Mistake #4: You save your treat until the afternoon.
Most of us work hard, then take a break for personal time at lunch—or more likely around 3 p.m., when we begin to fade. But in a recent study from the University of Minnesota, when employees started the workday in a positive frame of mind, their mood got a bigger boost by pleasant events than if they started out glum and grumpy. They were also less impacted by negative interactions with coworkers, found the researchers.
Try this: Splurge on that latte on your way into the office, or take a few minutes to call your sister or maybe even do a few sun salutations, if you’re into that kind of thing—anything to perk up before the day really gets going. Moral of this story: don’t cheat yourself, treat yourself!
Mistake #5: You exercise before doing anything else.
You know you’re supposed to eat breakfast within 30 minutes of getting up in order to jumpstart your metabolism, but that doesn’t seem realistic when you’re rushing to make an early-morning Zumba class. Skipping the meal, though is a problem. You’ve been fasting all night and need some carbohydrates to top off your depleted energy stores—especially if you’re about to deplete them further at the gym. World record holder and 80-year-old bodybuilder Ernestine Shepherd gets up every morning and eats her eggs and vegetables along with her drinks every morning — and she’s been doing that for decades!
Try this instead: We’re not saying you need a bowl of oatmeal with all the fixings. A handful of dry cereal or half a banana on your way to out the door is just fine (and a glass of water, of course, since the last time you drank anything was probably seven hours ago).