One of the most important this late bloomer (me, moi, I — this blog author) has learned is my first activity for the day determines how my whole day would look like — especially my mood as the day progresses. One example is this blog post…

FUN FACT: THIS BLOG POST HAS BEEN DELAYED, REWRITTEN, SAVED IN DRAFTS, REWRITTEN AGAIN AND AGAIN DUE TO MY MOOD BECAUSE MOST OF THOSE TIMES I STARTED MY DAY CRANKY….

Yes, this post was supposed to be a reactive because…
1. I woke up late
2. I woke up to the dishes at our sink from saying “I’m full please clean me up!”
3. I woke up early but ended stuck in front of YouTube and Instagram and wasted precious time because of it.
4. I was very anxious…
5. I felt frustrated because of the un-swept floor and trash which I have swept a day before and ready to be thrown to the garbage but was still staying in the corner…

How I start my day matters…because if I started reacting to my current situation, surrounding and mood then I’m doomed for the day — everything else is very very very VERRRRYYY CRANKY!

Even if I try to focus on work, trust me, it’s hard to get my mind to focus… until…

TvN’s Summer Vacation

I’m a Park Seo Joon and Choi Woo-Shik fan… on top of that, I enjoyed TvN’s reality shows especially Youn’s Kitchen. When Choi Shik announced he’ll be on a reality show with Jung Yu Mi of Youn’s Kitchen (plus Park Seo Joon will be it’s first guest), of course I have to watch it and it didn’t disappoint.

The show was relaxing but more than that it showed me how Jung Yu Mi started her day. From the moment she woke up, she would…

• grab her phone and play music.
• do stretching exercises while still on bed
• and do more stretching off her bed

Other than this, she would browse for some ideas on what tea or food they can prepare for the day and the health benefits each ingredient they use has (the vacation house has a garden).

That one example made me think of how I usually start my day

As a Christian, doing devotions was something I haven’t been regularly doing, especially whenever I’d wake up late. I also have some study materials I need to go through especially with our work as digital marketers (learning never stops and that’s a fact for all of us). In addition, I usually start my day cleaning up from yesterday’s dishes or sweeping the floor. There was even a time I started chatting once I grab my phone even if I’m still in bed.

The example Jung Yu Mi gave that day gave me an idea to try. I also realized how I enjoyed checking on tasks I’ve done, tracking my time, and even arranging my time tracker notebook (it’s actually a bujo of my day). With these in mind, I started including on my checklist (and in order of activities I want to accomplish) the stretching exercise and devotion under my habit tracker which is also in my time tracker notebook. I also put in mind that this should be the first thing I do and write on my time tracker.

Getting started

I have been practicing waking up early recently thus stretching and doing devotion was something I wanted to make sure I get ticked off on my tracker. I can’t do heavy exercises yet so stretching seemed like a good idea. Thus on the night before I started this “new habit”, I purposefully…

• Prepared my Spotify on the playlist I wanted playing once I wake up (in this case on my Christian song playlist)
• Prepared my headset since not all of us would wake up early
• Cleared my bed of other stuff to give me a wider space to stretch.

The next morning, I woke up, reached for my phone, put on my headphones, played Spotify, and started stretching my legs and arms as I lay on my back. Next I curled my knees to my chest, then stretched my arms, then I was lying on my stomach till I was continuing the stretches sitting on the bed.

The stretching exercise lasted for only 5 minutes, and since I was listening to Christian music, while stretching I was praying (some songs I even started lip singing to). When I got to the dining area (where I usually put my laptop on), I started reading Proverbs, took notes, and that was it. I checked the stretching and devotional, wrote it on my time tracker, and went to my usual activities for the day — and I felt good…

I’m not saying I’ve perfected it. There were some days I missed a few stuff on my habit tracker and even have missed listed on my time tracker, but it’s important to get back immediately or else, I’ll always make excuses on these.

While Jung Yu Mi’s stretching and music playing activities have worked for me to help me start the day, some may not find this good for them. It’s important to find what fits you. In my case, it did since I won’t start the day reacting to the mess, the stress or other unproductive stuff but rather caring for my mind, my focus, my body, and my spirit. This helps me focus on important stuff and manage the day better. I even got me time to continue writing my novel.

If you are looking for ways how to start your day, here are some ideas you can start with:
1. Meditation and breathing exercises
2. Self-Affirmation (say good morning to yourself)
3. Read an inspirational quote (or a verse)
4. Thanksgiving prayer
5. Fix the bed (so you won’t stay stuck and want to return for the rest of the day)

How we start our day matters — literally what is the first thing we do every morning determines how we move throughout the day. It also cares for your whole being and how you focus on more important matters rather than being reactive and being easily distracted by so many things.