Morning

Sometimes we need to jot down some positive notes to self to keep ourselves going in this stressful world. Reading some encouraging words from time to time can elevate your mood and help you rise above any negativity life throws your way. Inspiration can come from anywhere, but positive affirmations have been proven to ease mental stress and improve one’s outlook on life.

No matter if you write down your affirmations on sticky notes and put them around the house or jot them down in a journal, everyone needs the motivation to keep on trucking sometimes. Respect yourself the same as you would treat your best friend and reinforce positive messages in your self-talk. Have the rule that if you wouldn’t say something to a friend or loved one, don’t say it to yourself. If you start to change your relationship with yourself and become your own best friend, everything in your life will begin to look sunnier.

Here are seven notes to self you need to read every day:

Below, we’ve listed some of the best positive messages to tell yourself every day when you wake up. Make sure to read them daily to get the best results!

1. “I can get through anything life throws my way.”

If you’ve been feeling defeated lately, use this affirmation to get your mind back on track. After a while of existing on this planet, you realize that life comes with a lot of problems. However, that doesn’t mean you don’t have what it takes to tackle them. In fact, you would not have been put here if you didn’t. Believe in yourself and know that the universe will never give you more than you can handle.

Even if you don’t know how to do something, simply believing that you have what it takes will give you the strength you need in challenging times. Life always gives us solutions; we have to open our eyes and think outside the box, sometimes to see them. Some notes to self about courage and strength can give you the encouragement you need to keep going.

2. “I am beautiful, smart, and perfectly capable of achieving my dreams.”

Everyone struggles with self-esteem at some point because the world demands so much from us, and sometimes we don’t feel we measure up. Don’t beat yourself up for feeling inferior, but don’t allow yourself to remain stuck in this mindset, either. Just remember that you become whatever you think about yourself, so why not make it easier and believe positive things? You can become whatever you want, and you don’t have to limit yourself based on your perceived shortcomings.

The more you tell yourself positive affirmations during your self-talk, the more you will start to believe it. That’s why it is so important to practice this each day, preferably in the morning before you go to work or school. Drill it into your head that you’re an amazing person, and don’t settle for believing anything less about yourself.

3. “Today’s going to be an excellent day.”

Your attitude determines what sort of day you’ll have, so in a way, whatever you believe becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Remember, you get to create your reality, so if you want to have positive experiences, you need to shift your mindset. Believe in the good things coming, and even if the day doesn’t go as planned, at least having a better outlook will improve your resilience. Always look for the hidden silver lining, because even the negative experiences have a hidden lesson.

Looking on the brighter side of things doesn’t mean you have to slap on a fake smile when something really awful happens. You should still feel and process your emotions, but try not to get too caught up in the details. Keep your mind on the larger picture, and don’t sweat the small stuff, in other words. If you spill a drip of coffee on your shirt while driving to work, laugh, and feel grateful that you still have some left to enjoy.

Remember – it’s not what happens to you; it’s your attitude about it that truly matters.

4. “All is well in my universe, and all is working out for the highest good.”

If you’ve been struggling with not knowing what path to take, write down some notes to self about trusting the process and believing in the journey. As long as you follow your heart and learn to trust your intuition, every action you take will lead you further down the right path. No one really knows what they’re doing here anyway; we’re all just winging it for the most part. So, please resist the urge to put too much pressure on yourself to figure it all out.

We learn as we go, but if you can focus on how each experience helps you grow into a better person, what path you take won’t matter as much. As they say, it is not about reaching the top of the mountain – it’s about the journey along the way. If you wholeheartedly believe that good things will come your way and choose to keep a positive attitude, life will keep on pleasantly surprising you.

5. “I choose to honor, love, and respect myself.”

Nothing good can come out of disrespecting yourself or giving in to negative self-talk. Use this affirmation if you’ve been feeling unconfident or unworthy of love to remind you that you do not have to look anywhere outside yourself for validation. It all starts with you, so give yourself the self-love and care that you deserve. Instead of focusing on everything you don’t like about yourself, use positive affirmations to shift your mindset.

