11 Easy Morning Motivation Rituals to Kickstart Your Day

It takes grit to be in sales. You will get rejected by prospects multiple times a day, there are some months when you won't hit your number, and losses are just part of the job.

It's not all bad, of course. But on some days, it's going to be difficult to find your motivation. So make your mornings easier and set yourself up for a productive day with these quick morning motivation exercises.

11 Rituals to Build Motivation in the Morning

1. Get up early

Research shows that early risers are more successful, more proactive, better planners, and better at anticipating problems. Not to mention that many extremely productive CEOsalso get to the office uber-early. Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour is out of bed by 5:45 a.m., GE CEO Jeff Immelt gets up at 5:30 a.m., Xerox CEO Ursula Burns rises at 5:15 a.m., and Apple CEO Tim Cook sets his alarm for as early as 3:45 a.m. to get a jump start on their days.

Yes, waking up early gives you more time to work, but there are other benefits as well. You’ll be able to eat a healthy breakfast (see #2), fit in a workout (#4), or even spend time doing an activity that’s not work-related (#7). The more time you give yourself in the mornings, the less you’ll have to rush and the more ready you’ll be to tackle the day.

2. Eat a good breakfast

You are what you eat. According to research from the British Journal of Health Psychology, the more fruits and vegetables an individual eats in a day, the happier, more creative, and more engaged they tend to be -- a great incentive to add more whole foods to your diet.  Plus, if you eat a lousy meal or no breakfast at all, you’ll be hungry all morning -- and it’s difficult to concentrate when you’re not feeling at your best.

3. Optimize your alarm

Your surroundings have a huge effect on your mood, and while you can’t control the weather, whether you have enough hot water in the morning, or if there will be traffic (another reason to get up early!), you can control your alarm clock.

The right wake-up call can set the tone for your entire day, so get rid of the traditional grating beeps and replace your alarm with a song that fits the mood you’d like to wake up in. Classical music is hypothesized to increase your intelligence, pump-up songs like Queen’s “We Will Rock You” make you feel more powerful, and “feel-good” songs improve your mood by actually causing your brain to release more dopamine.

4. Work out

It goes without saying that exercise is good for you, whether you work out at work or during personal hours. Exercise increases the production of serotonin and dopamine, neurotransmitters that decrease the risk of depression and improve your mood and long-term memory, respectively. Exercising in the morning forces you to wake up earlier, gives you a totally natural mood-booster, and increases your energy.

And exercise has benefits beyond improving your mood. A 2006 study showed that regular physical exercise led to increases in willpower and self-regulatory behavior.

5. Start with “why”

It’s hard to get excited about getting out of bed in the mornings when you’re not totally sold on what you’re getting up for. And even if you love everything about your job, the daily grind can make it hard to keep your eye on the prize all the time.

Boost your intrinsic motivation -- behavior driven by the enjoyment of a task -- to keep yourself going. Intrinsic motivation is a more powerful force than extrinsic motivation, which drives you to act because of incentives like money, recognition, or praise.

Remind yourself why you got into sales -- for example, you could tape a list to your bathroom mirror and reach for it at the start of each day, or write down one thing you’re excited about every night to read the next morning. The important thing is to be able to quickly remind yourself of what drives you to be great at your job.

6. Remind yourself of your wins

It’s all well and good to know that you love sales because you believe in your product, but on days when you’ve dealt with rude prospects, been reprimanded by your boss, or lost a big deal you’ve been chasing for weeks, you’re going to need a more concrete reminder.

Greg Fung, a HubSpot sales rep, keeps a list of wins and losses in an Evernote document that he refers to when he’s having a bad day.

“Keep your list handy and add to it as new good and bad incidents come your way,” Fung says. “You’ll be surprised by how quickly the 'rights' outpace the 'wrongs,' and you now have a great tool to lean on during tough times.”

To adapt this exercise for a boost of morning motivation, keep a “master list” of your biggest wins and keep it on your nightstand or somewhere easily accessible so you can refer to it on mornings when you just don’t want to go into the office.

7. Do something that makes you happy

Breaking news: We do better at work when we’re happy in our personal lives.

Multiple studies have shown that happiness is closely correlated with job performance, and of course, happiness is closely tied to our personal health as well.

So set aside some time each morning to do something that makes you happy. Whether it’s reading a chapter from your favorite book, spending 30 minutes on a side project, or just eating a really, really good breakfast sandwich, if you dedicate time to improving your personal life, it’ll pay dividends in your career as well.

8. Remind yourself of your goals

Let's face it: No matter how much you love your job, there are days where it's going to feel like you're just slogging through. That's okay, as long as you don't let the bad days slow you down.

But sometimes passion or intrinsic motivation just isn't enough to get you through. That's when goals come into play. Why are you doing what you're doing? Presumably you're influenced by external drivers as well as internal ones -- you want to earn a promotion, you want to qualify for President's Club, you want to save money to buy a house. On the days when you don't feel inspired, remind yourself of what you could lose if you don't give 110% effort.

9. Make your bed

Making your bed every morning gives you an instant sense of accomplishment, creates a positive state of mind, lowers your stress, and sets you up for completing other good habits throughout the day. Plus, it takes less than five minutes. 

And, according to the book, The Power of Habit, "Making your bed every morning is correlated with better productivity, a greater sense of well-being, and stronger skills at sticking with a budget." 

10. Journal

Sometimes called writing your "morning pages," starting your day penciling in 750 words can help clear your mind, focus your thinking for the day, and empower you to make changes in your life.

Start before the mind has time to become distracted and write for approximately 30 minutes. Oh, and handwriting only, please. Putting pen to paper apparently gives you more of a connection to your truest thoughts and the reasons behind your actions. So, want to get to the bottom of why that prospect got under your skin yesterday? Start writing.

11. Meditate

Meditation activates your parasympathetic-nervous system, which leaves you with a deep sense of relaxation. That means even if you only got six hours of sleep last night, the energy-inducing endorphins brought on by meditation can give you the boost you need to take on the day -- without the jitters a fifth cup of coffee will give you.

Meditating has also been proven to reduce the pain associated with headaches, counteract stress, and filter negative self-talk. Three things salespeople never have to deal with, right?

The most important thing for you to do in the morning? Take care of yourself. Whatever your morning routine, give your mind and body what they need to take on the day refreshed, recharged, and re-motivated.