15 ACTIVITIES TO START THE DAY RIGHT - ARTE

The activities to start your day can be one of your biggest allies in exploiting to the maximum the day. According to the latest research, starting your morning on the right foot can make you more relaxed and focused, and make the most of your hours.

Almost all successful people in some field follow some kind of morning routine. These activities are designed to help them start their day in the right frame of mind, depending on which one is right for them.

Therefore, there are a practically unlimited number of actions that you can take when you wake up, and that will bring positive changes to your life. In this article you will find a list of some of the most effective and simple to implement, so that you can start to notice improvements in your day to day without having to make too great an effort.

You may also be interested in this list of group dynamics.

Why is it important to have a morning routine?

The morning is the time when most people are most productive. The problem is that we tend to use it in tasks that are not going to make any difference, so our energy quickly fades without having used it for anything useful or interesting.

Therefore, doing some morning activity designed to take advantage of the first hours of the day will help you better meet your goals, while allowing you to better conserve your energy and motivation levels throughout the morning.

On the other hand, morning activities will also help you develop discipline, a fundamental characteristic to achieve all kinds of goals.

In this sense, a routine that you do as soon as you wake up can serve as a training for when you have to face more complicated challenges.

Children activities

Accentuate the positive

Objective: To improve the concept of oneself through the exchange of impressions with colleagues.
Time required: approximately 20 minutes.
Group size: the group must not exceed 25 people.
Place: room or large classroom that allows interaction between colleagues.
Materials needed: papers and pens.
Steps to follow:

The facilitator will begin by explaining what is common about the negative nature of self-praise. Later, he will ask them to sit in pairs.
Each one should tell their partner:

-Two parts of your body that you like.

-Two qualities that you like about yourself.

-A capacity or own expertise.

There is a time for reflection with the whole group in which they analyze how the exchange has gone, if they have felt comfortable talking about themselves in a positive way, etc.

Others: Negative comments will not be accepted.

Regards

Goals:

Produce a creative greeting, different from the ordinary.
Losing your sense of shame.
Spend some time relaxed.
Encourage peer relationships.

Time needed: approximately 40 minutes.
Group size: medium, between 15 and 20 people.
Place: large room or classroom, without furniture in between. Also, it can be done outdoors.
Materials needed: none in particular.
Steps to follow:

Everyone standing and forming a circle, the facilitator explains that they are going to greet each other. Examples of greetings can be made at first, like hippies, boy scouts, etc.
They then take a few minutes to greet each other however they please, being creative and without fear of being judged by others.
Then, and after the established time or when the facilitator concludes the activity,

Alternative: the participants come out, one by one, to greet their classmates and the rest follow suit.

Trust

Objective: increase trust between group members.
Time needed: between 15 and 30 minutes.
Group size: pairs will be formed.
Place: large space where participants can work in pairs.
Materials needed: none.
Steps to follow:

Group members divide into pairs. The facilitator will promote that these are not made up of people of a similar physical constitution, but that there are great differences between the members of the couple.
Couples stand facing each other. They hold hands and the tips of the feet touch each other.
When the pairs are in the required position, the facilitator will give the signal and they should drop backwards, trying to keep the body straight.
They will reach a point of balance and, at that moment, they can try to perform movements together and that neither of them loses their balance. These movements can be: bending over, one of them flexing the knees, etc.

Evaluation: group reflection time in which couples express how they have felt.
Variation: this dynamic can be done in a large group, forming a circle and holding hands between them. The numbers 1 and 2 will be assigned in a skipped manner and the facilitator will indicate the order so that each one of them is thrown forward or backward.

The onion

This dynamic is done to create a good working environment and for the group to get to know each other a little better.

Objective:

Promote group connection, trust and create a good work environment.

When to use it:

When no group activity has been done yet and it is necessary to foster group connection.

Process:

A volunteer will be chosen from the group that is the farmer, while the rest of the group will be the onion.
The participants who form the onion must all be arranged together in a concentric way, as if forming the layers of an onion and the farmer must try to separate them to “peel the onion”.
Every time a member of the onion is separated from the group, they become a farmer and must help peel the onion.
When the dynamic is over, time should be given for the group to express what they liked about the activity and what they felt while doing it.

If the group is very large, several onions can be formed.

The total duration of this activity is approximately 15 minutes.

Recommendations:

It must be clarified before starting the activity that it cannot be violent, obviously physical force must be used to separate the companions, but always trying not to do harm.

