Tag: mindfulness

Master Your Mornings: Simple Strategies for a Stress-Free Commute

Scott AsaiLeave a comment

Morning routine tips for a stress-free commute and a productive morning

We all know the struggle of rushing through the morning, trying to get everything done before heading out the door. But what if your mornings could be calm, organized, and even enjoyable? With a little planning and the right strategies, you can turn your mornings into a time of peace and productivity. Here are some tried-and-true tips to help you start your day right, ensuring a smooth commute and a successful morning.

Start Your Routine at Night

The secret to a stress-free morning begins with a little bit of evening preparation. Take care of a few essentials the night before, and you will wake up feeling relaxed and ready to take on the day. Here’s how you can make that happen:

Plan Your Outfit

Take a few minutes the night before to decide what you’ll wear the next day. This is the simplest step you can take to eliminate the morning “what-to-wear” dilemma, saving you time while ensuring you step out looking your best. 

Think about the weather and your plans for the day to make the right choice. Don’t forget to plan your accessories and shoes, too!

Pack Your Bag

A well-packed bag is a lifesaver in the morning. If you have to lug a laptop to and from work, consider getting a backpack with a laptop compartment to make commuting a breeze. Take a moment to pack your bag, making sure your tech is safe and your belongings are organized. This way, you can grab your bag and head out the door without any second thoughts.

Include everything you might need: your laptop, charger, important documents, and any other essentials.

Get a Good Night’s Rest

Quality sleep is key for a productive day. 

Aim for 7-9 hours to wake up feeling refreshed and ready to go. Adding some relaxing nighttime rituals to your bedtime routine, like reading a book or taking a warm bath, helps to signal to your body that it’s time to wind down. Avoid screens and stick to a consistent sleep schedule, going to bed and waking up at the same time every day.

Wake Up Earlier

Rushing through your morning routine sets a stressful tone for the rest of the day. By waking up earlier, you give yourself the luxury of time.

Take a shower, get dressed, and eat your breakfast at a relaxed pace. Instead of frantically searching for your keys or throwing together a last-minute lunch, you can move through your morning with ease. 

Consistency will be your best friend when making an earlier wake-up time work for you. Try to wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. This helps regulate your body’s internal clock and makes it easier to get up early without feeling groggy.

Plan for Traffic

Traffic can be unpredictable, but a little planning goes a long way. As you wake up in the morning, take a minute to map your commute to see if you need to leave earlier to get to work on time. 

Many traffic apps allow you to set up alerts for your regular commute routes. This feature can be incredibly helpful as it gives you a heads-up on any potential issues before you even leave the house. You can set these alerts to notify you of traffic conditions at specific times, ensuring you’re always informed.

Make Your Bed

Though it might seem like a small and inconsequential task, making your bed can have a surprisingly positive impact on your day.

Making your bed is a quick and easy task that you can accomplish first thing in the morning. Completing this task gives you a sense of accomplishment and sets a positive tone for the rest of the day. It’s a small win that can boost your confidence and motivation, making it easier to tackle other tasks.

Silence Your Phone

Your morning should be time for yourself, free from work-related stress. Enjoy a peaceful morning by silencing notifications and focusing on your routine. It’s a simple way to give yourself a little bit of time back in the morning. 

Squeeze In Time for a Workout

Working out in the morning is a fantastic way to kickstart your metabolism and energize your body. Physical activity increases blood flow, delivering more oxygen and nutrients to your muscles and brain. This heightened energy can last for hours, making you feel more awake and ready to tackle your tasks.

If you’re pressed for time, even a short workout can be highly effective. High-intensity interval training (HIIT), a quick yoga session, or a 20-minute walk can help get your day started. These shorter workouts can easily fit into your morning routine taking up too much of your time.

Exercise Your Mind

Just as physical exercise is essential for your body, mental exercise is crucial for keeping your brain sharp and healthy. Here are some ways you can effectively exercise your mind each morning:

  • Read the news – Starting your day by reading the news keeps you informed about current events and stimulates your brain.
  • Play brain games – Games like Sudoku, crosswords, and logic puzzles challenge your brain, improving your memory, problem-solving skills, and concentration. The New York Times offers popular games like Wordle, the Mini Crossword, and Connections, which are perfect for a quick mental workout in the morning.
  • Learn something new – Dedicate a few minutes each morning to learning something new. This could be a new word, a fun fact, or even a short article on a subject you’re curious about. 
  • Meditate – While not a traditional “mental exercise,” mindfulness and meditation practices can significantly benefit your brain. Spending a few minutes in quiet meditation can improve your focus, reduce stress, and enhance your overall mental clarity.

Nourish Your Body

Breakfast is often referred to as the most important meal of the day, and for good reason. After a night of fasting, your body needs fuel to kickstart your metabolism and provide energy for the day ahead. Skipping breakfast can lead to mid-morning energy crashes and increased cravings for unhealthy snacks.

Mornings can be hectic, so preparing your breakfast ahead of time can save you precious minutes and reduce stress. Overnight oats, chia pudding, or pre-made smoothie packs are excellent options. Simply prepare them the night before, and they’ll be ready to grab and go in the morning. Meal prepping ensures you have a nutritious meal waiting for you, even on the busiest days.

Mix Up Your Morning Playlist

Switching up your playlist regularly keeps your morning routine from becoming monotonous. Curate a new set of songs every week or month, adding tracks that resonate with your current mood or goals. 

Get recommendations from friends, family, or colleagues. Everyone has different tastes and favorite artists, so you’re likely to discover new genres or songs that you wouldn’t have found on your own.

