One "Thought Habit" that will transform your day.
Luke Mathers
Take the stress out of change and change the way you stress. Speaker-Author-Coach who gets people curious about the good side of STRESS.
How much of what you do is habitual? Studies suggest that between 40 to 90% of our day is spent doing things that are considered habits. The exact number doesn't matter, and even if we take the lower end of this range (50%), we are on auto-pilot half the time.
What does your morning routine look like? Is it bounce out of bed and exercise or is it like sending slow-motion morse code on the snooze button with the pillow over your head in a vain attempt to delay the start of the day? 1 in 3 people never hit the snooze button and bounce out of bed while the other 2 in 3 take an average of 24 minutes to get themselves vertical.
So, what's your morning ritual?
If more than half the things we do, are done that way because they are done that way (habits). I think it is a good idea that we make a few of our habits deliberate. If you want a more positive start to the day, this one habit change will do it.
Start your day the night before.
We all know the value of sleep. It cements memories, clears oxidants from the brain and repairs your body and mind. Berkley sleep scientist Matthew Walker (author of "why we sleep") explains that from an evolutionary point of view, being vulnerable and non-responsive for 8hours is dangerous. If it didn't have enormous health benefits, evolution would have done away with it thousands of years ago. We need sleep.
So, what's the one habit change to help you wake up fresh every morning?
Start your day the night before. If you want to be up at 6 am, your day starts at 10 pm the night before. Allowing yourself to have 8 hours of sleep before the alarm goes is the best way to ensure you wake up ready to take on the day.
Do you want to start your day binge-watching another episode on Netflix, or do you want a glorious 8 hours on the nod?
Do you want your day to start with another bottle of shiraz or a litre of cookie-dough icecream?
What we do at night has a significant effect on the next day.
The simple habit of starting your day the night before will ensure you wake up in the morning ready to take on the day and be Stress Teflon.
Team Performance Specialist | Human Behaviour Coach | World Federation for Mental Health (Workplace) Committee
4 年A really good point there Luke Mathers. Your day does really depend on you having a good sleep. (I also like to plan my next day as the last work task the day before). Great article.
VP of Growth at Bench | Marketing & Advertising Leader | eCommerce & Retail Media Specialist
4 年Very good reminder Luke Mathers. I like planning the next day the day before as part of setting up the next day the day before. Really helps hitting the hay with a free mind.