What do you love about yourself? Make a list and keep it on a sticky note on your nightstand so you can read it every day. Here are a few ideas to put on it in case you needed some to get you started:

• Your smile
• Your friendly attitude
• The compassion you have for other people
• How well you do at your job
• Your work ethic
• Your quirky sense of humor and dazzling smile

These may not personally apply to you, but we just wanted to provide a few examples if you need ideas. The world may give you every reason to doubt yourself, but as long as you remember your worth, nothing outside yourself can hurt you. Keep your head held high and don’t let anyone, especially yourself, put you down.

6. “No one can put me in a bad mood unless I allow it.”

Other people’s emotions don’t have to determine your own, even if that seems hard to believe. Why let the negative energy at work or school drain you when you can decide how you want to feel? As they say, “Ships don’t sink because of the water around them. Ships sink because of the water that gets in them. Don’t let what’s happening around you get inside you and weigh you down.” – Author Unknown

This takes some time to practice, of course, but you have to remember that you control your own emotions. Other people may influence your feelings, but they don’t get to determine your reaction. Remain even-minded even if everyone else allows the turbulence of life to rock their own ship. If you can sail on both the stormy seas and the calm ones, the water won’t even have a chance to drown you.

7. “I am open to any potential opportunity that presents itself to me.”

Keeping an open mind means at least considering the paths that present themselves to you. You don’t have to take every opportunity, but it pays to keep your options open. If a better-paying job in your field opens up, for example, you should apply for it even if it makes you nervous to start something new. No one ever grew inside their comfort zone, so don’t allow complacency to set it.

Challenge yourself and believe in your qualifications if you want to achieve great things in life. This doesn’t just apply to jobs, either; if you’re going to move across the country, start a business, or begin a new relationship, you have to weigh the positives against the negatives. If you determine that the decision will benefit you, take that leap of faith and know that the universe opened this door to you for a reason.

Final thoughts on the notes to self to we should all read every day.

In this life, we all need a little mental boost in some way to get us by. Many people find this through positive affirmations, such as the ones we listed above. You become what you think most about yourself, so choose to focus on positive things in your self-talk. Instead of beating yourself up, compliment yourself just as you would your best friend or significant other.

If you treat yourself with kindness and love and compassion, it’ll make it easier to share it with others as well. Let’s start a movement of positivity and vow to show ourselves more love and care because we are so worth it!

Do you often find that your mornings start a little too slowly? Does it take you much too long to get your gears whirring during the daytime? Do you struggle to stay on-task and finish jobs so soon after waking up? If you answered yes to any of those questions, don’t worry! Highly organized people reveal their tips for success. It’s much more common than you think!

Being productive in the mornings isn’t easy. Conditions have to be right, you must know yourself and what you’re doing, and you need to be able to find thoughts and objects quickly. But how can you do that? By learning from those who do this successfully, of course! Here are four habits of highly organized people for a productive morning.

1.    Scheduling In A Smart Way

Everyone talks about the importance of keeping a schedule. But there’s no point in creating a program that simply doesn’t work for you or anyone else. The point of scheduling isn’t to make a pretty list of work but to actually help you stay on track in a reasonable but firm manner. Here are some tips for scheduling smart:

·         Make A To-Do List

Yes, it’s easy to assume that you’ll naturally remember everything you have to do without the aid of a list. Still, writing a to-do list is considered one of the most positive and organized steps you can take if you want to be more productive. List down what you have to do that day, that week, and even that month if you plan your schedule that far in advance. You won’t feel pressured to remember everything, and you’ll feel accomplished when you cross items off the list one by one while the day goes on.

