A Successful Day Starts Off Correctly
The Elements of My Morning Routine
Here are the basic elements of my morning routine to start out the day on a path to success. This routine takes about 45 – 60 minutes.
- Wake up intentionally
- 20+ Oz of water
- Personal development – Priming the Positivity
- Make the schedule and list for the day
- Breakfast and start working
These are the 5 things I do every (successful) morning, and I do 1-4 before I look at any real work or communicate with anybody. The next sections provide some more depth on each of these elements.
Wake Up Intentionally
Find your time, and get up at that time. You are different than others, have a different schedule, and have different needs.
Sometimes it requires an alarm clock, sometimes it doesn’t, but the key is: don’t fight with that alarm clock! The more you fight with your alarm clock, hitting the snooze button, resetting the time in the morning, you’re sabotaging your mental preparation for the day.
There is an important connection between waking up intentionally and your mental preparation for the day. Waking up at the last possible second, without giving yourself time for personal development and mental preparation, starts you off in a harried and unprepared state.
Let’s say you’re a parent and you get up when your kids do to try to get them ready for school. Now you’re scrambling around just as much as they are to get ready and off. You need to be on top of your game for them just as much for you. Getting up a bit earlier and getting yourself mentally prepared makes the whole day run smoother.
The point of waking up intentionally is to start your day with YOU in control. Don’t let the alarm clock control you. Get yourself up and moving intentionally at a particular time. That’s number one.
20+ Oz of Water
There’s not much else to describe here. Your physical needs, and the benefits of drinking a heavy dose of water when you first get out of bed are well documented (here’s one, and another, and some more….you get the point). I started this practice because of these types of articles, but I continue this every day because I actually feel the benefits personally. I feel mentally sharper and physically better when I do this.
Why 20 oz? Well, the experts say somewhere between 16 and 32 oz is correct, but I use 20 oz because that’s the size of my blender bottle that I have with me all day, and that 20 oz has been the right amount for me to feel the benefits. Fill ‘er up, chug ‘er down.
Personal Development – Priming the Positivity
This next part has become my favorite part of the working day. It’s how I mentally prepare myself for the day, and its’ been a literal revelation for me. No matter what the day has in store, this is the piece that allows me to face it head on. Here’s what I do:
- 10-20 minutes of personal development reading
- 10 minutes intentional gratitude, prayer, and affirmations
Here’s what I read every morning:
The Bible
I read approximately 1 chapter each morning. Sometimes a bit more or less depending on the context. Maybe this takes 10 minutes or even less.
Personal or Skill Development Book
This is how I’ve built up this list. It’s how I strengthen my skill set, up my self belief, get new ideas, cast vision, spend time with the right people, and generally just get better. These resources have single-handedly changed my trajectory.
Intentional Gratitude
I also spend about 10 minutes of time in prayer and being intentional about gratitude. Sometimes I do this before I start to read, or sometimes after. Maybe prayer is not your thing, but meditation could be. It’s a time of reflection. It’s a time of thought. It’s a time to be intentional about the gifts and blessings in your life. I actually write down 3 things I am grateful for that day.
Make the Schedule and List
Next I think about the day ahead and what has to be done. There are 3 elements to how I plan the day:
- What is my #1 priority for the day? Even if nothing else gets done or worked on, I MUST work on this.
- When can I schedule my Focus Periods (and workout) for the Day? I look at my calendar for the day, and there are usually certain periods that are already scheduled (i.e., meetings, appointments, etc). Then I fit my 2-3, 30-90 minute focus periods in, as well as determining when I will get my workout in. If the meeting/appointment schedule doesn’t seem to allow this, I literally start changing stuff. I decline and propose new times for meetings or move appointments. I control my time, not “them.” I work best first thing in the morning (100% due to this morning routine I’m describing), so usually my first focus period starts right away.
- What are my focus and backlog tasks for the day? I split my task list into 2 columns: Focus and Backlog. Tasks that require thought, creation, focus, or have the highest of priorities (i.e., writing, software development, reaching out to prospects, relationship building, etc) must be done during focus periods without distractions. The backlog stuff may be little things, such as “call Dentist”, or they may be focus-requiring tasks that aren’t high enough on the priority list to make it to the Focus Period on this particular day. Backlog tasks are stuff that I try to get to during the non-focus periods of the day. These lists are roughly in priority order. Focusing on my priorities ensures that I am working on and accomplishing the right tasks.
Breakfast and Start Working
Then its time for breakfast and to get started on the day of work. Maybe you don’t eat breakfast, and that’s ok. Sometimes, by the end of this 45 – 60 minutes, I’m hungry, so I eat. Other days, I’m not yet hungry, so I hold off on eating for a little while and dive right into work. I eat basically 3 different things, and that’s it:
- Highest of quality protein shake (here are some great recipes) – 40% of the mornings
- Eggs (with or without veggies, meat, or potatoes) – 40% of the mornings
- Sometimes both 🙂 – 10% of the mornings
I always take my AM Pack of my customized vitamins with my breakfast.
Some Things I’m Still Tweaking
Here are a few things I am still working on:
- Phone: I NEVER have my phone next to my bed, nor even in the same room (unless I’m traveling and need it as an alarm clock). But, I am still trying to figure out if its helpful or harmful to look at it before, during, or after the routine I’ve described above.
- Wakeup Time: The time that I get up is also somewhat varied. I always pick a time the night before (i.e., to be intentional), but it varies between 5:30 and 6:30am. I’m testing whether it makes a difference. I have more focus time if I get up at 5:30, and more time before the bustle of the morning in the house, but sometimes that extra sleep is glorious and required to be focused.
- Push-ups: I personally love to get my full-on workout done in the middle of the day, roughly lunch time (I describe why here). But in addition to my “real” workout, I also do at least 100 push-ups every day. Sometimes I do these first thing in the morning during this routine, and sometimes not. I haven’t come to a conclusion yet if doing them during my morning routine makes a difference.
Summary
Now you know how I start every workday off to point it in the direction of success. To recap, here are the basic elements:
- Wake up intentionally
- 20+ Oz of water
- Personal development – Priming the Positivity
- Make the schedule and list for the day
- Breakfast and start working
Maybe these aren’t the exact right elements for you, but the point is to figure out what those elements are and commit to them every day. I invite you to try my routine, and send me feedback or comment below as to what makes up your morning routine. The more we converse, the better we can serve.
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