If you’re looking for a change from music, try listening to podcasts or audiobooks during your morning routine. Choose something that interests you, whether it’s educational, entertaining, or inspiring.

Ease Into Your Day

When you arrive at your workplace or start your workday at home, take a few minutes to set up your environment. Grab a cup of coffee or your favorite morning beverage and ease into your workday routine.

Begin your day by checking your emails and clearing out any clutter. Respond to urgent messages and flag important emails that require follow-up. List out the tasks you need to complete, prioritizing them based on urgency and importance. Take a few minutes to review your calendar for the day. Note any meetings, deadlines, or appointments and plan your tasks around them. 

Creating a stress-free morning routine doesn’t happen overnight, but with consistency and a bit of planning, it’s entirely achievable. By incorporating these tips into your daily life, you can transform your mornings into a time of calm and productivity. Remember, the way you start your day can significantly impact how the rest of it unfolds. So, take the time to invest in a morning routine that sets you up for success and watch as your days become more enjoyable and efficient.

5 Relaxing Sports That Still Give You A Good Workout

Scott AsaiLeave a comment

Collaborative post – may contain affiliate links

A lot of sports are very fast paced and energetic, which is great for exercise, but it’s not always suitable for everybody. If you’re a little older and you’re not active enough to be running around and playing high impact team sports, football or basketball aren’t really great sports to play. Similarly, if you have an injury from exercising and you’re trying to rebuild your strength, those high impact sports are just opening you up to more risk and you’re likely to get injured again. Some people just don’t like that kind of intense exercise either and if you don’t enjoy the activities that you’re doing, it’s a lot harder to stick to a fitness routine.

All of these people will find it a lot easier to exercise regularly if they engaged in lower impact, more relaxing sports. A lot of people think that means you won’t get as good a workout but that isn’t the case at all. Some of these more relaxing sports also have other health benefits so they can be better than energetic team sports. If you want to add some variety to your workout, these are some of the best relaxing sports that still give you a good workout.

Yoga

When you think of a relaxing workout activity, yoga is the first thing that comes to mind. You might not necessarily think that it gives you that much of a workout but if you try it, you’ll see that you’re wrong. Doing stretches and holding certain poses requires quite a lot of strength, particularly in your core. When you do yoga, you’re engaging so many different muscles in the body at once and it’s great for strengthening those muscles and toning them properly as well.

Yoga is also incredibly relaxing and it’s great for stress relief. It’s all about focusing on holding the poses and maintaining a good breathing pattern. You’ll find that you let go of a lot of stress when you’re focused on your body and your breathing and you’ll finish the session feeling incredibly relaxed, while getting a good workout at the same time.

Tai Chi

Tai Chi is fairly similar to yoga in a lot of ways, but it’s a little more active. It combines exercises and stretches with the practice of mindfulness, much like yoga, so it’s brilliant for relaxation. It’s a martial art but not in the same way that you would normally imagine one. It involves a lot of very slow controlled movements that engage and tone the muscles very well. People that practice tai chi regularly see a lot of different benefits from it. As well as giving you a workout, it has been shown to improve balance and coordination, help to manage pain, reduce stress and anxiety, and even improve your sleep. If you’re looking for a great relaxing fitness activity that is incredibly good for your body and mind, tai chi is the way to go.

Golf

 

Recently, doctors have been advising that people try to take regular walks in order to stay healthy. Even half an hour of walking on a regular basis can improve your heart health and help you to lose weight. But a lot of people find it boring to just go for a walk. In that case, you should try your hand at golf. It’s a great way to relax and enjoy the outdoors, especially if you grab some golf sandals and head down to a beachside golf resort. You can spend the day outside and do plenty of walking which is great for your health, but it doesn’t feel like a chore because you’re not just walking for the sake of it. Golf is also a more demanding sport than people realize because you’re engaging a lot of different muscle groups when you swing. It also strengthens your arms and back and improves your hand-eye coordination skills.

Hiking

Hiking is another more interesting way to increase the number of steps that you walk. Walking isn’t that exciting if you’re just walking up and down the road, but if you’re hiking through picturesque landscapes, it’s a lot nicer and it doesn’t feel so much like exercise. We don’t connect with nature as much as we perhaps should, which is a shame because it’s great for relaxation. It’s easy to get stressed because we all have such a fast pace of life these days and getting out into the great outdoors is a good way to escape from that stress and just relax. Plus, if you’re hiking over difficult terrain, you’re giving yourself a good workout at the same time.

Swimming

Swimming is often people’s first choice when they’re looking for a low impact, relaxing sport that still gives them a good workout. Swimming doesn’t always feel as tiring as a lot of other sports but you’re probably giving yourself a far better workout. When you swim, you’re using every single muscle in the body, however, the buoyancy of the water absorbs all of the impact so it’s a lot easier on the body than running, for example. If you’re looking for a vigorous workout, you can swim fast lengths and really get your heart racing. But if you want to do a relaxed workout, you can swim slower lengths and still see some great results. Even if you’re not swimming that quickly, you’re still constantly engaging all of your muscles and pushing back against the water resistance so you’re getting a good workout. If you’ve recently sustained an injury and you’re trying to build your strength back up, swimming is a great place to start. To begin with, you can walk in the water and the resistance will help to build muscle, then you can move onto a slow swim when you feel ready.

There is also a lot of research to suggest that being close to water has a very calming effect on the body and mind. If you’re under a lot of stress, swimming is a great way to get a workout in and relax at the same time.

You don’t have to play energetic team sports or go running for an hour to get a good workout. These are all great relaxing activities that give you a good workout at the same time.