My Morning Routine
Hey everybody! Dr. Mike here. Everyone has their morning routine, and I’d like to show you what mine is like to prepare me for a hectic day in the hospital.
The first thing I like to do in the morning when I open my eyes is to grab a glass of warm lemon water. The warm water allows your digestive system to improve its circulation and get ready to start the day. Also, lemons contain two great nutrients, potassium and a little bit of vitamin C, which is great, especially if the night before you had a great workout or maybe even had an extra drink of alcohol that you shouldn’t have had.
The second thing I like to do when I wake up in the morning is to make my bed. It sounds like a small task, but your brain loves achieving goals big or small, and setting a small goal that is easily achievable allows your brain to set bigger goals throughout the day. Most importantly, who doesn’t like coming home to a clean bed? Rox, come on, you’re late with the five.
A great trick to waking up in the morning, that is even better than caffeine, is to take a cold shower. You don’t need to take a full cold shower, you can start with warm and move up and do 10 seconds of cold. Just like this. Science says it could even improve testosterone and improve circulation and focus.
Gotta (= have got to = have to) get dressed, that’s a no-brainer, everyone is doing it. Sometimes I’ll need to wear scrubs (= the hygienic clothing worn by surgeons and other operating theatre staff during an operation) if I’m working in the Emergency Room or the Obstetric Department. Sometimes I’ll need to put on a suit if I’m doing a formal presentation, or seeing patients inside my clinic. I like my scrubs to be very fitted. A lot about being a doctor is about your non-verbal cues, how you present yourself. I also like my scrubs to be bright colored, happy, and really show that confident energy that I like to give to my patients every single day.
Another crucial part of my morning routine is an easy five-minute warm-up. I’m not telling you to do a full exercise regimen when you wake up, but take a few minutes, move your body around, it will do wonders for your concentration, your flexibility, and most importantly, it will prevent injury.
My favorite part of the morning is taking this little husky out for a walk. Roxy obviously needs her daily morning exercise, but it’s also a great time for me to do some self-reflection, leave my cell phone behind, enjoy the beauty of the city, maybe get a little vitamin D if it’s sunny out, but ultimately I find that walk is a great way for me to meditate and get ready for the rest of my day.
Last but not least, got to get some food in me before I head out to the hospital. Proteins, complex carbohydrates, great ways to start your day. Get some eggs, whole wheat bread, maybe some oatmeal, leave you feeling full and energized throughout your entire workday. I also like to grab a quick snack like a banana, get some vitamins in because the hospital can be a crazy place, you need a quick snack.
So, I’m ready to start my day. If you do something interesting in your morning routine that you would like to share with me, leave it in the comments. If there is something you would like to know more about your morning routine, leave it in the comments. If you haven’t hit subscribe already, hit that button now.
