Experimenting with morning routines

In his timeless book “How to Live on Twenty Four Hours a Day”, Arnold Bennet says that
You wake up in the morning, and lo! your purse is magically filled with twenty-four hours of the unmanufactured tissue of the universe of your life!
But instead of taking advantage of those hours, especially the first few that set the tone of the day, I’ve often found myself wasting time by being lazy and hitting the snooze button or by waking up straight into my social media or email feeds.
More than three months ago I decided to change that and try to use the early hours of the morning to set the tone for the day. After all, if many successful people have some sort of morning routine perhaps there’s something to it that can work for the rest of us as well!
The Setup
As with most things I do, I decided to do some research before implementing my routine. I took tips from some of my favorite authors: Tim Ferriss and Ryan Holiday.
Tim Ferriss has interviewed hundreds of people and has even compiled a list of morning rituals. On his part, Ryan Holiday says that he wakes up around dawn, takes a long walk with his son and then writes in multiple journals.
Taking these examples, and thinking about what might work for me, I decided to try and start my days earlier than I used to, practice mindfulness meditation and include some writing as well. After a few weeks of trial and error I landed on this routine:
- Wake up at 6.10
- Meditate for at least 10 minutes
- A short burst of exercise (usually 10 minutes)
- Write for 30 minutes
- Make coffee
This routine takes me about an hour each morning. After following it consistently for some months, I’ve uncovered quite a few things and learned a lot about myself.
6.10 AM
I won’t lie, it was hard to get used to waking up earlier. It took me a solid two weeks and multiple alarm clocks to consistently wake up at 6–6.10 AM rather than around 7 as I used to.
One of the first things I noticed was that I started protecting my sleeping hours more. I unconsciously started to go to bed earlier — around 9.45 PM — to get my full 8 hours of sleep. Otherwise, I would wake up the next morning feeling tired and groggy throughout the day.
But the initial struggle started paying off very quickly. There is something special about the early hours of the morning when everything is calm and still. I now feel that my mornings are more peaceful and I get to live by design and not by default. Waking up early is a conscious decision that I make every day.
Meditation
Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine — Shunryu Suzuki. Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind
Mediation is a process. In the past, I thought that using an app (there are many out there) and simply sitting and listening to the guide for 10 minutes was enough. During this experiment though I realized that proper meditation requires a conscious effort every time. Moreover, when starting something new, it is better to keep things simple. I found that sitting crossed-legged on the couch and focusing on my breath creates a much stronger habit than plugging into my phone so early.
Meditation has quickly become the most important piece of my morning routine. This was a surprise since in the past I never managed to sustain the habit long enough. If I don’t meditate my mood becomes less consistent throughout the day. I am less aware of myself and my surroundings. I am more prone to feel anger and frustration.
It is not an easy process. It seems that meditation never gets easy. As every morning is different, so is every meditation session. Some days I can get through the session without struggling with my thoughts but many times I need to constantly let go of them. After a while, it suddenly came to me that this is how meditation is supposed to work. You understand that meditation is about keeping a beginner’s mind: focus on each breath, focus on the present instant. Nothing more, nothing less.
Exercise
Exercise is a keystone habit that triggers widespread change. — Charles Duhigg, The Power of Habit
After I meditate I do a quick session of pushups, abs, and kettlebell
swings (I keep a 45lb one in my living room). The objective is not to try and
build muscle but simply to get my blood flowing and feel pumped for the day!
If meditation sets up my mood, this quick burst of exercise is my first win of the day. Even if things go sideways or I can’t get a full workout later, I feel satisfied and proud of beating laziness so early!
A surprising result has been learning to appreciate the repetitiveness of the moments, always the same and in the same quantity every morning. In a way, this mini-workout is an extension of my meditation session.
Writing
Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That’s why it’s so hard. — David McCullough
Ben Hardy says to focus on output rather than input in the morning. I was one of those to wake up straight into my phone to check my latest WhatsApp messages, emails and Twitter feed. I’ve found that keeping the phone away in the morning is a game-changer.
Rather than checking my phone, after I’m done with exercise I sit down and write. Many times I simply let my mind flow and I write whatever is on my mind. I’ve found that this is similar to the morning pages exercise in which the objective is to empty the mind of any thoughts and ideas. Paper is an awesome tool to capture our monkey mind.
Other times I try to iterate over a few ideas for my weekly email. More often though, I write about an idea that’s been simmering in my mind for a while.
In the past, I always found excuses for my lack of writing. I would struggle to find more time to write. But now, I don’t have any more excuses. When I am already awake in the early morning with a notebook in front of me there’s nothing I would rather do.
I’ve only been writing consistently for a few months but I’ve realized that I can articulate my ideas more clearly and I don’t feel overwhelmed during the day with thoughts and worries. Everything is left on the paper first thing in the morning.
Coffee
The voodoo priest and all his powders were as nothing compared to espresso, cappuccino, and mocha, which are stronger than all the religions of the world combined, and perhaps stronger than the human soul itself. — Mark Helprin
Those who know me know that I take coffee very seriously. So it is not a surprise that brewing coffee made it into my routine.
To me, coffee in the morning is a ritual. I’ve experimented with different brewing methods (I love using a Chemex or a french press) but pulling a double-shot espresso with freshly ground beans is unbeatable. I get a very powerful dose of caffeine just in case I need it.
In terms of my current routine, coffee is like the grand closure, the final act. When I start to weigh and grind the coffee beans I get a nice sensation of accomplishment. I’ve just meditated, exercised, wrote some words and the day is just about to start!
Takeaways
The only person you should try to be better than is the person you were yesterday — Proverb
Waking up earlier is not easy but is also not impossible. The rewards vastly outweigh any initial discomfort. I realize this as I sit here in the quiet morning writing these words. I’ve learned a lot about myself by just changing a few keystone habits.
I am sure that as I improve and get on new challenges and projects my routine will change. I may add or remove parts. I may change it completely, but one thing is clear: if I am consistent I will actively work on my goals and priorities, and feel pumped every morning!
Now, as Jocko Willink would say, Go Get Some!
