10 Tips to Safely and Successfully Spring Forward

As explained by WebMD, "Losing an hour of sleep to gain an extra hour of sunlight... interrupts your circadian rhythm or your sleep-wake cycle", and the act of springing forward can be stressful for our bodies, affecting our well-being in both positive and negative ways. Losing an hour of sleep in March is especially hard on those not following Arianna Huffington's advice and already getting less sleep than needed. As routines are tools to boost productivity, they can also assist in transitional times like this. During these days counting down to the start of Daylight Saving Time, there are steps to be taken for optimizing the good and minimizing the bad of the upcoming time change. Here are some actions to take this week:

• Prepare your sleep-wake cycles. Gradually shift yourself into the hour earlier sleep upcoming by adjusting your bedtime before the time change gets here. Go to bed 15 minutes early on Wednesday, 30 minutes early Thursday, 45 minutes early on Friday, and, then, an hour early Saturday. That means you'll get your normal amount of sleep once Sunday's alarm goes off.
• Caffeinate strategically. As you'll be headed to bed earlier in the upcoming nights, it's increasingly important to fall asleep easier, working towards those goals for your bedtime. Reduce your caffeine intake earlier than usual each day leading up to the start of Daylight Saving Time so it's out of your system earlier and has less effect on when you get to sleep.
• Fine-tune your bedtime routine. Start preparing for bed by eating dinner earlier. Then, drink a relaxing, sleep-inducing tea to make falling asleep come more quickly, like chamomile, lavender or some combination of similar herbs. Lower lighting and activity levels for an hour before bedtime.
• Be active during the day. Especially on Saturday, be sure to get some vigorous exercise. If it's sunny, get moving outside and soak in that vitamin D, which advances the body clock.
• Nap selectively. Normally, power naps can be a good way to catch-up on missed sleep; however, on Saturday or Sunday, an afternoon nap might make it too difficult to go to sleep earlier that night. Avoid taking a nap anytime this weekend.
• Stick with Sunday's normal wake-up time. While the aforementioned earlier bedtime approach is helpful for those with the chronotype of "night owl", many "morning person" types benefit from waking up in the same increments of increasing earliness; however, when it comes to Sunday morning, everyone needs to get up at what is considered a normal wake-up time. Sleeping in on the morning that the time change takes effect will make adjusting all the more difficult.
• Power up on morning sunlight. Letting the sun shine over your face first-thing each morning resets your body's natural clock. With Daylight Saving Time, you'll be waking up when it's a little darker outside so consider swapping your alarm clock for a light box to wake up more easily. Take a morning walk outdoors to get moving in the sunshine, even if it's for only 15 minutes. If there's not enough time for a walk, soak in the sun's rays from your porch, patio or sunniest window, allowing the warmth to better jumpstart your day.
• Add essential oils to your springtime morning routine. A little peppermint in your morning tea will help kickstart your energy level, especially the first week of Daylight Saving Time. 
• Implement the same changes for kids, too. Children having a hard time falling or staying asleep after the start of Daylight Saving Time are listening to cues from their bodies, making it equally if not more important to help them through this same process of proactively adjusting to the time change.
• Drive more attentively. The morning is already the most dangerous time on the road; when you add in the fact that it will be darker during your morning commute along with potentially greater exhaustion, it's important to be even more careful and alert as you drive to work, especially during the first few weeks following the start of Daylight Saving Time.

Take action with these tactics to cut down on the stress and sleep deprivation associated with Daylight Saving Time; you'll be grateful for the results. Do you do anything special to make the time change less impactful or stressful? Please share in the comments.

Jump-Start Each Day with a Powerful Morning Routine

How you start each day dictates how you'll live it. If you begin with a sluggish approach, it's likely you'll never be able to accomplish all you'd like; on the other hand, starting strategically lays the foundation for greater productivity and enhanced success. Set a morning routine that builds up your energy, keeps you happy and smooths your way out the door with time to spare, assembling enough positive vibes to fuel the results you desire all throughout the day.

Incorporate these steps within your morning routine so you can jump-start each day for the best possible output:

• Remove unnecessary actions from your morning routine. Do you really need to empty the dishwasher or pick-up your children's toys? If the task is not getting you closer to walking out the door, at what time can it be scheduled for doing later?

