Mornings are the perfect time for contemplation and mapping out your day. Unfortunately, most people spend it checking their phones for social media updates or upvoting memes and funny comments. You should instead use your morning time wisely by asking yourself these four productive questions:
What Should You Work On Today?
Emphasize on the word “today” to narrow down possible answers. Ask yourself what’s the one thing worth focusing on and exhausting your time and resources towards achieving before the day ends. By framing this common question like so, you’ll arrive at what’s important and weed out tasks that give you no sense of purpose or motivation.
How Do You Feel?
A personal self-check is an excellent mental health exercise to do once in a while or better yet, every morning. Most people train themselves to wake up to an automated, almost robotic routine of grooming, eating breakfast, and checking emails. Few people carve out time in the morning to check how they are doing mentally and emotionally. Ask yourself how you feel – do you feel content with life? Or are you perhaps burnt out from your job?
What Can You Do Better Today?
To answer this question, you need to assess what you did yesterday and identify the actions or thoughts that you regret wasting time on. Doing this mental exercise encourages you to learn from past mistakes. This also intentionally brings to light something you regret before it randomly pops into your head later and derails your focus and train of thought.
How Can You Challenge Yourself Today?
Personal growth cannot happen if you do not step out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself. Every day, do something different that you wouldn’t have done yesterday. You can be surprised by what you know or can do if you step out of your comfort zone. This can be as simple as trying a new breakfast food or striking up a conversation with a coworker you haven’t talked to before.
Asking yourself the right questions at the right time can bring clarity and guidance as to what you should work towards and do throughout the rest of the day. For this morning exercise to work, be sure to answer truthfully and precisely. Self-awareness is key.