If there’s one thing you should know about me it is that I am not a morning person. Like, at all. What can I say, I just love, love, love my sleep. Warm, cozy bed over everything else. Who’s with me?
Despite my hatred of mornings, I always know that my productivity goes way up when I drag myself out of bed and actually get started on my work day at a regular hour.
But, in order to actually get myself out of bed, there are a couple changes I’ve had to make in my morning routine. And seriously, they’ve made all the difference in boosting my productivity throughout the day.
Here are five things I highly recommend doing to increase your productivity:
1) Never, ever skip breakfast
I know you hear this all the time, but just give it a chance…
I’m not really one of those people who sets out or makes her breakfast ahead of time (#goals), but I am someone who knows exactly what she’s having for breakfast pretty much everyday. For me, it’s either a fruit smoothie, a protein smoothie, or an English muffin with peanut butter. On days where I’m a little extra hungry, I’ll throw a hard boiled egg into the mix.
Knowing what you’re going to eat in the morning ensures (1) that you’re eating something healthy, (2) that you don’t skip breakfast, and (3) that you actually give yourself a moment to sit before starting your day.
As a non-morning person, I’ve really found that giving myself that extra 15 minutes in the morning to eat my breakfast and scroll through my phone is really all I need to wake up before throwing myself into the work day. I never skip breakfast, and I pretty much always eat the things mentioned above. Easy ‘peezy and ready to tackle the day. Productivity for the win.
2) Workout In The Morning
I may not be a morning person, but I’m probably even less of an athletic person. But, just like I know getting up in the morning is good for my work day, I know exercise is good for my health.
I’ve started incorporating my workout into my morning routine largely because after a full work day, I never want to workout. When I do it in the morning, it’s out of the way and done with. No excuses later on the day.
Even better, though, I’ve found that working out in the morning gives me a rush of all those good endorphins, pumps me up with energy, and makes me feel like a total boss for checking off such an important aspect of my day first thing. I always feel so ready to tackle the day when I start it all off with exercise. Hello productivity boost.
And girl, trust me, I never thought I’d be able to workout in the morning. I actually tried it a couple months ago and gave up. What I think has been the difference maker is having breakfast before my workout. I’ll have a small smoothie before my workout, and I swear, sitting down to drink my smoothie gives me time I need to wake up. Not to mention, the actual energy the smoothie gives me to make it through the workout.
3) Take Care of Your Hair
Okay, weirdest piece of advice ever, right?
But hear me out.
As someone who doesn’t have to go into an office, I rarely actually get fully dressed for my work day. Leggings, top knots, and no makeup all day ‘eeryday for this chick.
But in the past month or so, I’ve been trying to get out of the house to work at cafes more often. And, as somebody who likes going out into public looking halfway put together, this means putting in a little effort.
Emphasis on the little.
I just don’t have time to curl my hair, or get it looking top notch. My hair is relatively long, and I’m notorious for being short on time.
My solution?
I try and take care of my hair as best as I can throughout the week. My secret has been incorporating a couple products into my haircare routine, namely a hair oil from a new company called Playa.
I legit have the driest hair ever (anyone else a total avoider of getting their hair cut?). When I don’t actually style my hair, it looks like a total dead animal sitting on top of my head. So not cute.
But, when I sleep with my hair in a braid and then rub a little of the Playa Ritual Hair Oil into my dry ends, oh my goodness, it makes such a big difference. And no, I’m not just saying that. This hair oil is the real deal. It’s doesn’t make my hair look greasy, and instead makes it look healthy and perfectly shiny with such little effort.
My hair has obviously been straightened in the picture here, but I can’t believe how healthy it looks! Would you believe it’s been 8 months since it’s even been trimmed? Yup, this Playa Hair Oil saves me quite a headache in the morning.
If you want to spend more time sleeping, and less time primping, you need this hair oil in your life. The more sleep I get, and the less time I spend on something like my hair, the more I’m able to get done work wise. Not to mention, I am a big believer in the whole “look good, feel good” philosophy.
Maybe not a direct productivity booster, but I promise these products really have made a difference in saving me time in the morning.
(p.s. their dry shampoo is also a game changer for those days when washing your hair seems like too much work)
4) Simple Makeup Routine is Key
In the same vein, if you don’t want to waste precious time in the morning, get your makeup routine down to a science. Find out exactly what products you need to be using in order to feel your best with the least amount of effort as possible.
This may take some experimenting, but once you have it down, you’ll have your face on and be out the door in minutes! (let me know if you’re interested in seeing my 5 minute makeup routine)
5) Limit Your Coffee Intake
So we’ve established that I’m not a morning person and I’m not an athletic person, but one person that I am? I am a coffee person.
I love my coffee probably just as much as I love my sleep.
And for the past year this has pretty much always meant having two cups of coffee everyday. One in the morning, and one mid-afternoon around 2pm. (seriously, this is such a big part of my life I wrote about it on my About page *eye roll*)
Today, though, I pretty much always limit my coffee to one cup unless I’m having a particularly crazy day.
And I suggest you do the same!
Why?
Well, less caffeine in the system makes it easier to fall asleep at night (especially when consumed in the morning). And sleeping better at night means it’s much easier to wake up in the morning. Better sleep = better productivity throughout the day.
And don’t worry, I get it, I resisted lowering my caffeine intake for months, but it really does help. If that warm drink in the afternoon is something you need for comfort, like it was for me, try black (decaf) tea with milk and honey. You get the same comfort without the inability to fall asleep at night.
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So are you a morning person?
If you are please, please, please leave me your tips below. I’d love to become more of a morning person, but there’s just something about my nocturnal brain that totally resists.
These small changes have certainly helped, though! And I hope they help you too.
If you found these tips helpful for boosting productivity throughout your day, feel free to share on Pinterest with the Pinterest button below 🙂
* Please Note: Playa did send me their products to review, but this post is not sponsored and all opinions are my own
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