Why Mornings Matter: How to Transform Your Routine for Career Growth
By: Neil Patrick G. Nepomuceno
With today’s technology and smartphones, people tend to stay awake much later due to social media apps and on-demand streaming services. This unnatural sleep schedule can hamper your productivity at work, leaving you tired and irritable during the day.
The good thing is, with enough discipline and dedication, U can turn this around and transform yourself to become a morning person. Here are 5 tips on how you can make your day much better!
PICK YOUR IDEAL WAKE UP TIME
Only you can decide which time will work for you due to your work schedule, travel time, and preparation time among other factors. Think about the time you want to get up while considering all these factors and make sure to consistently meet this new goal by setting effective alarms and having enough sleep.
TIPS: A common rule of thumb is: If your commute or drive to work takes one hour, you can set your alarm two hours before. An hour can be more than time to prepare for work. You can freely adjust your wake up time according to your personal habits and travel time.
GRADUALLY ADJUST YOUR SLEEP SCHEDULE
In order to move a mountain, we start by carrying small stones. Same goes for your sleep schedule. You can start by slowly start by waking up 15 mins earlier each day until you reach your target.
TIPS: Start small by waking up 15 minutes earlier each day. Gradually work your way up to your ideal wake-up time, and take note of when you go to bed the night before so you can effectively repeat this cycle.
WAKE UP EARLY EVEN ON WEEKENDS
Inconsistent sleep schedules can deter the progress you’ve already built during weekdays. Avoid sleeping in during weekends, so you can also benefit from the extra time you have by exercising, chores and other tasks.
TIP: You can start developing a habit of doing exercise, during the weekends, preparing a nutritious breakfast or simply doing yoga, meditation and other mindful activities. Doing one or more of these activities had proven that people feel more satisfied at the end of the day because of how much they’ve achieved in the morning.
MONITOR YOUR SLEEP HABITS
In order to consistently get a good night’s rest, you can record your be time, track sleep disturbances, your mood, and identify blockers that could cause sleep issues that could make you feel tired when you wake up.
TIP: We recommend using your smartphone’s “health and wellness aps or using a notebook or downloading a sleep tracking app for advanced journaling features.
LIMIT YOUR SCREEN TIME
Although this is challenging during the day due to your work schedule, you can always start reducing your screen time when you get back home and it is time for bed.
TIPS: Setting an app timer of 1hr to 2 hours can help you reduce your screen time by force closing the apps after you set the time. You can start by setting an app timer on your social media apps and video streaming apps.