You can start your day by hitting the snooze button, grabbing your phone and checking Facebook, dragging yourself out of bed at the last minute, rushing to get ready, and then running out the door with an empty stomach and hangry attitude. Or, you can start your day with good morning habits. We recommend the latter. Below we share 5 Positive Ways To Begin The Day. One// Give yourself at least 15 minutes of no screen time first thing in the morning. “But I use my mobile phone as an alarm clock” you say. Easy, swap your mobile phone for an old school alarm clock, you can pick one up for less than ten dollars at Target, Officeworks or your local dollar store. Time is so precious these days so use it wisely. Chat with your partner, have a good stretch - wriggle your toes, stretch out your arms, roll your neck side to side, enhancing your circulation and energy levels. Just don’t look at that screen! Two // Focus inward not outward. As soon as most people hear the word meditation, thoughts such as ‘That’s not really me”, “I don’t know how to meditate” or “It’s too hard” enters the mind. How about thinking of it as just mindful “me” time. Whether it’s one, five or fifteen minutes, try focusing on gratitude, or thinking of 1 to 3 things you want to accomplish in the day that will make you happier, even give meditation a go. Focusing inward not outward first thing in the morning will help make everything else feel less overwhelming. Optional: Keep a notepad on your bedside table to capture your positive thoughts.

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” Marcus Aurelius

Three// You’ve heard this a thousand times before, but we’re going to tell you again, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. The multi-talented producer of WholeFood Society and nutritionist in the making, Nadia Felsch, tells us to “Include a healthy fat in your morning meal to balance those hungry hormones and provide you with more nourishment and satisfaction for the day ahead. Tasty options include avocado, natural nut or seed butter and eggs”. Four// Write tomorrow’s To Do List at the end of each day, ensuring you prioritise each task that needs attention. Make sure you don’t skip this last step, as prioritising your work is just or perhaps even more important than writing down the tasks themselves. This way you can dive straight into your work, utilising the most productive hours of the day. It’s not about working harder, it’s working smarter. Five// Have you heard that it’s the year of the podcast? If not, it’s time to enter this new era. Listening to podcasts is a fantastic way to boost your motivation and can easily fit into your morning routine. Picture this, you’re sitting on the bus, ferry or driving to work. Instead of having your head down, glued to your screen as you scroll through meaningless pictures, instead, you play and listen to a podcast on “The act of storytelling”, or “How to start your own business”, or how about “A year in Europe” with your head up, taking in the words and world around you. There is a podcast on just about any topic you can think of, just start searching on google and keep your ears, mind & heart open.