Mercedes-Benz has unveiled plans for a delivery “van of the future” that features fully automated cargo loading and drones that drop off packages (+ slideshow). (more…)
You’re reading How To Create A Morning Routine That Sets You Up For Success, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
How you start your day pretty much determines how effective your day will be. Most people like to have some form of morning routine, otherwise we would have to make decisions on every small detail: coffee with milk or without, with sugar or without. For usual steps we go on autopilot and this mechanism of the brain helps us to actually get through the day!
In 2016 I changed my morning routine three times. I recently relocated from The Netherlands to Singapore and had to leave my own digital marketing consultancy to start a new life with my wife in Asia. I had to start looking for a new job, and during this process I noticed a change in my daily routine. Then, in mid-August I landed a new job that also caused a change in my (morning) routine. Realizing the impact a routine has on your day, I am sharing my experiences.
Before you go to bed, make sure you have a towel, swimming trunks or sporting equipment ready to start your day on an active note. Organizing your equipment the evening before is already part of the routine. It also primes your mind that you will be doing some kind of excercise when you wake up, thereby making it harder not to go sporting. Plan the sporting exercise block in your agenda the day before. You will not skip a planned sport block that easily. Through your day you will notice the sporting block in your calendar when you plan new activities for the day after, making it a recurring part of your routine.
My alarm rings at 6.55. It is very important to not use that snooze button! When the alarm goes, just get up! I first put on my swimming trunks, then pour distilled water in the espresso machine and turn it on to let it warm up. I take the yoghurt out of the fridge (otherwise the yoghurt is too cold to eat), grab my towel and put on my flip-flops. Then I walk to the swimming pool downstairs.
I arrive at the swimming pool at 7.00. I just jump in the water letting the cold/ lukewarm water do the waking-up part. I swim for 30 minutes. After each lap I perform a ten second breathing exercise to keep my heart rate at a fast pace. Swimming is an excellent way to start your day since it gives a good kick, wakes you up and trains your whole body. In my case it really helps that our condo has a big swimming pool. Instead of swimming it is also a good idea to workout in the gym. If there is no gym close by, use one of the 7-minute workout. There are several apps available, try Wahoo for iOS or Android.
Most people love to take a medium to long hot shower to wake up. I used to love starting my day in the same way. Then I discovered that it doesn’t wake me up. The warm water is comfortable and relaxes your muscles but it does not get you up to speed. According to The Iceman (Netherlands), it is better to take a cold shower; it helps strengthen your immune system to fight-off diseases. Due to the cold water you get a real kick that causes your breathing to intensify. After swimming I take a lukewarm shower.
You probably have heard that people always come up with great ideas during showering or think of all important to do’s! Contradicting to taking a cold shower it is good to take a lukewarm to warm shower to get more and better ideas. You can choose to do a cold shower on Monday and lukewarm on Tuesday and so on.
Depending on culture and your diet, the breakfast contents may vary. In my case I eat plain low-fat yoghurt with fresh fruits such as mango and some raw nuts.
I very much like a good fresh espresso. The whole process of making a fresh espresso (not a Nespresso or any form of automatic espresso machine) takes a few minutes:
There you have the perfect shot of espresso to kick start your day. Do not forget to clean up with a towel and put the coffee ‘puck’ out of the filter. During this coffee making process my mind wanders to make new connections or come up with great new ideas. The time it takes is also a moment to think about your day and most important tasks. Drinking a moderate amount of coffee helps to focus your attention as well.
If you do not have an espresso machine, make a small routine for your type of coffee or tea and let your mind wander.
Depending on the type of work you can already start working in the subway, train or even in the car. Depending on your means of travel, you can read, answer emails or make calls. I would advise you to do the following:
There are several to do apps, one of my favorite ones is Wunderlist, use the * to make a task a MIT.
My morning routine from alarm to leaving the house is 75 to 90 minutes. Please share your views and tips on your morning routine. What works for you?
Alexis van Dam moved from The Netherlands to Singapore. He is a seasoned Digital Marketing Strategist. Currently CMO @ InsuranceMarketSG. He is a Visual Thinker, MindMapper, Lifehacker, Social Media Strategist, LinkedIn Trainer, Facilitator, Speaker, Smarter Working Coach. You can follow him on Twitter, Medium or via his website.
You’ve read How To Create A Morning Routine That Sets You Up For Success, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
From the architect. Background of a busy city is always the randomly standing neon lights. Hurried pedestrians cross the street from one side to the other, from one block to another block by passing through the street. When viewing from above, you could see people come and go, the streets are crowded with pedestrians and vehicles, only the zebra crossings stand still to offer convoy and guidance. Réel Mall is at such a street corner filled with traveling and short stay, which is located at the centre of Shanghai – Jing’an district, and Zhongshuge is at the end of the 4th floor of Réel Mall.
On the floor, there are painted white zebra crossings linking to the book tables, which give clear guidance to the path between book tables. On the wall, it is fully covered with white circular tubes. Each of the white circular tubes spread over the wall could retract into or stretch out of the wall freely, in this way, different array patterns could be formed with such flexibility. While this flexible design acts as book shelves, it also reflects the quick changed social status quo. Here, readers enter into a city space where there is no heavy traffic, but only quiet “roads and zebra crossings” and mountains of books on the books tables. Zebra crossing is like books that accompany our growth. Get the correct guidance at the right time. The spiritual connection between books and readers is thus expressed.
What connects to this space is a long corridor for leisure reading, where there is a long row of park benches. The book shelves are placed at the two sides of the corridor, and there is a street lamp at a regular distance from one another. This is not only a reading corridor but also an interior reading park. Walking slowly in the world of books, when you get tired, you could sit on the chairs under the street lights and relax your mind by reading your favorite books- this is the reading environment that this space intended to create for readers.
Walking through the quiet park of books you will arrive at the castle of books in the sky. A winding path gets through the 4 architecture-like book shelves which are built with shelves, bringing the reader with an experience of walking through a real city of books. Along the path, you will notice that exterior walls of every “house” are built with book shelves, and on the wall there are big windows through which the interior of the “house” could be seen. From the inside of the “house” you will find out that the “houses” are book libraries with different themes of culture and art.
The interior area of the 4 “houses” are very different, the small one is like a quiet study while the big one could hold a small reading party. Here, the designer builds a city with books. Different from the outside bustling streets, this place is a spiritual world where readers could communicate with authors quietly through the books. The width of the path between book shelves is changing, and on this winding path you can see zebra crossings, you may dimly feel that you were walking in the centuries-old Shanghai streets where you can feel the romance and mood of Shanghai.
The world of mortals is a temptation that everyone could not escape from. Shanghai, in particular, a “top-ranked romantic and rich place within the world of mortals”, is saturated with far more desires and helplessness. Thus people who struggle within this world of mortals always long for a quiet place where their body and mind could be set free! Zhongshuge (Réel Mall) uses the concept of zebra crossing to penetrate and lead the plot of the story, which expresses the idea that under the busy and impetuous pace of city, books, being a companion to life, is acting as association between all kinds of functions of the city and our life; and that books give convoy and guidance to our growth just like what zebra crossing does!
Sig Nordal 