5 Morning Habits for High Achievers

"Successful people are simply those with successful habits" -Brian Tracy

Wake Up Early

If you hit the snooze, you lose! You also start the day off with a mindset of justification "I can always do this or that later today" and with a lie (you said you were waking up at 5, didn't you?). Not a great start! Instead, set the alarm on the other side of the house or hide it under your workout outfit. Whatever you have to do to get yourself out of bed, do it! You can always sleep in tomorrow.

While others are dreaming of success, you'll be waking up and achieving it!

Break a Sweat

It's a lot easier to wake up on a treadmill or under a barbell than it is to try to do so in a dark living room or kitchen. Get out, break a sweat, start the day with an emphasis on your physical well being and set the tone for the rest of the day. 

Physiologically - it's easier to get your mind going once your body's in motion. Don't wait for your fallings to spur you to action or you'll never act. On days that I wake up and begin to justify why I should go back to sleep, I tell myself either "I can always workout now, and if need be carve out time for a nap later" or "I'll just start working out, give it 20 minutes, and if I'm still sleepy I'll call it and go back to bed" and never do I shirk my commitments once I've started. I trick my mind into just doing it anyways. 

"Do something that sucks every single day, that's how you grow" -David Goggins

Read/Listen to Something Positive.

Read a book. Listen to an audiobook/program. Either of these can be utilized for habit #3. There is a new-aged debate of whether the audiobook is as good as an old fashioned book, but rather than citing useless facts and figures, I'll share what I've found. 

Both work great. If you don't have 30 minute to carve out to read a book, then listen to an audio program during your morning workout or on your drive to work. If you prefer reading a hard copy and underlining things and highlighting pages, then do that. The purpose behind reading or listening to something positive is as follows: 

1.) It sets into motion positive thought patterns for the day

2.) It provokes new ideas, creativity, and gives you tangible application for a successful day

3.) It is the key to accelerate personal and professional growth

The method isn't as important as the result. Audiobooks and programs are the greatest invention since the printing press, and can transform your car ride or workout into a mobile university. Formal education will make you a living, self education will make you a fortune.

Hit 3 goals

This one is simple and is taken right out of Dave Ramsey's back pocket. Similar to how one may "snowball" their debts by paying off the smaller first and developing the habit of winning by doing so and reinforcing that habit by continually paying off more and more, larger and larger balances, one can do so by setting goals and achieving them first thing in the morning. 

Set three (or maybe five if your ambitious) goals that you can achieve first thing in the morning. Doing so reinforces a pattern of setting and achieving objectives as the day's foundation, promotes a winning attitude as goals are checked off first thing, and sets the tone for a productive day as there is a feeling of winning associated with accomplishing what one's set out to do. 

This can be as simple as starting the dishwasher, flipping a load of laundry, writing a letter, etc. and will set in motion a day of continual achievement!

"Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day" - Jim Rohn

Review the Day

This one is simple. If you haven't already planned your day by the time you've started it, you're already behind. Start the work-day off by reviewing your calendar and to-do's. Where you have to be, when you have to be there, and what your priorities are. One habit John Maxwell taught me is to pick one event or item on the calendar and make that the day's most important task. If all else fails, he knows he will be giving it his all during that one task or appointment. This is one of many ways to prioritize. 

Remember, too, that your calendar isn't a ball and chain. It's not a prison. It's a template to help you accomplish the most out of your day. One without a financial game plan doesn't accomplish much in the way of making, saving, and investing and one without a day's game plan doesn't accomplish much in the way of utilizing and investing their time wisely. 

Create a plan, then work that plan. It will make all the difference. 

Now go win your day!

-DD