The Morning Routine

How would you describe your morning routine? Are you achieving what you desire throughout the day? Are you accomplishing the things that are important to you? Do you consider yourself a success?

The secret to your success is in direct correlation with your morning routine. Your morning routine determines your attitude, your attitude determines your altitude.

Regardless of whether you think you have one or not, everyone has a morning routine.

Here are some tips and tricks to maximize your mornings:

1.      Plan Your Work

Plan your work, and work your plan.

A successful day begins the night before. What are you doing to plan your day? Your schedule determines your priorities. No schedule? No priorities. An idle mind is the devils playground.

Have your day planned out so that all you have to do is execute when you arise. Whether it be scheduling your reading, breakfast, prayer, exercise, etc. write it down.

James Clear, author of the New York Times Best Selling Atomic Habits talks about habit stacking. This is where you take a current habit and stack a new and desirable habit on top of it. For example:

a.      After I pour my morning coffee, I will say one thing that I am thankful for

b.      After I turn off my alarm, I will put on my running shoes

c.      After I brush my teeth, I will affirm myself that today will be a great day

The reason this works so well is that your current habits are already built into your brain. Your mind has a strong network of neurons already associated with the current habit. This makes “stacking” a habit much easier than “creating” one.

2.      Wake, Rise, Repeat

Wake up at the same time each morning, despite when you went to sleep. Then sun isn’t going to hit snooze 7 times, and neither should you. That’s a bad habit. Do the same things (if possible) such as exercising, eating a meal replacement shake, and lastly taking a shower consistently. Remember, a routine is, by definition, the usual course of action taken – the beaten path. The route. So plant good roots with good routines!

3.      Be the Director

Your life is your movie. You are the director. You are also the main character and you are writing the script. You get to determine whether you want your life to be a comedy, a tragedy, an epic, an adventure, inspirational, etc. Write the ending first, and the rest will fall into place. Determine your destiny. The last thing you want to do is get to the end of your life and look back and realize that you lived a B-grade movie. You know the type – the kind you don’t want to leave during the middle of, but you wouldn’t recommend to a friend.

4.      Read/Write

In 5 years from now, you will be where you are at in life based on the books you read and the people you associate yourself with. Start the day by feeding more than your belly. The most important investment you can make is into yourself. Start the day with a deposit into your mind-bank and you’ll be surprised how quickly it will pay you dividends.

Write. Whether it be a list of 5 things that you are thankful for or what your plan on prioritizing for the day, write it out. A dream become a goal when pen meets paper and a goal becomes reality when backed by commitment, so write it out!

5.      Break a Sweat

Lastly, break a sweat. Exercise. Whether it’s an early morning bike ride, a David Goggins 20-mile run, or you’re hitting the weights, you are setting yourself up for a more productive day. Your energy levels will be higher, and you will feel more alert and accomplished throughout the day.

6.      Talk to Yourself.

Now I know what you’re thinking “talking to yourself is crazy” and rightfully so, maybe it is, but you do it all day every day whether you realize it or not.

Most folks start their days looking at their phones before they even get out of bed. Checking notifications and emails and reading the latest headlines. What does this cause you to think? What are you telling yourself?

Your mind is like a broadcasting center. It broadcasts all day and night, and only by taking the DJ booth and being intentional with what you are playing will you be able to harness the infinite power that is your mind. You are talking to yourself. In fact, as you are reading this, you have probably either said to yourself “no I am not” or “how does he know that”. Point being, take the reigns when you get out of bed by focusing your thoughts and narrating your future.

Remember, happiness doesn’t depend upon who you are or what you have, it depends solely upon what you think. – Dale Carnegie

Have you ever given yourself a pep talk before a big game or important presentation? Maybe you are walking into a job interview and you have to tell yourself to stop sweating and act natural. Well, the same works in all areas of your life, and it’s highly significant that the only thing that you have been given complete and utter control over in this world is your mind. Take this opportunity to start your day with some self-encouragement and affirmation.

Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habit. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny. – Lao Tzu

A morning routine is a simple and easy way to increase your productivity and start you day off on the right foot. A routine is simply a habit, and man is slave to his habits. Whether they be good or bad, they determine your destiny. Now that you realize that you already have a morning routine, what could you improve on? What would increase your productivity? What are you preparing for today? Success or failure?