·         Be Mindful Of Your Energy

Don’t base your scheduling off of others. You know best how your energy levels are like. If you’re booming with alertness right after waking up, you can schedule things earlier in the day. If you’re a night person, you might be more lenient with your time limits for tasks. Take all of this into consideration. Remember, your schedule is for you, not anyone else!

·         Set A Timetable

Remember that to-do list? Trying setting it to a timetable. When everything you have to do has a set schedule that is easy to follow and an exact deadline, it’ll be easier for you to stay on track. Assign reasonable times, keep track of your progress, and don’t lose your positive thinking. Highly organized people tout this habit as a fantastic way to up your productivity as it keeps you on task from the beginning of each day.

·         Don’t Drop The Ball

When your day is hectic, it’s easy to forget some appointments or tasks. Try your hardest to keep each in mind. This is why you need a to-do list – so everything you have to do is nicely laid out and very difficult to forget! If you wind up having no choice but to miss specific tasks due to time constraints, learn from that mistake and schedule things more realistically in the future.

·         Follow A Routine

There’s nothing wrong with wanting a little variety in your life. But if you genuinely wish for a productive morning, make your schedule a routine. Do chores in the same order and basic tasks in the same general timeline every day. Routines are hugely crucial for positive productivity and efficiency, and they can even help with cognitive ability. This makes a routine a surefire success when your goal is a productive morning.

2.    Getting A Good Breakfast

Of course, breakfast is the first and most important meal you’ll have all day long. That’s why it’s so essential that your productive morning starts off with a well-planned breakfast. Here are some ways to make your first meal more fulfilling:

·         Eat Protein

The breakfast you eat makes a huge difference in how productive your morning is. Think about it: your body hasn’t had food for a prolonged period of time while you slept, so you need something that can get your engines into gear. A lot of people talk about carbohydrates as a breakfast food, but few fully grasp just how much protein can do for the body. Protein is a great brain nutrient that studies have found has positive effects on brain function. Consider breakfast foods involving eggs, Greek yogurt, almonds, or cottage cheese.

·         Prepare Food In Advance

Preparing your breakfast the evening before is a fantastic way to save a good chunk of time every morning. Your breakfast will be nutritious and won’t require the thinking of your groggy, still-tired brain. Even better, you can opt to prep large batches of breakfast over the weekend, so your entire week’s morning meals are ready to go!

·         Do Something Productive During Your Breakfast

Breakfast is a great time to get your gears going, and it’s an excellent way to get ahead of your tasks for the day. By the time you’re done eating, you’ll already be ahead! However, take this hint with a grain of salt, as it doesn’t work for everyone! If you tend to overeat, get distracted, or become stressed out when you do something else with breakfast, it’s best to opt not to go for this trick.

3.    Be Tidy

Sure, being perfectly clean all the time is overrated. But making sure your clutter stays under control is very important for productivity. Plus, you can hardly consider yourself highly organized if your entire house and workstation are a mess! Here are some ways to keep things neat:

·         Clear Your Workspace

Want to have a fresh start to each day, full of positive thinking? Make sure your working space or desk is clean and clear before you begin. Clutter can almost feel comfortable sometimes, but what it actually does is trip you up. Things get harder to find, you’re more likely to be stressed out, and it’s tough to get things done without holdups. Sure, everyone has different limits to how messy space can get before it affects them, but if you follow science, cleanliness and tidiness is most crucial to productivity.

·         Resolve Snags

If you want your days to run smoothly, try making a habit of smoothing out so-called loose ends left behind from days past. It’s easy to ignore the tissue that fell on the floor, but in time that will amount to a lot of rubbish everywhere, which will impact your productivity. You might not think that missed call is that big of a deal, but when twenty of them pile up, you’ll be too overwhelmed to get to them. Learning to quickly tidy up these tiny little things as and when you notice them is key to being organized.

·         Clean Key Areas Before Leaving

Before you leave your house every morning, take a quick glance through the critical areas of your home. This might be your dining table where you eat, the kitchen counter where you need to cook, or the shoe rack by the front door that you tend to dump everything into. Give them all a cursory once over and clear or tidy what you can before heading out. This places your mind at ease as you go about your morning while also giving you a little sense of accomplishment from the start.

