11 Tips for How to Start a Productive Day

Are you tired of getting up in the morning, dragging your feet, and wasting time? Girl, I’ve been there too! But after learning how to start a productive day, I don’t have that issue at all anymore… and you don’t have to either! 

It can be easy to fall into the mindset of “I’m just not a morning person” when you don’t have a productive morning routine set. I get that and, honestly, I wouldn’t consider myself a natural-born morning person either. Even the THOUGHT of waking up early makes me cringe a little bit.

BUT, that doesn’t mean I can’t have an incredible morning routine anyways. If you aren’t naturally a morning person, that doesn’t mean you are doomed and destined for unproductive and dreadful mornings! Not at all!!!

Over the past year or so, I have built a routine for how to start a productive day. It works incredibly for me. I seriously swear by this and stick to it every weekday morning.

If you are ready to learn how to have the best morning for success, you have come to the right place!

This post is all about how to start a productive day. 

How to Start a Productive Day

Tip 1: Go to Bed at a Decent Hour

You may think that your productive morning routine starts in the morning… but the truth is, it ACTUALLY starts the night before. You have to set yourself up for a productive start to the day by allowing yourself the time to get a good amount of sleep!

I have been (and sometimes still am TBH) guilty of staying up until 1, 2, or even 3 am watching TV, scrolling on my phone, and wasting precious time that I could be SLEEPING!

Look, I’m a girl that LOVES my sleep and even I sometimes struggle with getting myself to bed at a decent bedtime, haha!

But, the truth is, this is essential for having a productive morning routine. If you don’t get an adequate amount of sleep (that means AT LEAST 7 hours… my body functions better on 8+), there’s no way you can be ready to hit the ground running when your morning alarm goes off. That’s just the truth…

Pause your Netflix show, turn off your TV, put your phone on airplane mode, and GET SOME SLEEP!

Tip 2: Wake Up at the Same Time Everyday

There’s no use in confusing your body with random wake-up times. It’s so hard to fall into a productive morning routine when your mornings are all over the map. Waking up at a set and consistent time every morning helps your mind and body get in the swing of things and fall into the pattern of your morning routine.

The actual TIME that you wake up is dependent on you, your work, your schedule, and your body (but remember to get those 7+ hours of sleep!!).

I don’t think it’d be fair for me to demand that you wake up at 5 am every morning without even knowing what your schedule or your days look like. Plus, that’d just be mean…

This is the best part: YOU get to choose what time you start your day.

Say you have to start work at 9… YOU get to pick if you want to get up at 6 am or 8:45. After all, it’s YOUR morning that’s being affected.

What I’m getting at is that you should pick a time that works well for YOU and YOUR personal schedule. A time that allows you the option to be productive and get a good start to your day.

And then STICK WITH IT. Wake up at that set time every morning. Before you know it, it’ll become your new normal and, without even realizing it, you’ll fall into your routine!

Tip 3: Have a Motivation to Get Out of Bed

This tip is ESSENTIAL for starting off your day well!

For me, this motivation is COFFEE!! The second my feet hit the ground in the morning, they’re on their way to starting the coffee machine. GIMME ALL THE MORNING CAFFEINE!

For many, coffee might be your morning motivator too. But for others it could be a delicious breakfast, petting your dog, watching the sunrise, getting some fresh air, some morning yoga…

{RELATED POST: Build an Aesthetic Morning Routine}

Whatever it may be, the important part is that there is SOMETHING that makes you excited to get up in the mornings!

If you can’t think of anything right now, don’t worry! It might take a few tries to find what your special motivator is.

Try out some new things in the morning and take note of what makes you feel the happiest and most prepared to start your day! Once you’ve found it, you’ve found the magic step for a productive morning routine.

I’m not saying you’ll be jumping out of bed with a smile on your face EVERY MORNING when your alarm goes off… but having some incentive to get out of bed sure does help get your day started on a happy and productive note!

