.
The author Dr. Attia Anwar is a consultant family physician with a postgraduate degree from the Royal College of GP UK. She is a strong advocate of health and well-being and wants patient participation in decision-making regarding health.
