16 Effective Tips on How to Start Your Day Productively

Productive mroning with coffee and croissants and a fashion magazine

Are you planning on becoming a super productive person who doesn’t procrastinate, doesn’t waste time on things that don’t matter, and gets up early in the morning before anyone else? Then you’re in the right place. Also if you are just wondering how you can start your day productively and want a few general productivity tips to make your mornings a bit better, you’re still in the right place. 

What you do in the morning has a huge effect on the rest of your day and that’s why you should take this seriously. Of course, what you do after work or on the weekend matters too. But making your mornings more productive is the first step to take when you are trying to change your life for the better. 

In this post, I will share with you 16 ways in which you can start your day productively. Pick the ones that you think would make the biggest difference in your life and see how much more you can get done in a day. 

Why you should start your day productively

If you want to become a productive person, you have to make sure you structure your days right and create routines. It might sound boring, but the truth is that these kinds of things make a world of difference. If you don’t have a morning routine, you might end up skipping breakfast or checking your phone for 30 minutes before you get up. That’s not going to help you at all!

To become an efficient and productive person, you have to know the value of your time. If you are constantly wasting the first hours of your day, you are losing precious time without even noticing it yourself. 15 extra minutes lying in bed every morning is 7,5 hours a month. That’s almost a full workday completely wasted. 

As you can see, how you spend your time in the morning matters a lot. If you are productive in the morning, you can be productive all day long. 

How does a productive morning affect the rest of your day

You might have heard the phrase “The first hour of the day is the rudder of the day.” And that is exactly what it is. How you spend your morning has a huge effect on the rest of your day. When you don’t let yourself procrastinate, you tackle your tasks one by one, you’re feeling good and you’re making progress, that is likely to continue till the evening. 

If on the other hand, you put off even the easiest things you should do, it gets harder and harder to get started. If it’s 2 pm and you still haven’t done anything, you’re probably feeling bad about yourself and you feel like you’re way behind already. Don’t let yourself get into that situation. Start being productive right away in the morning and the rest of the day will take care of itself. 

The first hour of the morning is extra important. If you stay in your bed for a bit too long or start by watching Youtube videos, that just puts you in a lazy mood and your primary goal becomes being comfortable. Getting up immediately when the alarm goes off works the other way: it puts you in the let’s-get-this-done mood and doing the difficult and boring things you have to do becomes much easier. 

Now, let’s get to my best tips on how to start your day productively: 

1. Sleep enough

I know this is boring to hear, but getting enough sleep makes the biggest difference. Whatever the situation, you should always do your best to ensure that you can sleep enough. Sleep deprivation is directly linked to being less productive. If you want to perform well and not waste your time trying to remember what you were supposed to do, you go to sleep early. 

If this isn’t possible, you can use these tips to still be productive even when you are tired.

2. Wake up early

There are many benefits to waking up early. First of all, it enables you to get some work done when everyone else is still asleep and there are fewer distractions to disrupt your flow. If you have a day job, it’s a good idea to work on your side hustle or anything else you have to get done before you go to work.

This means that you get to spend the best hours of the day on what matters the most if you are trying to grow your side hustle into something bigger. 

3. Jump out of bed immediately

When you wake up, you have to get out of bed right away. I know it can sound about as much fun as taking an ice-cold shower, but trust me, this will help you. Lying in bed is a complete waste of time, not to mention that the faster you get yourself ready for the day, the faster you will feel awake and energetic. 

So skip the snooze button altogether and roll out of bed with your eyes closed if you have to. You will feel better before you know it. 

4. Get yourself ready fast

Some people prefer to take their time in the morning and really cherish the quiet moment they take for themselves with a cup of tea. There’s nothing wrong with that if that’s what works for you. But I recommend you get yourself ready fast because it can save you a surprisingly big amount of time. 

Brush your teeth, eat some breakfast, and get dressed before doing anything else. Then you can get to work early. 

5. Eat a healthy breakfast

Eating a good breakfast helps you be more productive. If you often feel like you don’t want to eat anything in the morning, it might be a good idea to go to sleep a bit earlier, so that you have some extra time in the morning to wake up and thus be able to stomach your breakfast. 

If you skip breakfast, you won’t have much energy all morning and it will be harder for you to focus or to get as much done as if you had eaten something. 

6. Get straight to work

One of the biggest productivity hacks in the morning is to get straight to work. Sometimes I start working before I even get out of bed and it’s astonishing how much more I can get done on those days. 

I’m not saying you can’t get yourself ready before you start tackling your to-do list though. The important thing is to not waste time on anything that isn’t necessary. You can check your messages and read the news later. Don’t let yourself do something easy that will distract you from work for too long. Just get to work. You can have free time later. 

