1. Wake Up Early. Early risers reap many benefits.

Some of these benefits include the following:

 Being able to go through your morning routine in a calm and leisurely manner instead of running
around like a chicken with its head cut off being rushed.
 Having time for introspection and getting yourself in the right frame of mind.
 The quiet morning hours are a great time to get things done.
 You can get an early start on your goals, such as getting daily exercise or tackling a 30-day
challenge.
Waking up early will also allow you to practice the eight habits explained below, which will help you
to start your day in high spirits, ready to tackle anything that life throws at you throughout the day.

2. Smile and Think Something Positive. As soon as you wake up, smile. Scientists have discovered
that smiling does all of the following for you:
 When you smile your body releases the feel-good neurotransmitters dopamine and endorphins.
This means that by smiling first th
 ing when you wake up you’ll be starting your day in a better mood.
 In addition, when you smile your mood is further lifted by the release of serotonin.
 Smiling strengthens the immune system, so by smiling first thing in the morning and remembering
to do it throughout the day you’ll be warding off disease, specially during flu season.
If you have trouble getting yourself to smile in the morning, force yourself: even a forced smile has
benefits.

In addition, say something like the following to yourself when you wake up (say it out loud or just say
it silently in your head):

 “Every day, think as you wake up: today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I
am not going to waste it.” – Dalai Lama
 “This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24)
Lastly, ask yourself these two questions:

 What am I grateful for today?

 What am I looking forward to today?
3. Make Your Bed. Get up and make your bed. Gretchen Rubin, author of “The Happiness Project”,
indicates that a simple way to be happier is to make your bed every morning. By taking this small step
to create outer order, you create inner calm. It’s something small and doable which gets your day
started off right.
In addition, Naval Adm. William McRaven, ninth commander of U.S. Special Operations Command,
said the following about making your bed in his commencement address at the University of Texas at
Austin:
“If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give
you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another.

By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making
your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter.

If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right.
And, if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made—that you
made—and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better.

If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.”
4. Brush Your Teeth and Scrape Your Tongue. Most people were taught to brush their teeth after
having breakfast. However, it’s healthier to brush your teeth as soon as you wake up. Plaque—which
is a film of bacteria–builds in your mouth while you sleep. You should remove this plaque buildup by
brushing as soon as you wake up.
Also, brushing coats the teeth with a protective layer of fluoride to guard against the sugars and acids
introduced in the mouth at breakfast.

In addition to brushing your teeth, you should also scrape your tongue. Here are five reasons why:
 Fresh Breath – Most bad breath comes from the bacteria at the back of the tongue.
 Better Tasting Food – By scraping your tongue you remove mucus which can block your taste
buds.
 Boost Immunity – Scraping your tongue prevents toxins from being reabsorbed into your body.
 Healthier Teeth – The process of scraping your tongue promotes general tooth and gum health.
Then, after you’ve eaten your breakfast, rinse with a fluoride mouthwash.

5. Drink Warm Water With Lemon. After brushing your teeth drink a tall glass of lukewarm water with
half a lemon–or one whole lemon–squeezed in it. This is an easy health tip which will do all of the
following for you:
 Lemon water cleanses and stimulates the liver and kidneys.
 Lemons have lots of Vitamin C, which helps to protect you from catching a cold.
 Drinking lemon water alkalizes the body — when the body does not have sufficient alkalizing
substances and is overly acidic, it takes these substances from the bones or vital tissues.
 The antioxidant properties of lemons help combat free radical damage, which keeps your skin
looking young and healthy.
I use a straw to drink my water with lemon in the morning in order to protect the enamel on my teeth
from the acid in the lemon.

6. Do a Stretching Routine. Performing a morning stretching routine will help you to loosen your
muscles after sleeping, while increasing blood flow to your muscles. Taking ten minutes to do a few
yoga poses will allow you to connect your mind, body, and breath in preparation for the day that’s
ahead.
7. Meditate. Start your day with stillness by meditating in the morning. Meditating does everything
from improving your focus to reducing stress, improving emotional stability, and preventing common
health ailments. You can start simply by focusing on your breath for three minutes each morning, and
build from there.
Do the following:

 Sit in a comfortable position.