It’s worth noting that we’re not insinuating you need to have a perfect environment in order to be productive. The lesson here is to learn to become a more organized person, so you need to know where things are and feel relaxed in your living and working spaces. Often, being at least some degree of tidy is necessary to achieve this!

4.    Learn To Prioritize

Highly organized people don’t mistake productivity for the simple act of squeezing in as much as you can into as few moments as possible. The issue with this description is that it removes quality from the equation

When you are productive, you’re performing with high-quality and delivering outstanding results, but at a consistent and, if possible, fast pace. This means that sometimes, there are tasks you have to leave behind in favor of what really matters. Here’s how to better prioritize the things you need to get done for a more productive morning:

·         Decide On What You Want To Accomplish

What are the three things that you absolutely want to accomplish today? Which tasks must you complete to feel like you’ve been productive? Once you have your three most important tasks, schedule your day around them. You can do them at any point, as long as you get them done. When you have to choose between these tasks and other less major ones, always choose the former! You’ll feel better about yourself while teaching yourself not to sweat the small stuff.

·         Get To Critical Emails As Soon As Possible

It’s a great idea not to make a habit of browsing your email first thing in the morning before work begins. But once it starts, it’s all fair game! Focus on starting with the more critical emails first, resisting the urge to the top of your inbox chronologically. When you have the most vital emails settled, you’ll feel more relaxed and have more positive thinking throughout the day. Plus, there’s a much lower risk of you forgetting about those essential tasks as the day goes on! Highly organized people do not waste too much time on pointless, spammy emails.

·         Do The Worst Things First

Think of the three “worst” things you have to do today and get them done first. It’s up to you to define what “worst” entails. Are they the tasks you find most problematic? The ones you find most boring? The chores that take up the most time? An assortment of all of the above? Spend your morning on those “worst” tasks, and you’ll feel much more accomplished after – and, therefore, more motivated to do the more straightforward jobs during the rest of the day! Your concentration and energy are also likely best in the mornings, which plays into this.

Final Thoughts On Some Habits Of Highly Organized People For A Productive Morning

Few can deny the benefits of being organized. It helps you concentrate, reduces stress levels, and, of course, it makes you more productive. No matter what the time of day it is, focusing on the proper organization of your work area, your living space, and your tasks and goals for the day is crucial. Absolutely everyone can benefit from adding these habits of highly organized people to their lives!

Do you like to take a morning shower, or do you prefer to clean up before going to bed? Whether you choose to cleanse your body in the morning or night doesn’t matter. It’s about getting clean. So, which method is the best?

It’s an age-old debate that probably has been going on since the cavemen were rinsing off from their day in basins. Even with all the advancements in science and health, there is still no clear answer to this dilemma. Indeed, we might never have a clear answer–just personal choice. However, you can use science and studies to make an educated decision on when you should shower.

Of course, you must also consider your personal preference as there is no right or wrong answer. Some might say that the answer is just as murky as used bathwater. If you prefer to shower at night, then your theory is that it’s good to wash away all the dirt and grime from the day before you get into bed.

Those individuals who prefer a morning shower like to wash away all the sweat and debris from the night. Since some people sweat heavily during their sleep, it’s understandable how washing away the nighttime and having a fresh start to the day is the way to go.

The sad fact is that you can take a shower but still spread germs and such around on your sheets. It’s common for humans to sweat at night, and all the bacteria that you collect and generate throughout the night are on your sheets and your body. The germs are just sitting on your skin, waiting to make you smell and feel gross during the day.

Advantages of a Morning Shower

The argument for a morning shower is that you start your day fresh and clean, putting you in the right mindset for success. A shower is refreshing and awakens you so that you can be more alert for your day. If you need a creative boost to get you going, or you have a hard time waking up in the am, then a morning shower may be a better choice for you.

