Few hours of the day are more important than the early morning hours. One of the great thinkers said "the first hour is the rudder of the day", it sets the tone for everything else that happens, these hours when you first wake up set the tone for the rest of the day affecting your mindset and productivity during all the hours that follow them.

The importance of these early morning hours is the reason why some of the world's most successful people carefully craft morning routines designed to help them start the day off right and make the most of hours that follow.

If you would like to start each day in the best way possible consider implementing some of these proven morning routines into your morning schedule:

Plan your day the night before

Planning out your day the night before may not exactly be part of your morning routine but it is a great way to get your day started off right. In fact Jeff Bezos said every single morning, he starts off by reading his goals, every morning, he never misses a single day. By planning out would you want to accomplish the night before, you can start off each day with a plan in mind, rather than waking up unsure what it is you want to tackle first.
Plan out your morning routine as well, as to what you want to do when that routine is complete, then wake up the next morning and put that plan into action.

Set goals for the day every morning

Plan out your day the night before but set your goals in the morning. For example you may plan on working on a project all day, then, that morning set a goal for how much of that project you want to accomplish. Setting goals in the early morning is an effective strategy since most people are ambitious when they first start their day. If you set ambitious goals in the morning you'll feel more compelled, more motivated to follow through with them as the day carries on.

Exercise

Studies have shown that people who exercise in the morning are more likely to stick with an exercise routine than those who exercise in the afternoon. The reason is that when you wake up in the morning you are refreshed and full of energy. In the afternoon though after a long day of work you may not have the energy or the motivation to exercise.
Stretching and exercising in the morning also gets your blood flowing and gives you a burst of energy and adrenaline that will help you start the day off right.

Avoid checking your phone or other electronic distractions

One thing that should not be a part of your morning routine is checking your phone or email as soon as you wake up. At best it's a distraction that can interfere with the rest of your morning routine, at worst it may relate disappointing news that can kill your motivation at a time when you need to be firing it up.
Wait until the rest of your morning routine is complete and the workday has started before you check your phone.
Julie Morganstein, a time management expert wrote a book called "don't check your email in the morning" wait until 11:00 a.m. and work for three solid hours before you check your email and then work another three hours before you check it again and only check it two or three times a day and in between turn it off and leave it off.

Read

All successful people read one hour or more every morning. In the same way that exercising in the morning gets your body up and going, reading in the morning gets your mind up and going. Whether you are reading the morning paper a novel or anything else that interests you, the early morning hours are the perfect time to get a little
reading in before you go off to work.

You can read something that's educational or motivational or inspirational that gets you a little bit pumped.

Meditate

Meditation is an excellent way to clear your mind and relieve any stress and help you focus on the task at hand. It's great for any time of the day but it's especially beneficial in the early morning after you have done your exercise and you are woken up and your blood is flowing, then just take a few minutes to sit quietly and let your mind calm.
Before you leave for work, take the time to sit in silence, clear your thoughts and focus on your breathing.
One of the easiest ways to meditate by the way is just to focus on your breath, your diaphragm just below your stomach, and just think about your breath and count in: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 count out: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7. If you do this 7 times you'll have a complete meditation session.
Not only will morning meditation help you enjoy all of the many health benefits associated with meditation, it will also enable you to start the day with a clear, professed focus

Spend some time with your family

The morning may not offer much time for you to spend with your family before they are out the door but you should take advantage of the time it does give you. Sit down and eat breakfast with them if that is an option, if it's not at least take the time to talk with them a little while before you all go your separate ways. There truly is no better motivation for the day than spending a little bit of time with the ones that you love the most.

Best of all it will be a great motivation for them as they start their day as well.

Your mind is like a muscle the more you use it the more powerful it becomes