How To Motivate Yourself In The Morning

It’s no secret that mornings are the most important time of the day. What you do in the morning is going to set the tone for the rest of your day. 

We have all had mornings in which we feel amazing, energized, and lively. As we go about our days, this mood tends to sticks with us. We have also had mornings that are chaotic and stressful. As we go about the rest of our days, this too will likely stick with us. 

Trying to motivate yourself in the morning isn’t always an easy task though, especially since so few of us are natural early birds. Some of us may have difficulties getting past the snooze button, and others may have a family that they need to get ready. 

Regardless of how your morning looks, you must overcome the struggles of your mornings and build good habits so that you can make the most out of your day ahead. If you learn to motivate yourself in the morning, you will be more productive, positive, and successful throughout the course of your day.

Why You Need To Motivate Yourself In The Morning

I never used to be a morning person. In fact, I remember my mom waking me up at 7:00 a.m. when I was in high school only to try and get dressed, eat breakfast, and make it to school before the starting bell rang at 7:40 a.m. Most of the times I was either late for class or incredibly unprepared. And my grades reflected that. 

Those habits stuck with me throughout college and into the first year of my job. I would constantly wake up well past the time when my alarm had gone off, I would have to rush out the door, and a lot of the times, I would again be late or unprepared. 

Part of me just never felt like I was living up to my potential. While incorporating a morning routine isn’t the sole reason why I now feel confident and successful in life, it has definitely helped me to build good habits, and together, it is those habits that have helped me to feel a greater sense of confidence and success in nearly everything that I do. 

I want to share with you some of the things that I have started to implement into my mornings that have helped me to stay motivated and energized throughout the day.

How To Motivate Yourself In The Morning

1. Get a good night’s sleep. 

A good and productive morning actually starts the night before. It sounds basic, and that’s because it is. Sleep is so important to feel energized, motivated, and to have a clear mind in general. If you can (which you should be able to), strive for 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night. No pun intended, but getting a good night’s sleep is like the difference between night and day. 

2. Move your alarm clock as far away as possible.

You aren’t doing yourself any favors by continuously hitting the snooze button in the morning. If you want to get motivated and get a jump start on your day, then move your alarm clock as far away from you as possible. 

Personally, I have mine far away enough that I have to actually get out of bed to turn it off. I have found that in doing so, it’s a lot easier to get going as soon as you find the strength to get out of bed. 

3. Start your day with a small win.

Another simple thing that you can do is make your bed. It takes less than a minute to do, and in doing so, you are already accomplishing a task within a few minutes of waking up. Just by completing a small simple task such as making your bed in the morning can help to improve your mindset and give you a spark of motivation and energy.

4. Reflect on what you are grateful for.

Showing gratitude is a great way to motivate yourself in the morning. The reason for this is because gratitude helps to put you into a positive state of mind. If your mind is flooded with negative thoughts, it’s going to be incredibly challenging to stay motivated. 

Also, there is just an unexplainable feeling that you get when you reflect on how blessed you are and how much you already have in life – at least there is for me. It’s almost as if this internal fire ignites and it just gets me psyched up to go out and make the most out of the day. 

It’s super easy to do. When you wake up, simply write down a few things that you are grateful for. Get them out of your head and into the world, because when you think good thoughts, good things will happen. 

5. Get your body moving.

Whether it’s stretching or exercising, it’s important to get your body moving. Exercise releases a bodily chemical called dopamine, which is also the chemical that allows us to feel happiness. But along with happiness, it also helps us to feel energized. When we are both happy and energized, it’s going to be a lot easier to stay motivated. 

Plus, exercising and moving your body is just good for you in general. It helps to put you in a good state of mind, it keeps your body healthy and in shape, and it just feels good to get out and move around. 

6. Make a list of tasks you want to achieve.

It’s important to plan out your day and to write down a list of the things that you need to accomplish throughout the day. So often we rely on our memory but are often disappointed because tasks get caught up with the other 50,000 thoughts that pass through our minds on a daily basis. 

If you want to stay motivated, write down what you need to accomplish so that it’s always there staring at you until you achieve it. Also, start your day by knocking out the larger and more demanding tasks while you have enough energy to devote to them. 

7. Remember/Reflect on your “Why.”

What is the one thing that you want to be doing in life? What is that one burning passion and desire within you that is constantly popping up inside of your mind? Whatever that desire is, make it known. Don’t hide it, but let it out there and make it visible. 

When we acknowledge that desire and focus on it first thing in the morning, it gives us a sense of purpose to fight through and make the most out of all the opportunities that life presents us with throughout the course of the day. It gives us a sense of direction and purpose for life, and the more we reflect on our “Why,” the more motivated we will be to make the most out of the day ahead. 

The next time you are feeling down or unmotivated, think about your why. Think about your purpose, your passion, that one thing that you want to accomplish more than anything else in the world, and watch your motivation skyrocket. 

Final Thoughts

Everybody deals with a lack of motivation at some point or another, but it is those who find a way to overcome their lack of motivation who will find success in the things that they do. 

If you are struggling to motivate yourself in the morning, try implementing some of these tips into your morning schedule and see how they may be able to help you.

Michael Bonnell