Habits to Start Your Day Off Right
Tips that have helped me (and continue to help) start my mornings peacefully in a way that leads to a productive day.
Every day of our lives is not the same; on some, we wake up motivated and excited for the day ahead and hit beyond our goals in the end, and on other days, we might rouse with tiredness and feel like calling it a day already. Despite which side you might wake up on, how you start the day makes a huge difference. In this short piece of writing, I will be sharing top tips that have helped and continue to help me start my mornings off right and be on the right track for the whole day, finish it strong by planning it out, prioritizing the tasks, and committing to them.
Tips to start the day off right
- Plan your week ahead during weekends or plan your day the night before
Decision-making tires the mind and takes time as well as energy. Therefore, if you want to keep your mind fresh, make your weekends a planning time. Plan whatever you want to do and accomplish in the coming weekdays and how you will do it. You can also plan your to-do list the night before. Either way, the goal is to know the tasks you are going to do so that you save your time and energy for them.
- Rise up early
Waking up early has numerous benefits that allow you to get things done calmly without a rush.
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace be upon him) said, “Allah made the early hours blessed for my Ummah (nation).”
- Start your morning with a remembrance of Allah (God).
Your mornings are your most valuable time, so engage yourself with deeds and acts that refresh your soul, remind you of your purpose in this life, and clear your vision.
- Stretch, Exercise, and Energize.
- Have your written plans or to-do lists for the day around you.
- Identify an appropriate workspace that can help you focus on whatever you might be doing the day, and reduce distractions as much as possible.
- Prioritize your tasks by starting with the heaviest or deepest work.
- Be diligent, disciplined, organized, and follow through with your plans.
- Hold yourself accountable.
- Thank Allah for allowing you to accomplish what you did and remember Him.
No matter what you plan for the day, remember all of your days will never be the same. So, learn to adjust your plans if need be. In good times, build on systems that help you form sustainable habits. And for the days that you feel like your initial agenda is not doable, have backup plans so that you at least get done with other tasks that require your time and attention but were not part of that day’s plan.
We are humans and not robots. You can have the perfect plan, and life will still get in the way. Therefore, do not always expect this life to be perfect.
If there is something I want you to take away from this piece of writing is to schedule your day ahead, be disciplined, focus on the parts you can control, and intentionally build a habit of involving your day around the remembrance of Allah. I hope these tips give you a positive boost to diligently tackle the work of the day ahead and prepare you to be your best self.
