So, a lot has been going on lately in my life, and one of them is getting a new job as an international student, not to mention the research position at my university AND my regular classes AND gym AND Guitar practice. Balancing these things has become so cumbersome that some days I just want to be left alone without talking to anyone. But something miraculous happened when I started waking up at 5:30 in the morning.

At the start, it was really difficult and made me miserable. I snoozed my alarm a lot of times, which resulted in me missing my buses and trains, which had a chain reaction of me getting late for work and having some issues with my job.

Recently, I went to the bookstore and laid my eyes on the book Morning Miracle, which said that the author changed his life after getting up just half an hour earlier than usual, so copying his method, I did the same.

I got up at 5:30 sharp, and followed the following schedule:

1. 5 minutes of journaling

2. 5 minutes of drinking water, in peace

3. 5 minutes of meditation

4. 5 minutes of push-ups

5. 5 minutes of looking at vision board

I found that after following these basic habits for 21 days straight, I got my performance in my job to a new f**g level—not exaggerating. When I walk down the aisle, I feel as if I have taken compound V. I can feel the air hitting my face differently, and I am more focused and have the mental stamina to go through my day and still have energy for myself, I tried to rationalize this by stating that this is the placebo effect, but no, things have been *ACTUALLY* different for me.

Starting your day in the solitude best assed in the morning will help you retain the focus you need to optimize your daily tasks

A special mention I would like to give to mindfulness practice: I used to get overwhelmed easily, and my mind would do a mental throw-up after my job. I eventually had no time left for people who actually mattered to me, and my relationships would suffer. I have observed that:

After meditating, I can take tasks one by one, instead of juggling between several ones, which significantly drains out your mental capacity. My focus remains on the thing I am currently doing and the rest fades away

The first thing you should be doing in the morning is controlling your cortisol, the fear hormone, which is a significant contributor to mental fatigue- To control this, do the following:

Reflect on your present blessings — every man has many- State down 3 things you are grateful for and practice solitude

After you’re done with this, embrace the elephant in the room and write down the most important task you want to finish, followed by others in descending order of importance, This will help you finish the tasks which contribute to 80% of the outcome while minimizing low-priority and fulfilling tasks which could have been finished with a little mental capacity and focus

Finally, give some time to outline and work on things that can help you increase your current knowledge related to your work or life, because hey, no one is a loser when they continuously improve themselves and learn a thing or two every day. Besides, if you do get a professional online certification, there will be a sweet promotion waiting for you at the end of the current year!

Aim to sleep till 10 p.m so that you can start your day at 5 or 5:30, This practice will help you take advantage of the solitude and tranquility of mornings to optimize your body, soul and mind