Read next: How to Stop Being Lazy in 10 Easy Steps

Croissants, two notebooks, a pen and a coffee cup to get your day started productively

7. Don’t check social media

It’s extremely important that you don’t open any social media apps in the morning. They are designed to keep you on the apps for as long as possible. Why do Tik Tok and Instagram show you endless short videos? Because they are easy to watch, entertaining and you could do it forever. 

It’s your responsibility to make sure this doesn’t happen. Don’t even briefly check any social media apps until later on in the day, when you have already got most of your work done. If you have to, you can get an app that blocks time-wasting apps till a certain hour or block certain sites completely. 

8. Plan well

The better your plan, the easier it is for you to get everything done. You can write a detailed to-do list every morning or use a bullet journal or any other system that works for you. Try to get the most difficult things done first or at least leave enough time for them. 

You can also create a schedule or try time blocking. Do whatever works for you, but make sure to stick to it. 

9. Move your body

There’s a reason many people like to go running or hit the gym in the morning: it gives you extra energy and makes you feel good. If you can spare 30 minutes or an hour to exercise, you should definitely do it. Afterwards it will be easier for you to focus and get things done. 

10. Do the hardest thing first

Is there something you know you should do, but it just feels too difficult or laborious or simply too boring? That is exactly the thing you should do first. Just push yourself through it, no matter how much you dislike it. 

After you’re done with it, you will feel accomplished. And since the biggest and hardest thing to do is already behind, it’s easier to continue with the rest of your tasks. Chances are they will feel extra easy! 

11. Remind yourself of your favorite quote or affirmation

Do you have a favorite quote? Do you use affirmations? Motivational quotes and affirmations can make a big difference in how you feel about yourself and the tasks at hand. They can set you in the right mood and give you some energy when you don’t feel like getting started. 

You can also have your favorite quote or affirmation somewhere where you can always see it, like above your workspace. 

12. Eat a healthy snack later on in the morning

You ate a healthy breakfast and did your best in working hard on your to-do list. But then you notice you don’t feel like continuing anymore. That’s the perfect time to take a little break and eat a healthy snack. Some fruit or maybe nuts and olives is the perfect choice for late morning and it will keep you going till lunch. 

13. Morning pages

Writing morning pages can help you get in the right mindset. The idea is to write three pages of text without thinking about what you are going to write or what it sounds like. Just let the words come. You don’t even have to read those pages later on. 

Getting any thoughts you have in your head on paper can help you clear your mind or motivate you for the day ahead. 

14. Go for a walk

If you have something in your mind or you’re worried about something, going for a walk can help. Walks can also be beneficial to you if you need new ideas or you have a big decision to make. 

To make your walks even more productive, you can listen to something at the same time. A motivational podcast can help you a lot. 

15. Something to inspire you

You don’t need inspiration to work, but it can help you get in the right mindset. Sometimes you might need a little push to start working. 

If there is someone who you admire, take a few minutes to look at their work or think about how they have gotten where they are now. A motivational Youtube video can help too, but then you have to be careful not to end up watching a bunch of random videos Youtube recommends to you. 

16. Picture your goals

You have to keep your eyes on the price. What are you doing all this work for? What is your ultimate goal?

Picture your goals as clearly as you can. This will help you to be motivated and stay focused because it’s crystal clear to you why you’re doing this. You can also make a vision board and hang it somewhere where you can always see it when you are working. 

Conclusion

Remember that what you do in the morning matters because it sets the tone for the rest of the day. You really don’t want to mess up your morning and be lazy or procrastinate – that will make it much harder for you to get everything done by the end of the day. Do your best to be productive in the morning and the rest of the day will be much easier. 

If you are just starting your journey to becoming more productive, keep in mind that adapting to new habits can take months. If you fall back to your old unproductive habits in the first few days, that’s nothing to worry about. Whenever you notice you’re doing something you shouldn’t be doing, just quit that and get back to work. And tomorrow will always be a new day if today didn’t go as planned. 

Tell me in the comments what you usually do in the mornings and how you start your days productively. I really want to know what your mornings look like! Remember to also share this post on social media! 

In case you’d like even more ideas on how to make your mornings more productive, check out these tips!

2 Comments

  1. Sigh… Productivity is one of the things I am working on. And I have gotten sooo much better. But, this morning I had a phone call so I didn’t want to get into a project right away. So, instead I started blog hopping. I have read some of your blog posts before and you always have good advice. The getting right up out of bed is tough for me but most of the time I do it. I get up at 5 am almost every day. Anyway thanks for all the tips.

    1. Awesome, that’s great to hear! Being productive is not easy, it’s perfectly normal to struggle with it. Getting up at 5 am is impressive though, sounds like you’re doing pretty good! 🙂

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