Tip 4: Slow Your Scroll

Or stop it altogether.

Look, you guys know I love my Instagram and TikTok. But, in all honesty, it was holding me back from being truly productive and having efficient mornings. For SO long, and I mean YEARS, it was my daily morning routine to get up (whenever I wanted to, I might add), and scroll… for HOURS sometimes. Ah!!

This was NOT helpful in setting me up for a protective morning routine. At all!

Not only was I wasting my time, but I was also shifting my mindset and framing my day in a non-productive way.

If you take one thing from this post, let it be this. AVOID SOCIAL MEDIA RIGHT WHEN YOU WAKE UP.

And, for that matter, avoid email too.

I know that sounds backward, ignoring work to be more productive. But this tip is really about a mindset shift. You HAVE to be in the right mindset to have a productive start to your day.

Scrolling first thing in the morning will make you feel one of many ways: lazy, stressed, overwhelmed, negative, unproductive. That is NO way to start your day. At least not a positive or productive one.

Take some time to get your mind going and be in your OWN world before you take to your phone to integrate the outside world.

Tip 5: Get OUT of Bed

Holy cow! I can’t stress this one enough! Get out of bed!

I used to actually try to STAY IN BED and get work done. I’d go to my online classes from bed, send emails from bed, blog in bed, do work in bed… I had NO IDEA how negatively this was manifesting in my productivity life and my mental health.

Sometimes, I’ll admit, I’m still guilty of trying to stay comfy in my bed and start my productive morning routine. Let me tell you, I regret it every time. It just doesn’t work well. Plain and simple.

Not only was staying in bed keeping me in the sleepy zone, it actually was negatively impacting my sleep at night and my mental health.

Maybe you’ve heard the advice about not working in the same place you sleep before. This is kinda the same thing.

When I work in bed, it feels like my body doesn’t know the difference between work and relaxation. I was finding that I’d lay down at night to relax or sleep and I felt like I was still in the work zone. I just couldn’t shut my brain off. It was NOT good.

I definitely recommend setting up a workspace NOT in your bed (outside of your bedroom entirely if you can!). Work and sleep/relaxation both deserve a place in your mind but do not need to overlap!

Tip 6: Make Your Bed When You Get Up

Now that you’re OUT of bed, the best way to KEEP yourself out of bed is to make it. At least that’s my motive, haha! I can’t lie. If my bed remained unmade, I’d be likely to crawl back into it with my cozy cup of coffee and procrastinate. But NOPE. I choose to make my bed so I don’t even have that option.

Plus, this makes my room tidier and it makes me feel like I’ve already started being productive by just accomplishing that one small task. It’s a great way to jumpstart your morning!

Tip 7: Make a Game Plan

Honestly, I do this the night before. But I REFRESH myself with my game plan in the morning.

I plan out my week every Sunday and then every night I add in specific details I might’ve missed/added for the next day.

Honestly, I have become a PLANNER FREAK over the last few years. This past year in particular I have relied on my planner for ALL my scheduling and planning. I started working and doing school from home so this was essential for keeping me on track and productive. Otherwise, I’d forget EVERYTHING, haha!!

I love to start my day by looking at everything I have planned for the day. This refreshes my mind AND gets me in the right headspace for getting stuff done!

I HIGHLY recommend planning your days (I have free daily planner printables to get you started!) and getting stuff written down to keep you on track.

{RELATED POST: 8 Must-Know Tips for Planning Your Day}

Tip 7: Eat a Good Breakfast

They’re not kidding when they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It is SO necessary to fuel your mind and body if you want to have a productive day. Getting lots of nutrients in first thing in the morning is the perfect way to kickstart your day. Even if you are not a breakfast person or you don’t wake up hungry (can’t relate, LOL), I really recommend eating something… even something small! A banana, a yogurt, some toast… you gotta put some fuel in the tank if you want it to run, you know?

