5am morning routine that made me super productive
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when I was preparing for the new year and setting my goals and intentions, one of my major goals for Q1 was to create the perfect morning and night routine for myself and most importantly, stick with it.
Over the past few days, I’ve been experimenting with different wake-up times as well as habits I do in the morning and I think I’ve finally found my sweet spot.
Waking up at 5 am changed my life in just a few weeks and I’m about to walk you through my productive 5am morning routine. Let’s get into it.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links
When trying to create a healthy morning routine, you have to remember 2 important things:
- The night before matters a lot
- Less is more
First of all, if you want to start waking up at 5 am, you have to start sleeping earlier, ideally before 11 pm. And if you want to start sleeping early, you have to start winding down as soon as possible. Here are some tips that have helped me to wind down quickly:
- Staying off your phone an hour before bedtime makes it easier to fall asleep quicker.
- Always dim your lights.
- Reading and journaling right before bed is a great way to clear your head and stop the thoughts
- Taking a hot shower before bed helps a lot.
next, less is more. You don’t have to do 10 things in the morning to call it a productive morning. If you don’t want to feel overwhelmed and get burned out easily, keep your morning routine as simple and as short as possible.
Now that we have that out of the way, here is the 5 am morning routine that made me super productive.
Wake up at 5 am
There is a reason I chose 5 am as my wake-up time. First of all, I’m a Muslim (if you don’t know that already) and our first prayer of the day falls within that time.
Once my alarm goes off, I stand up and head straight to my bathroom to brush my teeth, perform ablution, and then start praying.
It usually lasts for about an hour because I also read my Quran (our holy book) and by the time I’m done, I’m fully awake and the sun is just rising.
Make my bed and do my skincare routine
These are non-negotiables for me. Making my bed as soon as possible stops me from going back into bed. My skincare routine is one of my favorite habits and it’s so important for me. This completely wakes me up and makes me feel so much better.
Make tea and write down a to-do list for the day
I’m a tea person and love a big cup first thing in the morning because I can’t eat anything so early in the morning (comment below if you’re just like me). Once I make my tea, I sit down and write my to-do list for the day in my Notion planner. I use notion for literally everything now. Here is my 2024 life planner Notion tour.
I try to keep my to-do list as simple as possible with just 3 top priorities and then quickly journal. I have a great journal page on my Notion planner that I love to use.
Eat that frog
This is an idea of tackling your most challenging and significant tasks, or “frogs,” early in the day to increase productivity. I learned about that trick after reading a self-help book called Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy.
Tracy provides practical tips and techniques to help readers prioritize tasks, manage time effectively, and overcome procrastination. The book emphasizes the importance of setting clear goals, breaking them down into smaller tasks, and focusing on high-priority activities to achieve success. I highly recommend reading this book.
I always do tasks that require focus and concentration first thing in the morning because I’m always much more productive in the morning and the quietness of the morning makes it easier to focus. This has single-handedly made me more productive.
Exercise and shower
By the time I’m done with my first task (frog) of the day, it’s usually around 10:30 am already so I get up and exercise. My workout routine is very simple but works so well for me. I usually skip for about 30 minutes, then do a couple of sit-ups and squats. I would love to start going to the gym but for now, I will stick to what works. Once I’m done burning those calories, I take a shower, do my skincare routine, and get ready for the day.
Have breakfast
By this time, my stomach is ready for the day’s first meal. I make and eat my breakfast while I go through my phone. This is usually the first time I reach for my phone.
That’s it!
Final thoughts on the 5am morning routine
I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did while writing it. What time do you usually wake up? Let me know in the comments.
This was very much helpful
i am glad you found it helpful 🙂