Everyone experiences sleep inertia, and it can last for 15-30 minutes after you rise. Your body is starting to wake up and get all your systems going. It can take some people longer than others. A morning shower can help you shake off that sleep inertia and step out on the right note.

Did you know that many people plan their day and deliberate about their problems while letting the hot water pour over their bodies? It’s in these moments that you have a few minutes to ponder your life, and what better time than when you’re lathering up your soap and cleansing away dirt and grime from your rest. Might as well wash a little bit of negativity down the drain too.

A scientific argument for a morning shower is that the hot water activates your “alpha brain waves,” which are known for giving you clarity about your life and situations that you must handle. Some believe it’s like the zoning out experience that you have when you’re doing exercise or meditations as it can get your creative juices flowing.

Advantages of an Evening Shower

Now, if you prefer to wash off the bacteria from the day in a night shower, then you couldn’t imagine changing your bath schedule. Some argue that since you’re rolling around on the sheets, the germs are spread on the surface rather than piling on top of your skin. Additionally, taking a shower before you go to sleep can help set the mood for a good night of rest.

A study showed that if you take a bath about an hour and a half before you go to bed, it will improve your ability to sleep well during the night. Though it was specifically looking at baths, their investigation focused on the warmth felt from the waters, so it can easily apply to a bath or a shower, either one.

Did you know that your body cools down at night, and your circadian rhythm or internal body clock winds down so that you can drift into dreamland? When you take a shower, it raises your body’s temperature ever so slightly, which kickstarts your body into going into the cooling down process. So, it makes it easier for you to sleep, which is ideal for those who suffer from sleep disturbances like insomnia.

What About Baths?

What if you could care less about the time of day you shower but prefer to take a bath and soak away your troubles? Some argue that baths are nasty because you’re sitting in your bacteria and grime washed from your body. Others don’t care because the warm water eases their tired muscles and feels invigorating.

• Old School Bathhouses

Did you know that bathing has been popular since the Middle Ages? While people weren’t as lucky as a civilization today to have indoor plumbing and tubs, they would gather in bathhouses spread throughout the cities. The Egyptians were the ones who revered the bath as they were fanatics about keeping their bodies clean.

Soap was invented around 2,000 B.C., and before this time, people would use things like olive oil to cleanse their skin and scrape it off with a unique tool. You’ve probably heard of The Roman bathhouses as they were made famous by the people in Italy.

A bath in one of these houses was not just an opportunity to get clean, but it was also a reason to come together and assemble. These baths had a cold room that they called a frigidarium. You started here to get your body ready for the tub. Then you went to the warm room, aka the Tepidarium.

The last room was the hot room or the caldarium. The final step in the cleansing process was to take a lovely, cool dip in the swimming pool. Remember, this was before the days of chlorine and other pool cleansers, so can you imagine the bacteria in those pools?

The churches deemed these sinful places. Thus, church leaders stepped in during the 16th century to begin closing these places, which became obsolete shortly after.

They were concerned about the number of children being born from sinful acts in these houses as well as people’s desire to spend more time congregating in the bathhouse and less time in service. Thankfully, history was already moving beyond the need for public bathing as more families installed bathrooms in their homes.

• The Revolution of the Bathroom

By the 14th century, people had begun to build tub structures from trees to put in their bedrooms. The Palace of Westminster was the first official residence to receive a bathroom, and Edward III ordered it. The baths were mostly with cold water unless they took the time to heat a cauldron.

During the 19th century, everything changed. By the late 1800s, bathrooms were commonplace in households, and residents enjoyed taking a warm bath thanks to Benjamin Maughan and his invention of the gas water heater. Baths became more a part of a daily ritual as people didn’t need to travel to a bathhouse or heat water. In this century, toothpaste, paper towels, soap, and other toiletries also became commonplace.

