Do you ever sit down at 6 p.m. and think that you had an incredibly busy day, but didn’t accomplish much? If you think your days are passing, chances are you are spending most of your time doing the wrong things.
And the most dangerous time of day to waste is your morning. As Richard Whateley once said: “Lose an hour in the morning, and you will spend all day looking for it.”
If you spend the morning doing the wrong things, you probably won’t have the energy, motivation, and willpower to do the right things for the rest of the day.
6. Planning Your Day
If you don’t plan, you won’t be able to execute either. But if you spend the first few minutes of your day planning your schedule, you will waste a tremendous amount of precious energy on this repetitive task.
“Write a to-do list to stay organized” is common productivity advice, but what most people forget is that you’ll be too late if you set up your to-do list in the morning.
Yes, being organized is the key to a fulfilling life, but you shouldn’t organize first thing in the morning.
What to do instead:
If you want to get the most out of each day, set your priorities before bed.
When you wake up, your daily schedule and plan should be ready and waiting for you to schedule your tasks.
Don’t allow yourself to feel overwhelmed in the early hours of the day. Instead, be well prepared and set your priorities at night.
There is no better feeling than going to bed knowing that you are well prepared to face the next day.
5. Complaining
Often times, we don’t even realize that negative thoughts and conversations can influence us for hours. For most people, it’s even natural to complain about the weather, politics, or work as part of the morning routine.
But if you start the day complaining about your job, partner, family, or whatever, you will take that negative mood with you for at least a few hours, sometimes even all day.
What to do instead:
Your words and thoughts affect not only your motivation but your entire state of mind.
If you start your day complaining, you will find more and more things to complain about throughout the day. Not because there’s a lot to complain about, but because you focus on it.
However, if you focus on the positive side of life, you will find even more things that will cheer you up and increase your happiness. This is why you need to train your mind to focus on what is good in the morning.
4. Getting Straight to Work
Mornings are the perfect time to take care of your health and get inspired.
Most people find it difficult to incorporate positive habits into their busy schedules if they don’t do it early in the morning.
But most people get up early enough to get to work on time because they are too lazy to get up early. However, the truth is that most of the time, sleeping a few more minutes will only make you lazier, slow down, and reduce productivity.
What to do instead:
Instead of starting work, take the time to do things that will benefit your physical and mental health. It’s easier to take time and take care of yourself in the morning before facing distractions.
Stop relying on caffeine to feel more awake. Instead, get up 30 minutes early and do something good for your body, soul, and mind.
3. Making Too Many Decisions
The surest way to waste energy in the morning is to make lots of decisions right after waking up.
That includes:
- deciding what to wear
- what to eat for breakfast
- when to leave to catch the bus or be on time for an appointment
- which projects or tasks to work on
- when to work out
- and so much more
What to do instead:
Your number one priority in the morning should be to reduce mental clutter and give your brain some room to breathe.
Make all those little decisions before you go to bed: pack your clothes for the next day, decide on your breakfast, create your schedule, and set your priorities.
2. Distracting Yourself Through Social Media
If scrolling through social media is part of your morning routine, you’re essentially killing your focus muscle. However, this also applies to checking the news or your emails.
Wanting to keep up with the world’s news is good, but you don’t really have to do it in the morning. If you are bombarded with news, updates, and negativity in the morning, you will carry that negative energy with you throughout the day.
What to do instead:
If you really need to check your phone, make sure you at least browse through the positive feeds.
You can, for example, follow motivational pages on Instagram or Pinterest and tune your mind to positivity instead of unhappiness when you use your phone in the morning.
1. Loading Your Body with Sugar
In his book 12 Rules for Life, Jordan Peterson describes how his clients experienced a decrease in anxiety when they switched from breakfast with large amounts of carbohydrates and sugar to meals high in fat and protein.
Simple carbohydrates and sugars are digested very quickly, leading to a sudden spike in blood sugar, followed by a rapid drop.
And the problem is that most people are used to eating breakfast with carbohydrates and sugar, such as cereals, pastries, or sandwiches.
The sad truth is that most typical breakfasts negatively affect our physical and mental well-being.
What to do instead:
The easiest way to control your breakfasts and make them work for you, rather than against, is to prepare them ahead of time.
What you do early in the morning should make you more energetic and help you be more productive rather than lazy. A good life is the result of good habits, and your mornings have a particularly strong effect on your quality of life.
If you want to take your life to the next level and become your best, start by eliminating these seven sins in the morning and watch your health, productivity, and happiness increase.
