How to Master your Morning Routine

Good Morning everyone!

Learning how to master your morning routine is essential for a few reasons:

First, if you do not learn how to dominate your morning, how do you expect to control your day?

Second, it is the small details that make up for the bigger picture. Your morning may seem like a detail to you, but it is the start of each of your days. These days are the pillars of the years to come.

Third, if you aspire for success, you need discipline and rigor. This starts right after you wake up in the morning, and continues until the moment you go to bed. I will write about sleep preparation routine on another article.

Fourth, you will gain so much power and elevation by doing something that demands a high level of determination and focus. Waking up early in the morning demands a winner state of mind: you are winning your day. It will put you in the right mindset for the whole day, and I can guarantee you will see and feel the difference.

Now, what exactly should be your morning routine? I will give you my personal recommendations below, however I suggest everyone choose their own formula, the recipe that works the best for them to conquer their day!

1) Stick to a wake-up time.

This might seem obvious, but feeling successful comes primarily on your ability to decide the best course of action, and execute it consistently. If you decide to wake up at 5:30, stick to it. But how do you do that?

Once you hear your alarm clock, what do you usually do, especially when your bed is so comfortable and warm? You hit the snooze button! We all do. I used to do it as well. This is easy to change, even though it doesn't seem like it.

All you have to do is switch your mindset, and not allow your brain to send you these discouraging thoughts when you hear the alarm ringing. Mel Robbins talks about this amazingly well, she refers to the 5 seconds rule. You hear your alarm clock and you think 1-2-3-4-5 and you jump out of bed! Do not let yourself wonder around and find the slightest excuse to not get out of bed. Remember, your comfort zone will kill you (I actually have that phrase written in big in my room - it helps to see it when I open my eyes in the morning).

A good tip for this, is to go to bed at your usual time, i.e. if you're used to sleeping at 1 am do it. You will only have 4 hours and 30 minutes of sleep but the next day you will automatically go to bed earlier, and install this routine.

2) Get your body uncomfortable.

So, once you wake up, what do you usually do? You move very slowly, as you are still sleepy and thinking of how soft and comfortable your bed is right now. You think of how much you'd love to go back in there.

Well, that doesn't help...The best way to truly be awake and aware once you woke up, which is also the hardest way, is to get your body uncomfortable. Jump around, stretch, make weird noises. Go to the bathroom, and wash your face with COLD water. I insist on cold, because hot water is too comfortable. If you truly want to feel awake, use cold water. Take a cold shower as well, this will definitely put you in the right mindset for the day. After your cold shower you will definitely feel uncomfortable. But that's what we want. Nothing good comes out of a comfort zone.

After taking these actions, which I repeat are:

1. Move, jump around, stretch and make weird noises.

2. Wash your face with COLD water.

3. Take a COLD shower.

4. Either go to the gym, do some exercise at home, it can be yoga or anything else that works for you (even 5 minutes of cardio is proven to be highly effective and beneficial if it is in the morning).

At that point, you will feel truly awake and start taking effective actions for your morning.

3) Put order in your environment, to feel order in your mind.

I recommend making your bed right after you have showered. Making your bed is essential to start a day right. As Admiral William McRaven said, you can change the world by making your bed in the morning. You will feel a sense of pride, and achievement, even if it's only for something as simple as making your bed. Why? Because, once again, it is always the small things that make up for the bigger picture. If you cannot take care of what is inside your home, how could you take care of anything outside of it?

Putting order in your home will help you clear your mind and have a neat vision of what is left for you to do. It is a good way to move your body as well and feel energized! You can put on some music to help staying motivated and aware.

Arrange your home, open the windows, breathe the fresh air outside. You are so lucky to be alive.

4) Nurture and reinforce your gratitude to the universe.

Whether you believe in God or not, whether you are religious or not, there is something in which you believe. The universe exists and the law of attraction is not a myth, it is a scientific fact. If you wake up and nurture positive energies and vibrations within you, you will attract positive and powerful energies throughout your day.

To do that, make a gratitude list. Everyone talks about gratitude lists and perhaps you are fed up of it. However truly focusing for a few minutes on what makes you grateful and blessed to be alive, will have tremendous positive effects on your day, your week, and your year as a whole. You can think of anything that makes you grateful; having clean water to drink in abundance, having access to medical care, being surrounded by a family and friends that love and care about you. You can be grateful for having a roof over your head or the right mindset to accomplish anything. You should always be grateful for something, because believe it or not, there is at least one person out there that dreams everyday of having your life.

5) Start planning your day: take control!

We often wonder why our days didn't go well, why this or that happened. We position ourselves as victims or spectator of our own lives when in fact, we have all the power and ability to be actors and masters of our faith.

The essential step to switch that view is to become conscious of it, and take action. Planning your day will give you an incredible amount of power and control over yourself and your external environment. Your day will become what YOU want it and decide it to be.

Plan your day by setting goals and prioritizing action items to achieve them.

First, set personal and business goals or career goals. Set them separately to make no confusion, even though we all know they are interrelated. Think of your daily goals, your weekly goals, and your yearly goals. Truly put some thoughts into it and you'll be surprised how beneficial it is for you!

Then, think of specific, concrete actions you can undertake to get one step closer to your goals and dreams everyday. What can I do today to become a better version of myself? To be more confident and less introvert? What can I do to make my voice heard and my ideas interesting? What can I do today to be better at my job or promoted within the next months?

Make a list of all the things you need to do, or have with you today to succeed in taking these actions efficiently.

WRITE ALL THESE THINGS DOWN!

This is extremely important. If you only think about these things, they will never be concrete for you. By writing them down, you keep track of them and you stick to your plan more consistently everyday.

6) Meditate for at least 10 minutes.

Meditation is essential in awakening and empowering the energy centers of your body. It is also essential in cleansing your body from the toxic energies and vibrations it has accumulated throughout the day. By meditating even for only 10 minutes in the morning, you will dominate your day because you have dominated your inner struggles. We can all find 10 minutes in our schedules for ourselves, after all, we are our greatest assets.

7) Eat power food.

By eating the right food for breakfast you give your body the information it needs to start the day right. You need to think of your body as a temple and everything about it is sacred, don't give trash to your body. Watch what you eat, not in a neurotic way, but be aware of how you treat your body. Eating fruits, vegetables and energizing food like nuts and dry fruits will help you dominate your day!

Do not underestimate the power or importance of what you give to your body. Eat power food! If you want to learn more about what to eat and what effect each food has on your body, I'd definitely recommend reading "Genius Foods" from Max Lugavere.

8) Dress, prepare your bag for the day and go!

Now that you had a successful and productive morning routine, dress yourself, tell yourself powerful words such as "I am truly amazing and this day is going to be wonderful!".

Now take the list you have written earlier about all the things you need to bring with you today to get one step closer to your goals! Prepare your bag, take everything you need - food, laptop, glasses, water, snacks - everything.

You are now ready to go conquer your day! CONGRATULATIONS! :D