Tip 8: Set Time Limits on Work

If you just work, work, work, work ALL DAY LONG, you are going to BURN OUT!

And GET THIS… if you work for that long without any breaks or time to rejuvenate, you actually are going to be so much less productive. I have found that I work best in shorter spurts of intense productivity.

For example, I will grind out some work for an hour or an hour and a half and then take some time away. I’ll go get a glass of water and journal or step outside or have some lunch. You can do whatever gives YOU the best mental break.

My personal favorite thing to do when I need to step away for a while is to go for a walk. The fresh air combined with the movement just gives me so much mental clarity and refreshes me so I can go back to being crazy productive when I get back to work.

This leads me to my next tip…

Tip 9: Move Your Body

One of the very few things I remember from my high school AP physics class: “a body in motion stays in motion”. Your body is no exception.

Moving my body in the morning has been a game-changer in my productive morning routine.

I LOVE going for walks in the morning or getting outside for some yoga or a quick at-home workout. I’ve found that, by doing this, my entire mindset shifts. When I get up and get my blood pumping, I am READY TO GO for the rest of the day. I also have seen some major improvements in my mental health by getting moving (especially moving outside). When your mind is clear and happy, you can be way more successful and productive in your days. I promise.

For me, some movement has been the best way to get my mind right and my productive juices flowin’ in the morning. It really just sets the tone for a good day.

Movement endorphins = a happy, healthy, and productive day!

Tip 10: Get Dressed

This is more of a tip for those working from home or looking to be more productive at home. If you go into work, I’m willing to bet you DON’T wear your PJs to work. (If you do, you got a freaking bomb job. Let me know what you’re doing for work. Haha!)

I got into a pretty bad habit when I first started my at-home job of just staying in my PJs/comfy clothes after I got up. At first, I was like “woohoo this is great! PJs all day!!”

But… it actually wasn’t so great. Turns out, it was one of the main culprits of my sluggishness and lack of motivation. Whoops!

I often think back to a piece of advice my mom used to give me before big tests in school: “If you look good and you feel good, you do good!”

Moms always know best, am I right? I don’t know how they do it but they do. I really think she was on to something here. I always made sure to get dressed (not in sweats and a sweatshirt) before big tests or presentations at school. This is practically the same thing now.

If I want to perform well, I have to get my mind in the right space to do so. This includes feeling put together on the outside.

I have seen HUGE shifts in my motivation and energy levels when I decide to get up and get dressed rather than stay in PJs or sweatpants.

Not saying you have to dress professionally to be productive… but GET DRESSED. A pair of jeans and a cute sweater or top will do the trick. Trust me on this one. You won’t believe the difference it makes.

Tip 11: Have a “Look-Forward-To”

This last tip is similar to my 3rd tip in the way it gives you some incentive to get up and be productive.

I always think back to when my sister would offer me a “look-forward-to” when I was struggling with keeping my motivation up in high school. Whether it be a vacation, a day trip, or just a fun girls’ night, having something to look forward to always helped keep me going.

This is the same when building a productive morning routine. I’ve found it to be so helpful to have something to look forward to at the end of the day… kind of like a little reward for getting up and being productive.

This does not have to be anything extravagant. Oftentimes for me, it’s watching the Bachelor or getting Chick-fil-A for dinner. Even these little things can help get me started in the morning. I find myself dreading getting started on my work way less when I know there’s some fun following!

Besides, we all deserve some fun in our busy everyday lives!

Those are the tips that helped me learn how to start a productive day!

Getting out of bed in the mornings does not have to be something you dread! Heck, it can even be something you look forward to! Shifting that mindset from “I have to” to “I get to” has been huge for me… and a lot of that has come from building this incredibly productive morning routine.

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At this point, I’d be willing to go as far as to say I am becoming a MORNING PERSON. Yeah, something I NEVER thought I’d say… If I can do it, you can do it.

Now that you know how to start a productive day, go do it!