I was never a morning person. I struggle to get up in the morning.
It is so common for me to rush to work, do my makeup, read urgent emails and eat breakfast (sometimes no breakfast) in the car – this is NOT how you want to start your day, trust me.
I feel like I deserve to stay in bed for 5 more minutes because it’s going to be a long dreadful day but on the other hand, I knew that I was going to be late and will have to rush soon.
Instead of planning how my day would look like, I would always have to jump out of bed and rush out!
After years of doing that, I realized that I was letting the day dictate me, instead of me dictating my day.
I stumbled upon Tim Ferris’ 4-hour workweek podcast on how successful people actually own their mornings and get the most important things done.
I personally wanted to find out how these successful individuals achieve more with lesser effort and time (All of us only have 24 hours a day, ya know?).
How did these successful individuals accomplish major things in a few hours of the day which would seem to take a week or more for most people?
Most morning routines for these successful individuals are generally quite similar, these ‘best morning routines’ include:
- Exercise
- Journal
- Do Something Cold
- Meditate
- Drink Coffee & Oils
- Set Goals
- Read
Here are some best morning routines that work for me, and hopefully it will work for you too:
1. Plan Your Day The Night Before
How your day is going to look actually starts with what you do the night before.
The night before, have your own ‘think time’ which can be as little as 5 minutes and up to an hour.
During ‘think time’, you should:
- Reflect on your day.
- What are the 3 things that you are grateful for?
- What are the 3 things that you can improve on?
- 3 things you need/want to accomplish on the next day.
- Review your goals for the week, month, and year.
With this, you keep track of the goals you’d like to achieve in that year as a whole as well as crunching the goals down into monthly, weekly, and daily chunks.
As a bonus, you sleep so much better too as your mind is free from thinking!
2. Gratitude
The moment when you open your eyes, say Thank you.
Thank you for the gift of life! Another day and breath have been granted to you. Be grateful for the family, spouse/partner, children, a roof over your head, food on the table, career/job that you have.
On some days, hardships are inevitable. However, putting emphasis on the problems would only make you sulk your day more.
Instead of focusing on the issues such as, ‘My boss never listens to me, my family is in a mess, another day another bill to deal with,’
Let us shift our thoughts.
‘I want to contribute and make a difference to the company, our family is learning and growing to love one another, another day to create abundance in my life!
3. Breathe and meditate
More than 80 percent of the world-class performers meditate.
Through meditation, you’re practicing focus when it doesn’t matter (while lying on your bed) so that you’ll be well equipped when things do matter (business, negotiation, conversations with loved ones), etc.
The art of simply learning to control my breathing has been extremely effective. I learned this Wim Hof method:
- lie on the bed flat and take in 5 – 10 deep breathes with 10 seconds intervals and release.
- Take another deep breath and hold your breath for 10 seconds and release.
You’ll feel so much more energetic and focused as the oxygen level in your brain has increased.
Take the time to be still and breathe in deeply.
Breathing has been shown to help reduce stress and anxiety, improve the immune system, enhancing mental and emotional health, and helps with deeper thinking.
4. Make your bed
“If you make your bed every morning, you would have accomplished the first task of the day, giving you a small sense of pride and encourage you to do another task, and another, and another.
By the end of the day, the one task completed would have turned into many tasks completed.” said McCraven, who was a Navy SEAL and authored the book “Make Your Bed: Little Things Can Change Your Life… and Maybe the World.”
You are programming and conditioning yourself for success with this small act of making your bed and getting ready for your day.
Even if your day does not go well, you come back to a nicely made bed, ready for rest.
5. Visualising
I started using this technique 4 years ago, but I wasn’t consistent with visualizing every day back then. However, what struck me was seeing some of my goals come true without me realizing it!
4 years ago, I wrote this – to travel around the world and it came true (partially, hey I’m from Asia. Honestly speaking, I didn’t even know some of these countries exist until I visited!).
(Hey I was halfway across the globe!)
From January 2019 – December 2020, I have traveled by ship to 10 countries mainly in Latin America and the Caribbean (Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Guyana, Saint Vincent, and The Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Jamaica, Curacao, Bahamas).
I highly recommend visualizing every morning when you get up because this stuff works! It works for me, and it will work for you as well.
Have a board pinned to your bedroom or work area. Take around 3 – 10 minutes looking at this beautiful map you’ve created for yourself and visualize owning your dreams.
Use the 5 senses of the body – see it, smell it, taste it, hear it and feel it.
Here’s an example:
Look at your hands, right now. Really look at it – the color of your skin, the lines, your fingers and fingernails, the blood vessels.
Remember all these details. Right before you close your eyes, see those hands, your fingers, wrapping around the steering wheel of your brand new car.
It is such a real moment, you don’t even feel like you need the car, because it feels like you already have it.
Read Next: 4 Steps Vision Board Creation That Works [Everything You Need To Know]
6. Morning journal
Journaling and writing in the mornings have helped me look at my life from many different perspectives, including my health, career, relationships, and helped me stay organized.
It helps me get unstuck from my overly messy thought process to simplifying and calming down myself.
Here are some examples that you can include:
- Affirmations: 3 statements of I am (I am enough, I am beautiful, I am a great lover…)
- What would I like to accomplish today?
- Practicing gratitude
It totally sets you to win your day!
Whatever it is that you write, it is very relieving.
It helps you to get your thoughts down on paper, categorizes yourself, understand your emotions and thoughts better, and gives you a sense of direction on what you would like to accomplish for the day.
7. Read
The Bible has been my personal favorite to read in the mornings as I am reminded of how small I am and how big our Creator is.
Warren Buffet, the top 5 richest men in the world says that he reads 80% of the time!
So get a good book and spend some good time reading, it’ll help to fire up your brain juice!
Some current recommended reads:
- The last lecture by Randy Pausch
- 4-hour workweek by Tim Ferris
- Rich dad poor dad by Robert Kiyosaki
8. Using your phone only after you had your ‘me time’
We use our phones almost anywhere and at anytime.
Mornings are your best time to be creative, strategize and get important things done!
Use your phone wisely and do not let it use you instead!
Resist the urge to be distracted, start doing things that you’ve listed down and complete them with excellence before turning on your phone.
Final thought – your next day begins the night before!
Writing down and reflecting the night before will make a difference between a super productive morning the next day vs a hectic and chaotic morning.
Just by writing down your thoughts and goals, you’re being more aware of how you feel internally and are prepared to set up the next day for success!
The most crucial aspect of the morning routine:
Before going to bed, tell yourself how excited you are for the next day! (Regardless of the never-ending lists of things to do which are currently on your plate).
By thinking of how excited you will be for the next day, you are preparing your mental and physical state for what is lying ahead!
Nonetheless, if you dread the next day, have a guess how your feelings are when you get up?
From now on, make the decision to own your mornings! #LiveLoveContribute
Read Next:
4 Steps Vision Board Creation That Works [Everything You Need To Know]
How to Feel Enough? 5 Proven Ways To Make You Feel Absolutely Confident
In the comments below, share your thoughts: what morning routines work for you (or not)?