Hack Your Morning
by Helen Raine
If your mornings are manic, you can life-hack yourself out of the chaos… but only if you choose carefully. We sort the hack from the chaff.
Wake up Early
Supposedly, some of the world’s most successful people wake up at some ungodly hour (we’re talking 4 a.m.) to fit some world domination in before breakfast. Obama and Apple CEO Tim Cook might manage it, but I’m betting that after a couple of mornings of early rising, your productivity will have fallen through the floor. Instead, try to be consistent about your wake-up time so that you’re not in a deep REM sleep when the alarm intrudes into your dreams.
Snooze-you-Looze
If you’re a serial snoozer, put your alarm on the other side of the room. You’ll physically have to get out of bed to turn it off and can open the curtains at the same time. That will flood your brain with daylight and banish the sleep hormone melatonin. To ensure a frazzle-free morning, resist the temptation to fling yourself back under the covers – you already KNOW that repeated snoozing is a fast track to morning lethargy.
Dopey Dopamine Hits
Some trainers recommend a set of burpies to give you a dopamine hit in the morning. Now, if we had time to be leaping about the house in the morning, we wouldn’t need a list of morning life hacks…. It is true, however, that a spot of exercise in the morning can improve your mood. The easiest way to fit in a workout is to walk to work … in Malta, that’s often more of a necessity than a choice, when the only free parking space is blocks away from the office and you have to sprint to avoid being late.
Cold Shower
You can’t move on the net for people advocating cold showers to kick start your morning. The Mediterranean will freeze over before you’ll find me with the temperature dial on cold, but if it makes you feel better about your morning, knock yourself out!
Find the job you want!
Finding a new job screams “nightmare”, but we all need a job to be able to live the life we want. Having a job we actually like would definitely make our mornings a tad less painful everyday. That is why companies, such as jobsinmalta.com, strive to make this search way more bearable. With hundreds of jobs in all sectors, you will find a job that you want (and hopefully even love!).
Water, Water
Most of us throw a coffee down our neck and call it good, but coffee is a diuretic when what you really need, especially in the morning, is rehydration. I am the last person to suggest skipping the cup of Joe – just drink a full glass of water first, or even better drink a glass of lukewarm water with a slice of lemon. This has a lot of health benefits as it includes vitamin C, it aids in detoxification and it gives you a natural boost.
Do Morning the Night Before
I saved this one until last because, frankly, it’s the only hack that you’ll manage to sustain for more than a few days. Get everything ready the night before; put the coffee in the coffee machine; pick what you’re going to wear; make your lunch and fill a water bottle; you can even pack your breakfast and eat it when you get to work. Then all you have to do is shower, dress and walk out the door. If only navigating the traffic was as easy…