This is the most effective way to start your day...

The biggest influence on your day is the mindset you take to bed the night before. The thoughts you fall asleep with are likely to carry over into morning, so make sure your intentions are positive. This will set the tone for the day ahead.

Put your alarm clock on the other side of the room. This prevents you from hitting the ‘snooze’ button and forces you to get out of bed with a more positive movement. Assure yourself that you’ve had plenty of sleep and feel energized, even if that’s not the case.

Brush your teeth to get your mouth feeling fresh, then drink a full glass of water. Sleep can be dehydrating, which naturally leaves us feeling tired. A replenishing drink helps to avoid fatigue later in the day.

The Miracle Morning is a daily routine developed by author and success coach Hal Elrod. It’s built around six key practices known as “Life S.A.V.E.R.S.” The acronym stands for silence, affirmations, visualization, exercise, reading, and scribing.

Have a moment of silence. It could be meditation, prayer or breathing exercises – whatever quietens the mind and welcomes calmness. Recite affirmations. Choose positive statements that strengthen your resolve to attain goals, overcome insecurities and boost self-esteem.

Practice visualization. Imagine doing whatever’s needed to achieve your goals. Picture how that accomplishment will feel and let that sensation drive you. Follow that with some exercise (nothing too heavy). Five minutes of simple movements to get your energy flowing is perfect.

Read. Nourish your brain with knowledge, whether it’s information that will help you improve or inspiration from those who have already accomplished what you seek in life. Try to cover a minimum of 10 pages each morning.

Scribe. Writing down your thoughts or keeping a journal is an effective way of processing what’s happening in your life, whether you’re conscious of it or not. Doing this for 5-10 minutes daily will improve self-awareness and your ability to express how you feel.

The optimal length for your Miracle Morning routine is one hour. But if that’s unfeasible, you can do a shorter version by doing each of the Life S.A.V.E.R.S. for one minute in the following order: silence, affirmations, visualization, scribing, reading, exercise.

Your morning routine needs to become an automatic habit before it can transform your life. The first 10 days are likely to be hard; the second 10 days will still feel uncomfortable as you get over the hump. But 21-30 days into the new routine, however, you’ll feel unstoppable.