Change your morning routine to win the day
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This edition of TBS newsletter touches on something that I am absolutely adamant can make a massive different to your life: a consistent and clear morning routine.
Do you have one? Is it working for you? What can you change it into?
Read on if your morning routine could do with a makeover to help you start the day right. Every day. (wouldn't that be nice?)
Do you have a morning routine right now?
If you struggle to answer that, then think about how you start the day at the moment. All the things you do, out of habit, one after the other.
Now think about how often you’ve arrived at work, school drop off, a social breakfast event or even the kitchen table already feeling like the day has gone to crap and that heading back to bed to start over might be the best strategy?
You are not alone…
How often have you then said “Tomorrow, I have to organise myself better.” and then did nothing about it?
As with everything in life, morning routines are not different. There is always time but as with everything in life, it also comes down to where your focus, attention and dedication is placed. That is where the impact will be felt, both good and bad.
So yes… I hear you.
Life is TOO busy, you don’t know where to start or what a good morning routine looks like.
Well let’s just say it doesn’t take much to get a clear, purposeful morning routine going.
And you don’t have to be as disciplined as Mark Wahlberg with his insane daily morning routine. Did you know the guy wakes up at 2.30am (2.30am!!!) every day to start working out?
I mean... that’s nuts and also that’s his job to be working out several hours a day and keep in shape at all ages. I’m not talking about that for you (for us).
Now, that's BS!
B is for Behaviour(s)
Why a morning routine can help
Imagine this. You jump out of bed to get ready for a work meeting in the city, then…
➡️ Check your phone (focus gone). Shower, get dressed.
➡️ No food (because already late-ish), maybe a quick coffee (does little to hydrate the body).
➡️ Rush… rush… (stress level goes up)
➡️ No focus. No calmness.
➡️ Rush some more (now you're pushing up)
➡️ No clear priority (everything is, which means nothing is)
➡️ You arrive at the place you need to get to, then expect to be performing at your highest level (how did you go?)
I think it’s fair to say that this cannot be a winning formula.
Usually, poor or no morning routine can result in people:
Getting flustered and stressed
Being unorganised and rushed
Becoming unproductive and unfocused
Feeling scattered, overwhelmed and sometimes irritable
Having no clear morning routine can leave you without structure and strategy when life gets difficult. It compounds the problem and leaves you with low energy, low focus and no way to turn to get going.
No clear morning routine is basically the same as you saying “Let’s wake up and leave today’s success in the hands of everyone else.”
No clear morning routine is the feeling of success can wait for later.
C'mon, that's real BS!
S is for Strategies
What your morning routine should be
Right! We are on the same page that having no clear morning routine is fraught with danger!
And having a purposeful and clear morning routine can be helpful because it can assist with confidence, focus, energy and achievement!
So here is ONE morning routine habit for 8 different areas of your life to integrate into your world.
TIP - instead of overwhelming yourself doing them all at once, try to introduce one each week.
#1 Something for the mind
8 minutes of meditation (the impact on you dramatically increases when you hit that mark). Try apps Smiling minds or Headspace.
#2 Something for your outside
No gym membership, no problem. Go for a walk around the block, try push ups, stretching, squats. If you need to do arm curls, do it with a bag of potatoes. My point is, get your heart rate up and adrenaline flowing.
#3 Something for your inside
2 minute smoothie, fruit, water, scoop of plant protein powder. Blend it. DRINK IT.
#4 Something to stretch you
Read 2 pages of a book that you have interest in and expand your personal thinking point.
#5 Something to focus you
Journal for 5 min, about “What will the best version of me be today? If I do better than I did yesterday.”
#6 Something to set your path
Identify the 3 top priorities that you need to achieve in the first 3 hours of today.
#7 Something to help your craft
Identify one business objective that you will achieve by the end of the day.
#8 Something for a loved one
Show those close to you in some small way that you care. A kiss, a cuddle, uplifting words.
Here’s one more tip and it comes before the morning routine… that’s right, the night before.
About 80% of the people I speak with that cannot create a clear morning routine all say that they go to bed late and struggle to get 8 hours sleep, so if that’s your case, try this.
A winning morning routine starts the night before
Set an alarm for 60 min before you need to go to bed then switch off all your devices and start to wind down with some stretching or breathing techniques or get that journal out and ask “How did I improve today?”
Now you know what your clear morning routine should (or can) be, the question is can you make the commitment to a powerful way forward?
Of course you can.
Get yourself a purposeful and clear morning routine. Let’s go!
Someone else said about this
“Let today be the day that you give up who you’ve been, for who you can become.”
— Hal Elrod
I hope this is helpful, I cannot tell you enough how much of a difference a clear morning routine can make to one’s life.
See what MY morning routine is like, I wrote a social post about it.
A little while back, I also wrote this article about 9 powerful actions to make powerful impact to start the year (it doesn’t have to be in the context of the start of a year though). Check it out, it's good stuff.
And, remember that at any stage, you can book a f*r*e*e chat with me if you need any help with any of this and more - no pressure, no commitment.
Love it, discuss it, share it #thatsbs