It is advisable to remove all objects that could be injured (such as tables and chairs), that the participants remove their shoes to avoid stepping on and hurting themselves and, if possible, carry out the activity on a mat.

The sounds of the animals

This dynamic is ideal for the first moments of a group, as it will help the members get to know each other and share a laugh together.

The facilitator will introduce it as a presentation dynamic and the objective is for each one to learn the names of their classmates.

The facilitator will begin by saying his name and imitating the noise of an animal. For example: my name is Sara and "mouuuu".

Then the next person will introduce themselves and add the animal sound they like and have to repeat that of their previous partner. In this way, the list of names and noises will increase.

If one person makes a mistake, the whole group must start from the beginning.

Evaluation: after a few minutes, ask someone what their classmates are called, once they have taken another seat or are doing another task in order to check if the names of their classmates have been learned.

Activities for adults

If you have already convinced yourself of the importance of having a good morning routine, you may be wondering: what are the most effective activities that I can do as an adult? Here are some of the most efficient ones:

Plan the day

Most of us follow a routine that we haven't even chosen. In addition to going to work or studying (something unavoidable in most cases), the rest of the activities that we carry out in a day "come up", without any kind of conscious reflection on our part.

This makes it much more difficult for us to work on our goals, live memorable situations or really enjoy our day to day.

Therefore, one of the morning actions that can bring you the most benefits is sitting for five minutes and planning what you are going to do until you go to bed.

Of course, you don't need to jot down even the smallest detail. On the contrary, it will be much more effective for you to write down what activities you want to complete, those that will bring you the most benefit and that will allow you to feel pride in reflecting on what you have done that day.

A note: it is much more effective if you write down what you want to achieve, instead of just thinking about it. In this way the list of activities will be reflected somewhere, which you can look at once the chaos of day to day catches you.

To meditate

Meditation has become very fashionable in recent times. Something that once seemed an activity only for hippies or yoga teachers, has now entered the lives of a large number of people of all kinds; And when you see the benefits of this activity, you will understand why.

Meditating will help you take your day more calmly. Far from seeing yourself caught in the problems that normally worry you and letting yourself be carried away by them, you will notice how your mind is clearer and is able to find solutions. Although meditation is effective at any time, doing it right after you get up will help you even more.

On the other hand, starting to practice meditation is very simple and takes little time. You just have to sit in a quiet place, where no one is going to bother you for the next ten minutes. Set an alarm on your mobile or on the alarm clock, to notify you when that time has passed.

During the time you are meditating, your only task will be to count breaths, trying not to be distracted. To make it more fun you can write down how many you arrive before your mind sets on anything else, and try to beat your record the next day.

Make the bed

Sometimes the smallest actions can have a very big impact on our lives. It is the case of starting your morning by making bed, something that many of us take for granted but that can alter the way we face the day.

If you make bed as soon as you get up, you will have started your morning fulfilling the first task that you have set yourself. Although it is something very simple, it will give you a little boost of pride, and this will lead you to face the next activity of the day with more courage.

This is known as the "snowball effect": a small task completed will lead you to the next, in a positive cycle whereby before going to bed you will realize all the good you have done that day.

Cook a healthy breakfast

Popular wisdom tells us that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. However, due to the low energy we have in the morning and the rush we usually carry, most of us eat ultra-processed foods that do not help our bodies.

However, the impact of a healthy meal first thing in the morning will be felt throughout the day. Find out what feels good when you wake up and spend a few minutes in the kitchen; you will see how the rest of the tasks of your day are easier to fulfill.

Some healthy breakfast ideas are: a fruit salad, scrambled eggs with bacon, a vegetable omelette, a yogurt with red fruits, or a homemade smoothie. All of these foods can help you get your day off to a good start.

Take a cold shower

Most of us find ourselves without energy as soon as we wake up. Although there are many ways to activate our body in the morning, one of the most effective is to take a cold shower.

The latest research has shown us that showering with a low temperature has all kinds of benefits to our health. For example, it increases the production of testosterone, an essential hormone in both men and women to regulate mood.

On the other hand, noticing the cold water falling against your body will activate you practically instantaneously, which will allow you to face the rest of your day's tasks in a much better mood.

Read something inspiring or useful

When we are having breakfast, many of us plug in the television or check our social networks on our mobile.