• Streamline your processes for getting ready. Is there a breakfast option which is easier to prepare that you can have daily without thinking about it? Might you be able to simplify styling your hair or how you apply make-up? Are there toiletry products you can use to accomplish multiple functions?

• Use hacks to boost your energy from the start. What can you do to get up and get moving immediately upon waking up? Would there be any early workout you could start, should you try the 7 Minute Workout app or do you have a friend to meet for Zumba first-thing? Do you have an upbeat playlist in your music that you could incorporate in your morning routine? Beyond that, drinking a tall glass of water with a squeeze of lemon juice will certainly improve your morning energy level.

• Choose which task management approach works better for you. As an elephant is eaten one bite at a time, it's imperative to break projects into smaller, more manageable action items, starting each of these on your to-do list with a specific verb. Then, you can choose to "swallow the frog", where you start with the most difficult task first, or you can adopt the philosophy that "activity breeds activity", where you start with a simpler task to get moving on getting things done.

• Know from the get-go which are today's must-do tasks. It is more realistic to start each day with a to-do list of 3 - 5 items that must get done that day, whether those are appointments or tasks. If that list is not readily available, you'll waste time determining what to do when; therefore, make sure that list is front and center upon entering your workspace.

How do you regularly start your day? Which of the aforementioned best practices can you incorporate within your morning routine to promote greater success?

End Each Day with the Next in Mind

With each morning laying the foundation for how things will go throughout that day, the importance cannot be overstated for anything you can do the night before to help remove unnecessary actions from your morning routine and streamline processes for getting ready. Be proactive and better make every minute matter.

Boost productivity by ending each day with the next in mind. Here are some ideas to help:

- Plan what you'll need for the next day's schedule. If you are headed directly to a meeting from your home first-thing in the morning, do you have any files or notes you'll need ready to take with you as you walk out the door? Where are your wallet and keys?

- Verify the weather forecast and prepare your next day's outfit. Make sure you have all the appropriate undergarments and accessories that you will need. Are your clothes ironed? Do you need to shine your shoes? Pay attention to all applicable details.

- Think through the details of what you'll eat for breakfast. If you eat cereal each morning, maybe you set your bowl and spoon beside the cereal box on your countertop. If your coffeemaker allows for programming a start time, have you filled it with coffee and programmed in when it is to start?

- Prepare your lunch plans. If you take your lunch, go ahead and make it, but leave a note beside your car keys to remember to retrieve it from the kitchen. If you go out for lunch each day, think through a location of preference and check its online menu.

- Make sure your vehicle has gas. How often are we racing out the door, running a few minutes late, and realize our low fuel light is on immediately upon turning on the ignition, when we definitely don't have time to stop by the gas station?!? If you take care of that the evening before, it is one less issue to potentially create morning madness.

- Finish with a tablespoon of unsweetened almond butter. This will maintain anyone's blood sugar overnight so you wake up more refreshed. I've also heard that melatonin can help, and MidNite is a quality option for a drug-free sleep aid.

What actions do you take at the end of each day to ensure the next day starts the way you want? Are there any items listed here you'll incorporate into your daily habits?

Jump-Start Your Morning

How you start each day can lay the foundation for how things will go all day long. When you oversleep and race frantically out the door, it can make you stressed and frazzled throughout your entire day. Alternatively, if you have a set morning routine that builds up your energy, keeps you happy and smooths your way out the door with time to spare, that positive energy can fuel your day.

Jump-start each morning with these 3 simple steps:

- Remove unnecessary actions from your morning routine. Do you really need to empty the dishwasher or pick-up your child's toys? If the task is not getting you closer to walking out the door, at what time can it be scheduled for doing later?

- Streamline your processes for getting ready each day. Is there a breakfast option which is easier to prepare that you can have daily? Might you be able to simplify styling your hair or how you apply make-up?

- Use hacks to boost your energy from the start of each morning. What can you do to get up and moving immediately? Would there be any early workout you could start or should you try the 7 Minute Workout app? Do you have an upbeat playlist in your music that you could incorporate in your morning routine? Plus, drinking a tall glass of water with a squeeze of lemon juice will certainly improve your morning energy level.

How do you regularly start your day? Have you found success with anything I've shared? Which of these will you be incorporating in your upcoming mornings' routine?