The First 5 Minutes: How to Wake Up on the Right Side of Bed Every Morning
What is the first thing you do after you wake up in the morning?
Do you grab your phone before you even get out of bed? Perhaps you put on the coffee and then plop down at your computer to scroll through your emails and the news? Maybe you lie in bed mulling over your to-do list for the day – or your didn’t-get-done list from yesterday.
“I Can Quit Anytime.”
If the first five minute of your day involves staring at a screen, you’re far from alone. A 2015 study published in Medical Daily reports that 35 percent of people think about their smartphone as soon as they wake up, before anything else. Before their partners. Before the bathroom. Before coffee.
Start Your Day with Waking Dreams
Imagine waking up a different way. Imagine connecting with your personal intention for the day before you connect with social media. Imagine starting your day with beauty, philosophy, art, or laughter. Let go of the leash and trade technology for something inspiring. Take back your first five minutes, and change the way you wake up in the morning.
If you’re used to sleeping with your phone at arm’s reach, it can be difficult to break the habit. Don’t go cold turkey – just put your phone on your dresser instead of your nightstand. It will still be accessible in case of emergency, but out of your immediate range.
Give Yourself Five Minutes First
Wake up in the morning and for the first five minutes, don’t check your email. Don’t scroll through social media. Don’t start frantically thinking about everything you need to do – and for God’s sake, don’t read the news. Yes, go to the bathroom and yes, put the coffee on. And put the dogs out if they won’t wait (they won’t).
But before you further engage with the outside world, take a few minutes to connect with yourself. Try these ideas and wake up in the morning with the right mind. For some, you don’t even have to get out of bed – just don’t fall back asleep!
So Much Better Than Your Smartphone:
- Count your blessings, literally. Think about everything you are grateful, from the small ones (it’s Friday!) to the big ones (roof over your head).
- Browse through one of your favorite art books, and try to see something new about the imagery that you love.
- Spend five minutes reading a book of poetry or philosophy.
- Step outside, and soak up everything that your five senses are telling you.
- What word or phrase would you like to describe the coming day? Meditate on your new mantra for the day.
- Give yourself an internal pep talk, and tell yourself all the positive, uplifting things that you would say to a 10-year-old who was in need of encouragement.
- Sing a song to your children or dogs. Make a new one up each day or sing Metallica – it doesn’t matter.
- Sip your coffee or tea – and do nothing else but experience the present moment.
- Take a moment to forgive yourself from the mistakes of yesterday. Are you silently scolding yourself for doing or not doing something? All is forgiven. Say it.
- Scroll through some photos of a favorite vacation or holiday.
- Do a little dance around your living room. This one’s best for morning people.
- List the top ten things you are looking forward to about the day.
- Indulge in wake-up cuddle time with your kids or pets.
- Sit on the floor beside your bed and meditate for five minutes.
- Visualize yourself reaching your short-term or long-term goals. Paint a mental picture of where you want to be – running your own business, married with six kids, or on top of the Great Wall of China.
Give five minutes to yourself, your dreams, and your state of mind first – and then roll on with the rest of your day. You’ll carry your first five minutes with you.
Related on Organic Authority
Your Smartphone Addiction May Be Effing with Your Health
How to Meditate When You Can’t Sit Still (Like, Ever)
22 Powerful Daily Mantras to Start Your Morning Right: Reflect, Reboot, and Revitalize
