Hey everyone !

Hope you are doing well.

So I was thinking how to help you guys have a good day.

In this post, I am going to talk about the most common and harmful morning routines. People generally have certain morning rituals. However, some of these rituals are likely to do damage to your body and productivity. So, here’s what you need to STOP doing IMMEDIATELY, if one these habits forms part of your morning ritual

Let’s get started.

#HABIT 01 : Drinking coffee first thing in the morning

Now, let’s be honest, many of us have this habit. In fact, we believe that we will not be able to work, if we don’t get that steaming cup of coffee in the morning.

Although you might think it is harmless, drinking coffee the first thing in the morning does more harm than good.

Coffee tends to force the body to awaken and suddenly recharges it, which you might mistake as becoming energized. This sudden shock to the body does not last long. And towards the latter part of the day you will end up feeling lazy and tired without getting much work done.

Coffee also contains caffeine, which raises your cortisol levels and in turn increases stress.

My advice would be to drop the habit of drinking it altogether. But that being said, drinking one cup of coffee in a day along with your meal might not be a bad idea after all. Studies have shown that drinking a cup of black coffee everyday helps you burn fat. It also lowers the risk if having Type 2 Diabetes.

However, drinking coffee first thing in the morning is a definite No-No.

But wait! Don’t get me wrong.

The fact that you should not drink coffee first thing in the morning, does not mean that you can drink tea.

Tea is not as harmful as coffee. But it is again an artificial energy booster and does not have a long lasting effect.

And now you are going to ask me, “So what do we do?”

The first thing that should go into your body SHOULD BE A TALL GLASS OF LUKEWARM WATER.

I prefer adding lime and honey to it.

This not only restarts your digestive system; it also removes the unnecessary toxins and you do feel refreshed. Drinking Lime and Honey water also helps burn fat. It is best for those of you who are watching your weight.

After drinking lime and honey water, I generally eat a fruit. And then wait for one to two hours before I  eat my breakfast.

So, I hope you are going to resist the temptation of drinking that ‘cuppa cofefe’ early morning

#HABIT 02 : Checking your phone as soon as you wake up

This is something I definitely used to do.

Scrolling through your notifications and checking social media before you even brush your teeth or get out of bed is a serious No-No.

You may have received an important message which requires urgent attention, you may just remember you have a deadline to meet or your friend might have just sent you a hot piece of gossip.

Whatever, it is IT CAN WAIT. Save it for the later part of your morning.

Checking your phone as soon as you wake will leave you feeling nervous and anxious and you may even end up spending a lot of time just browsing through Instagram or Facebook or Pinterest.

So how did do you tackle this problem??

Well, there are a few ways which can help you. These would be:

1. Put your phone on silent and switch off your mobile data the night before, so that you don’t have  any new notifications to look at.
2. Place your phone in a drawer or keep it in another room and look at it only after you have eaten your breakfast (This is what I follow and it keeps my mornings fresh, productive and internet free)
3. Reply to all your messages the night before, so that you don’t get up worried about any reply to be sent in the morning.

The above tips can help you to a great extent to keep you away from your phone in the morning. If you are still finding it difficult, you can connect with me on Instagram or Pinterest so that I can try and help you out better.

#HABIT 03 : Attending to work calls early morning

Now, to have a relaxed and productive morning you should preferably schedule all work calls AFTER 9:00 am. This is because attending to work calls early morning will hinder your morning routine. You may get engaged in your work and forget about your exercise and other important activities.

If you have deadlines coming up, picking up work calls will make you anxious. This tension will increase your stress levels and make you less productive.

So, what do you do if your boss is calling you early in the morning?

LET IT RING!

That’s right. Nothing is more important that having a health lifestyle and a positive morning.

If this happens frequently, you can talk to your boss and I’m sure he/she will support you.

#HABIT 04 : Starting an Argument

DO NOT and I mean DO NOT pick a fight or get into an argument with your roommates or your family members in the morning.

Let’s not call this a habit, but it does happen to the best of us, on some days.

Having a fight, with anyone in fact, in the morning is a big turn off for the day. This is something that seems so obvious to NOT DO. But, even then we do end up having arguments or fights on some of the days.

Ok. Now, let’s start with the root cause of it all.

The reason we have a fight or argument is because something that the other person has done irritates us. But when such thing happens, let’s just take a moment and breathe.

Ask yourself.

Is fighting or arguing about it worth ruining your day? Can’t you just ignore it altogether?

When we get angry or irritated our stress levels increase and we end up feeling anxious and negative.

This is not good to have a productive morning.

So, what’s to be done?

Many suggest writing down your thoughts. You can try this and go ahead if it works for you. But I am a very lazy person. The thought of taking out that diary and pen makes me even more angry.

What I do is, I put on my earphones and start listening to music until this feeling of anger or irritation passes. This has proved very helpful for me. It makes me calm within the next ten minutes and the peace of the morning has been maintained.

Find your secret and implement it. I would also recommend going down for a walk if the feeling does not pass within the next twenty minutes.

#HABIT 05 : Taking a HOT shower

Most of us shower with hot water especially in the winters and rains.

This is not advisable because hot water falling on the body early in the day calms your muscles. It makes you feel more relaxed. It is very likely that you start feeling drowsy right after you have showered.

So, start showering in cold water.

If it is the winter season, you can shower in lukewarm water. However, showering in very hot water is a strict No-No.

#HABIT 06 : Skipping Breakfast

You must not skip breakfast as it is the first meal of the day. It is also responsible for providing you energy for the whole day.

Eating a healthy breakfast raises your glucose levels and energizes you. Also, for those who are trying to lose weight, having a heavy breakfast prevents them from reaching out to sugar rich and fatty foods during the rest of the day.

#HABIT 07 : Watching TV

Some of us have the habit of switching on the television either to watch the news or catch up on your favorite series.

Your productivity drastically declines if you switch on that idiot box in the morning.
This is because, the light emitting from the TV is not good for your eyes. You may also start feeling sleepy and tired if you watch T.V for more than 15 minutes in the morning

So, unless it is urgent or part of your job. Schedule your TV watching time for the evening.

If you want to know the news, READ THE NEWSPAPER. I would not advise you to read the news from the various news apps at least in the morning. You can view updates on these apps during the day. Reading news from your phone has the same effect as that of watching television.

So, pull the brakes on this habit, if you are someone having trouble being productive in the morning.

So that’s it from me.

Hope this article was helpful. I would like to know more about your take on the harmful habits we have in the mornings in the comments section below.

Happy Reading ?