Start Your Day With A Morning Routine

Whether it's a daily ritual of your morning tea or coffee, reading the papers, meditation or a morning run, how you start your day is important.

A good morning routine will help you to be more organised, more productive and more focused for the rest of the day.

Here are a few ideas to get you off to a good start.

Start with a good night's sleep.  Few of us are able to burn the candle at both ends or survive on only a few hours sleep, without it coming back to bite us at some stage - physically, mentally or emotionally.

• Lay out your clothes ready for the morning - shirt ironed, shoes polished.

• Put your exercise kit out - you'll have less excuse if it's out, ready for when you wake up.

• Make breakfast the night before.  Bircher muesli can be prepared in advance.  If you want a really healthy start - try a green smoothie!

• Make lunch - take the time to prepare a healthy lunch and you'll be less tempted to snack or grab a sandwich at lunch time.

Get up early.   Many successful CEOs and business owners are up at 5.00am to get a head start on the day.  I often talk to people who don't have time to exercise, don't have time to read, don't have time for breakfast?

Set the alarm half an hour or an hour earlier, when it's quieter and there's less disturbance ... use the extra time for yourself - NOT to check your work email!  Leave that until later in the day.

Plan your day.  Either the night before or first thing in the morning.  What do you need to get done, what's important for a successful, productive day?

You can't do everything, prioritise what's important and delegate as much as you can.

Use your plan to guide your day, don't react or get distracted by less urgent tasks (especially email).

Get your exercise in early - if you struggle to find time to exercise during the day, if you're 'too tired' at the end of the day - start early.

Do stretching, yoga or pilates to get your body gently moving.  Go out for a short run or a brisk walk, before you shower and have breakfast.

A place for everything.  Avoid last minute panics as you leave the house - put your car keys, house keys, mobile phone, charger etc.  in the same place, so you're not searching around for them in the morning.

Change one or two things at a time to build your own successful morning routine.  If you need more ideas or want to find a routine that works for you get in touch.