Sure, November may not be the sunniest month of the year, but that doesn't mean you can't get up and at ’em and let your productivity soar. We spoke with experts about the benefits of creating a morning routine that will change your life for the better.

We’ve all heard it before: The number of hours you sleep, and the quality of that sleep, directly affect your overall health. And the message rings true. A healthy slumber really does help to determine our productivity, motivation and the choices we make throughout the day. But that doesn’t mean you have to wake up at the crack of dawn—the key is to have a good night’s sleep and to create a consistent morning routine by managing what time you have available. “With sufficient continuity, the regularity of our actions has a comforting effect on our bodies and brains, and it makes us more efficient during the day ahead,” explains Pier-Eric Chamberland, chair of the Sport and Exercise section of the Canadian Psychological Association, who has been studying the concept of habits for a decade. By eliminating decision making, we save time, reduce our stress and can focus better on our priorities. “What if you could change your life just by changing the way you start your day? What would you change?” asks author, speaker and success coach Hal Elrod, author of The Miracle Morning book series.

DEVELOP YOUR MORNING ROUTINE

Creating a morning routine simplifies your life and reduces guilt (which we often feel when we’re rushed or haven’t met goals). But your morning routine must be set in accordance with your reality, i.e., you need to set realistic, achievable goals—it doesn’t have to be go big or go home. Some people prefer to make smaller changes one at a time, while others may want to do a schedule overhaul. Either way, embarking on this type of change takes time. Studies suggest that it takes an average of six months of effort to implement a new habit. And even the most motivated of us will have relapses!

5 BENEFITS OF A MORNING ROUTINE

• MORE EFFICIENCY  Sometimes we don't have enough hours in a day to accomplish everything we want to do. Having a routine allows you to set aside a certain amount of time to carry out those activities that are meaningful to you.

• LESS STRESS  When our days are better organized, we’re less stressed because we’ve allotted time for the must-dos. You can also fall asleep peacefully without thinking about everything you need to accomplish the next morning for fear of forgetting something or running out of time.

• BETTER HABITS  By organizing our routine around tasks that are important to us, we can create healthier habits that correspond to our values. We may wish to have a better diet by preparing breakfast the day before, or get more exercise by taking a walk in the morning. This is a great opportunity to start fresh.

• MORE CONTROL  By having a routine, we waste less time getting organized and therefore have we can better handle anything unexpected that might turn up.

• LESS PROCRASTINATION  When the day has no direction, it's easy to put off essential duties. When we wake up, if we have a to-do list that we want to tackle, it can significantly increase our productivity.

Inspiring ideas

Try incorporating some of these tried-and-true strategies into your new morning routine.

• Stop hitting the snooze button.  Do you need multiple alarms to wake up? This is a sign that you’re not getting enough sleep. But if it’s tempting to dive back into dreamland, even for a few minutes, know that in addition to not providing restful sleep, you may be increasing your stress level. Although it can be difficult, it’s best to get out of bed as soon as your alarm goes off.

• Drink up, buttercup!  Drinking a glass of water as soon as you wake up stimulates your metabolism and digestion. Leave a glass of water on your nightstand when when you go to bed and it will be perfectly room temperature (which is gentle on the digestive system) in the morning.

• Move your muscle. No need to run a marathon every morning. You can stretch, do a few yoga poses or jumping jacks or take a walk around the block. The idea is to warm up your muscles and speed up blood circulation in order to increase energy levels.

• Give your mind a moment.  Taking a few minutes to do something that makes you happy will have a positive effect on your day. It could be going for a walk, listening to music, meditating, taking a hot shower, or reading or writing positive affirmations. This state of mind should influence the rest of your day—and it only takes five minutes.

• Leave the phone alone. Many of us have a bad habit of checking our cellphones when we wake up. When we open our eyes and the first thing we see is a series of missed alerts, it can make us feel like we’re already behind on the day before it even starts. It’s best not to bring your phone to bed, but if you need its alarm, activate the do not disturb setting and have it turn off 30 minutes after the alarm rings.