 Close your eyes and focus on your breath.
 Inhale for 4 counts, retain for 4 counts, and exhale for 8.
 Every time you feel your mind wandering, bring it back to your breath.
 Do this for three minutes.
8. Eat a Healthy Breakfast. You’ve already heard this a thousand times, but I’m going to say it again:
breakfast in the most important meal of the day. A healthy breakfast consists of lean protein, whole
grains, and healthy fats. You’ll gain all of the following benefits from eating a healthy breakfast:
 You’ll be less hungry throughout the day.
 You’ll have better focus and concentration.
 Skipping breakfast is tied to being overweight.
 You’ll have more energy.
9. Create Something. Before you start taking in information–reading emails, listening to the news,
attending meetings, and so on–create something. This can be anything: write a blog post; draw
something; create an info-graphic; record a video; write a chapter of your novel; and so on.
Start you day in creativity-mode.

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Top 10 free resources to learn

Japanese
PHILIP SEIFI

I think it’s wise to invest into your education, and language learning in
particular. You might have to give up a few beers or coffees every
month, but that one good book, app, or online resource may easily
make the difference in how fast you progress.

That doesn’t mean that there is no high quality material for Japanese learners

that is free, but it certainly takes quite some time to find it, and to use it

properly.

To save you time, I’ve decided to share some of my favourite free resources

below:

Kanji and Vocabulary

Anki
If you’re a dedicated learner and have the time and determination to spend

perfecting your reviewing habits and environment, Anki is by far your best

choice.
The software can be tricky to use at first, but there’s a thriving community

ready to help, and the spaced repetition algorithms make it a very efficient

tool, especially if you’re looking to learn Japanese intensively using sentences

instead of individual words and kanji.

FREE guide to learning kanji [+ an infographic! 😍]

Memrise
Memrise is an online spaced repetition vocabulary learning website. It’s not

language-specific, and you’ll have to spend some time compiling a good

Japanese deck (as those shared by other users tend to be lacking compared

to the content available at Anki), but the interface is very pleasant to use and

there’s an equally vibrant community around the website.

Grammar
Tae Kim’s Guide to Japanese Grammar
Part grammar reference, part Japanese textbook, Tae Kim’s website is a

classic. The grammar guide is not the easiest to navigate, but it covers most

beginner-intermediate grammar, including colloquial variations, and is

available in many different formats and languages.

Imabi
Imabi is a relatively new website, sporting a rather spartan user interface, but

the sheer extent of grammar covered in the mini-lessons (you’ll find everything

from complete basics to Japanese used in classical literature), the clarity of

the explanations, and abundance of example sentences make it the perfect

replacement for JGram, my previous online Japanese grammar reference of

choice.

Dictionary
Tangorin
The best online EDICT dictionary with tons of unique features and a functional

user interface. Search kanji by radicals, filter through the results with utmost

precision, look up example sentences, create exportable vocab lists and

more.

Tagaini Jisho
Tagaini is an open source application based on the EDICT database by Jim

Breen from Monash University which is also used by most online dictionaries.

While the content itself is in no way special, the software is very well done

with some unique features, especially in the kanji search department.

Practice
italki
italki is an online language learning service where you can find the best

language teachers from around the world. Take a lesson when and where it is

convenient for you. All you need is an internet connection.

Lang-8
Write Japanese, get corrected by native speakers, help others in return. One

of the first, and certainly the most successful site of this kind. Try to write

regularly and take the time to understand the corrections and your writing

ability will improve in no time.

NHK News Web Easy

For listening and reading, NHK News is the place to go. There’s new content

every day, it’s well adapted for learning purposes, and it saves you time as

you won’t have to read the news in your native language.

Q&A
Japanese Language & Usage Stack Exchange
The new addition to the excellent Stack Exchange network, Japanese

Language and Usage is the place to ask your intermediate-advanced

grammar questions. Don’t forget to do a quick search first, as much has been

answered in great detail already.

If you’re looking for even more tools and places to learn, check out my list

of 100 resources to learn Japanese and if you’re ready to give up a few lattes

to learn faster and easier, be sure to visit LinguaLift.