Win the morning, Win the day.

Hello!

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I hope you had a fantastic week and a brilliant weekend!

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It's Monday and you've got a whole new week ahead of you which will inevitably be filled with many opportunities and lessons, so make sure you go and make the most of it!

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I wanted to share a bit about morning routines today.

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I'm a huge believer in the phrase ‘win the morning, win the day’, which is why over the last few years I have put so much effort into crafting a morning routine that is guaranteed to make me win.

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Now although I am about to share my own morning routine with you, this isn't because I want you to copy it, and it also isn't me showing off looking for validation, I actually just want to provide you with some valuable insights.

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So here it is, my morning routine:

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6:00am - Sunrise alarm clock wakes me up and I slowly wake up

6:05am - I get up, get changed, grab my swim stuff

6:30am - Sea dip with guys

7:15am - Home, shower, get changed and ready

7:45am - Core stability exercises

8:00am - Make coffee and breakfast with some banging tunes and have a boogie

8:20am - Journalling, read page a day books, visualisation exercise

8:40am - Eat breakfast, go on my phone for the first time to catch up on messages

9:00am - Work day begins with an hour of admin (no calls or meetings booked before 10am)

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The reason I wanted to share this with you, is because there are some aspects I've noticed in my morning routine that I think are so useful to share, and it's knowing what these are that may help you craft and develop an even better morning routine for yourself.

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Here are the key themes I've noticed:

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Doing something hard: For me this is the sea dip. It's cold it sucks, but it means I've started the day doing something difficult, which makes pretty much anything else I face in the day seem not that bad.

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Doing something fun: Getting some upbeat music on, having a sing and a dance is absolutely the thing that raises my vibrations in the morning. It never fails to get me in a good mood which has a huge impact on the rest of my day.

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Creating a moment for me: Journalling in the morning creates this really beautiful and reflective space for me in the morning where I can be introspective, unload any stress or worries from my brain, and step away feeling more aware of how I'm feeling and why.

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Creating a moment for the day: By not having calls for the first hour of the day it gives me time to catch up from the previous day, action anything urgent for that day, and ensure I know how today looks. This allows me to start winning at work immediately instead of being on the back foot.

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My gift to you today are these 4 pillars of a successful morning, and I encourage you to consider how you can create relevant actions for each of these pillars to bring your own morning routine to life.

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It doesn't have to be extreme, you don't have to buy an ice bath, and you don't have to get up at 5am, all you have to do is make sure this works for you.

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When it comes to doing something hard, it could be a sea dip, but it could also be a cold shower, or perhaps the hard bit for you is getting up with your first alarm, it's just as valuable!

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Something fun could be listening to a funny podcast, something for you could be reading a book or playing on your playstation, and something for the day could be spending 5 minutes writing a quick to do list.

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As I've said a few times, it really can be anything, and truth be told, all I'm really hoping for here is to discourage and move you away from rolling out of bed at 8:45 and downing a coffee so you're ready for work at 9.

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Creating an intentional morning that gets you fired up and feeling good will truly change your day, your week, your year, and ultimately your life.

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Two final things to think about…

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1) Getting up slightly early makes this easier as you give yourself more time to do things, and it's important to remember that this is time just for you. So many people only have the evenings to look forward to, but there are also hours available in the morning, you just have the be willing to get up to utilise them.

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2) To win the morning, you have to win the evening, so give some thought to what changes you could make to your evening routine to support your morning one. I tend to find switching electronics off earlier and sleeping earlier are a pretty successful recipe!

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Feel free to share your newly crafted morning routine with me, and feel free to ask me any questions!

Quote for the week

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“Wake up early and tackle the day before it tackles you. Be on offense, not defense.”

- Evan Carmichael

Recommendation

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James Clear 3-2-1

Weekly Newsletter

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Evidenced in the fact that I write my own, I love a weekly newsletter, but the reality is there aren't many I've found that I enjoy reading every single week.

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However, James Clear who you may know as the author of ‘Atomic Habits’ has absolutely nailed it with his newsletter.

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The format is this newsletter is 3 ideas, 2 quotes, and 1 question to consider for the week, meaning it's short, it's sharp, and it really packs a punch!

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With over 2 million subscribers (just a little bit more than me), it has some social backing that it's as good as I'm saying it is!

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Here's the link to sign up if you fancy adding some extra weekly wisdom on top of what you get from me: https://jamesclear.com/newsletter ?

Life Hack

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Silent Car Journeys

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Life is extremely busy and loud, and it's not very often we get the chance to sit down and have some time with our own thoughts.

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This is why I'm a huge fan of at least once a week turning all music off in the car and enduring a silent journey.

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I'll be honest, it feels weird, and quite often it's easier to just avoid the uncomfortable thoughts that are inevitably going to come up, but it is so important that you take some time to hear yourself and understand that internal dialogue.

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The thing I love most about this, is it's a bit like when you have ideas in the shower, you know that moment where you're just present in the shower, not thinking about much else, and then randomly these brilliant ideas come to you.

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That is happening because you've quietened down the external noise and have actually had a chance to hear yourself, and the car is another great place to do this.

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Give it a go and let me know how you get on!

How I'm Helping Others

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This week I received one of my favourite testimonials ever, have a read!

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"I started working with Haydan in January and it has been the best investment of my life so far.

He was set the challenge of helping me to feel better. To get clarity. Help me figure out who i am or want to be. The challenge was full of ambiguity, some contradictions, changes in focus but this didn't phase him, and he stuck with me! I looked forward to my weekly session where I could bring my true authentic self.

I have left sessions emotionally exhausted after bringing my true, raw, vulnerable self. I have left sessions revitalised and I have also left sessions with a completely different view point to when I went in. But I have felt safe throughout the whole journey as Haydan has supported me completely judgement free.

The “king of analogies” has helped me find clarity, some peace and identify areas of my life that need focus. The journey is not over and I have a lot of work to do to make sure my canoe stays in the gentle, flowing stream with bird song and sunshine and doesn’t end up down uncontrollable rapids, with no paddle, and a family of hungry crocodiles at the bottom. (The analogies work….)

Sometimes you have to dig deep and have uncomfortable conversations to realise what life means to you and I feel so grateful that Haydan was by my side for this.?

?Thank you!!!!"

I hope you have a fantastic week, and I'll be back in your inbox next week!

Haydan.