Since I was a kid, I always heard that, “morning shows the day”. Well I understood the true meaning of this proverb until recently. Since COVID19, I changed my life drastically. I started saving up lot of time from my work, while commuting in the city and so on. It helped me to channelise my energy to positive directions.
I know many people didn’t feel good about themselves during the lockdown period. Some were disturbed and depressed as they were locked inside their home. Some were struggling to cope with COVID19 illness and post-recovery. Some were praying for their loved ones to recover from COVID19 quickly. Some were praying for the well-being of doctors, nurses and other frontline workers in their families. I was also praying for my old parents to stay healthy during this tough time. During this time, I made few changes in my life. I adopted some simple but very effective morning habits to bring positive changes in my life.
Waking up at 6 AM
Many of my friends asked me that how do I manage to wake up at 6 AM everyday. Some also made fun of the fact that I go to sleep early as I still consider myself as a kid who goes to bed early. Well, its one of the simplest lifestyle changes. These changes bring huge results in your physical and mental health. When I started waking up at 6, I noticed I feel light, more alert and making so much of time for myself. But in order to wake up at 6, I started hitting my bed by 10-10.30 PM, so that I can get 8 hours of sweet sleep and can give enough of rest to my body.
Thankfulness and Prayer
Yes, you read it right. So when I wake up in the morning, I say thank you to the almighty for giving me another beautiful day in my life. I am getting an opportunity to see another sunrise and getting to do the things I love. This is sheer and honest thankfulness which comes from my within. I don’t need to force myself. It comes automatically because this is how I see my life.
Looking at my Vision Board
Some of you might not know more about vision board. So vision board is a board where I keep my goals for every year. When I started 2023, I was not in a good state of mind as in December 2022 I lost my mother after a long battle. So I needed to get better and needed to stay stronger for my father and for myself as well. So I made 2023 vision board and marked that I will be working on my mental health every single day and will bring out a better version of myself. Some goals were sounding huge to me, so I broke them into pieces and put them step by step. As of now, my biggest achievement so far in 2023 is launching my own website.
Reading
For the past few months, I’m reading self-help books, so I read them slowly. They are not like thriller or fictional books which you can read in a go. These books are pretty much consuming and after reading every page, you need to process and introspect yourself. So I try to read 1-2 pages minimum to bring that positive change in my life. It also increases my awareness and knowledge about few particular things.
Breakfast
A nutritious breakfast will give you the energy to kick start your day. I prefer to take unsweetened almond milk or walnut milk in my breakfast. When I switched my diet from being a meat and fish eater to a plant-based eater, the biggest challenge for me to find a permanent and convenient plant milk source. Sometimes I eat oats, beaten rice, semolina or something light, yet nutritious. Then off course I have my “to-do list” to take care off for the rest of the day. Calls, meetings, work, household chores, cooking and many more keep me engaged throughout the day.
I’m not trying to say that I’m a superhuman or a Wonder Woman. I’m just a woman with some wonderful ideas and great lifestyle habits. I like to be more productive during the day time. After 5 PM I try to slow down as I hit the bed by 10 PM, so I need to calm myself down and prepare for the next day. Before I fall asleep I make sure to meditate, say thank you to the almighty and prepare my next day’s “to-do list”. Its not a rocket science, nor you have to be a NASA return, but making these small changes made me believe that I can be more productive and can be a better time manager.