This, which has become a habit for most people in developed societies, has quite a negative impact on our minds.

In doing so, you are starting your morning worrying about things you cannot change and getting carried away with the trivia of day to day. In this way, later it will be more difficult for you to focus on your goals and your mood will be much worse.

One of the most positive changes you can make is to decide to read something that motivates you or makes you learn instead of looking at a screen.

Reading is one of the best habits that can be developed in general, but if you also do it as the first activity in the morning, you will notice that your days are much better.

Reading something inspiring as soon as you wake up will put you in a positive frame of mind for the rest of the day. This will help you face your problems in a better mood, making it more likely that you will solve everything that happens to you.

You may be interested in this list of self-help books or this one of recommended books.

Exercise

In addition to cold showers, one of the best ways to activate the body as soon as you wake up is physical exercise.

Many people believe that to train they need to go to a gym to lift weight or go for a run, but the truth is that there are many options to wake up your body beyond these.

For example, something as simple as going for a walk in a park, or doing a ten-minute exercise routine will have a positive effect that will extend throughout your day.

Sometimes even doing a few push-ups will be enough to get the blood flowing through your muscles and brain.

Today it is very easy to find pre-programmed exercise routines that you can follow in a few minutes. For ideas, you can search for workouts on YouTube or download an app to exercise at home.

Have a glass of water with lemon

One of the latest fads in the world of health and fitness is detox diets. They are forms of food that supposedly serve to cleanse the body of toxins, which would improve our health, our energy levels and our well-being in general.

Although most of these are very complicated and have doubtful effects, there is an action that can bring you all the benefits of this type of diet: drink a glass of water with lemon before breakfast. You just have to fill a glass of water, add a few drops of natural lemon and drink it ten to fifteen minutes before having breakfast.

Experts confirm that doing so has many benefits: it helps you activate more quickly, provides you with many essential vitamins, reduces the feeling of hunger throughout the day and improves your digestive process. For such a small stock, the results can be impressive.

Take care of your appearance

Studies show that feeling attractive helps increase our confidence and well-being. While we can do little to change our genetics, we can greatly influence the way we are perceived by ourselves and others.

To improve your self-image, you can develop a morning routine in which you take care of your appearance. For example, shaving every morning, fixing your hair, choosing clothes wisely instead of putting on the first thing you find… All these actions will help you feel more confident throughout the day.

The good news is that you don't need to make a radical change in your image to begin to notice the positive effects. On the contrary, just by improving a small aspect of your way of dressing or your style, you will notice how your self-esteem increases instantly.

Write in a journal

The last of the habits that you can incorporate into your day to day is to write for five minutes in a journal as soon as you wake up. The idea is not that you count your life (although you can do it if you want), but that you allow yourself to capture your thoughts in a physical medium.

According to the proponents of a practice known as 5 minutes journal, the main benefit of this activity is that it will help you free your mind from obsessive thoughts. This happens because, having written them, your brain will not feel the need to repeat them over and over again.

In this way, writing can become a kind of meditation for those who do not have the patience to sit for twenty minutes with their eyes closed.

Importance of starting the day on the right foot

Starting the day with an inspiring or awakening activity can have a very positive impact on your entire life. In this article we have exposed ten very simple routines to carry out and implement in your day to day, but that will bring you all kinds of benefits if you incorporate them into your morning.

One piece of advice: instead of trying to adopt all these habits at once, it is better that you choose the one that has caught your attention the most and start by incorporating it into your life.

When you have mastered it and it does not require any effort, you can choose the next one on the list and work on it. This will bring you the best results in no time.

References

"34 Daily Morning Routine Habits for an Amazing Start to Your Day" in: Develop Good Habits. Retrieved on: May 23, 2018 from Develop Good Habits: developgoodhabits.com.
"6 Morning routines that are hard to adopt but will pay off for life" in: Independent. Retrieved on: May 23, 2018 from Independent: independent.co.uk.
"The Morning Routines Of Healthy Living Bloggers" in: Forbes. Retrieved on: May 23, 2018 from Forbes: forbes.com.
"8 Powerful morning routines of ultra confident people" in: Inc. Retrieved on: May 23, 2018 from Inc: inc.com.
"17 morning routines that can change yours" in: Psychosurvival. Retrieved on: May 23, 2018 from Psychosurvival: psychosurvival.com

15 ACTIVITIES TO START THE DAY RIGHT - ARTE - 2024