History is fascinating to learn, and you can now see where your daily bathing habits originated. But, it still doesn’t answer whether it’s clean to take a bath. The truth is you’re not getting clean, even if you use soap, by sitting in a tub of water.

Your body sheds about 30,000 skin cells every hour, which is a significant amount. So not only do you have all the filth you wash from your body, but you also have tons of dead skin cells floating around in your water. How can you possibly get clean when you’re sitting in a tub full of bacteria?

If you like to take a bath for the therapeutic benefits that it brings, then rinse off in a quick shower afterward. There are about 200,000 bacteria per square inch in your tub. Thus, it’s easy to see that you’re not doing yourself a favor by soaking to get clean.

Final Thoughts on the Night Versus Morning Shower Debate

Whether you prefer a bath or a shower doesn’t matter, the point is that you get clean the way that feels comfortable for you. As to when you take that shower, again, preference comes into play. The ideal thing would be to shower in the evening and then again in the morning, but many people don’t have extra time.

Essentially, your shower schedule appears to depend on whether you require more help going to sleep at night or if you need help with getting your body and mental juices flowing first thing in the morning. There truly is no wrong time of day to get clean.

Ready for Your Morning Perk? Check Out These Natural Aphrodisiacs to Perk Up Your Sex Life

The average person will spend approximately 117 of their 25,915 days of life having sex. Considering how much people talk about sex, that’s a surprisingly low number. Compare that to the 10,625 days spent on tech devices and it gets even more shocking.

Would you like to outrank the average human and spend a bit more time enjoying yourself between the sheets? With how stressful and busy modern day life is, getting ready for sex can be a challenge.

With a little planning and some help from some natural aphrodisiacs, however, you can make it happen. 

Keep reading to find out what those aphrodisiacs are!

Peppermint Soap

Essential oils can regrow lost limbs!

We jest, obviously, but it seems as though essential oil proponents think that essential oils are the cure to everything. But while essential oils may not be able to regrow limbs, they can help rev things up in the bedroom, particularly for women.

If you have a hard time reaching orgasm, try taking a relaxing bath with peppermint soap. Or you can get a cream or gel to use in the moment for more heightened stimulation. You could even put a few drops in your essential oil diffuser to fill the air with its fresh scent.

Just be sure whatever you buy has real peppermint extract in it. A fake perfume won’t do what you need it to do.

Food and Vitamins

There are many foods that are thought to have an aphrodisiac effect. These include bananas, avocados, oysters, and hot peppers. 

Hard scientific evidence on the effectiveness of eating these foods as an aphrodisiac is still lacking. However, there is evidence that points to certain vitamins and nutrients helping to increase blood flow to the pertinent parts of the body as well as improve the body’s overall functioning. 

Regardless, getting your vitamins certainly won’t hurt. Rather than splurging on oysters every day you can take a supplement like tribulus terrestris for convenient stimulation.

Chocolate

As if you needed another reason to indulge in the sweet delight that is chocolate. Of course, we’re talking about real chocolate, not chocolate flavored candy that is full of sugar. 

Chocolate contains phenethylamine. This hard-to-pronounce ingredient is important because it stimulates the release of serotonin and dopamine in the brain.

These compounds are known as the “happy chemicals” because of their ability to lift your mood. An added plus is their aphrodisiac effect. 

Hugs!

Did you know there is actually a physical reason why people love giving and receiving hugs? Physical contact, more specifically skin to skin contact, triggers the release of oxytocin in the body. This compound causes people to feel more bonded with one another.

Even a simple 20-second hug can have an effect on your levels of oxytocin. Imagine what watching a whole movie snuggled up together can do!

Spice it Up with These Natural Aphrodisiacs

Ready to spice things up? Give one (or all) of these natural aphrodisiacs a try and see how it goes for you. You might just find yourself spending less time on your computer and more time getting it on!

Want to learn how to prolong the experience and get the most out of it? Check out the sex tips in this article.