Crafting A Morning Ritual Combo That Works For YOU
We all know why some of the most successful people wake up in the morning. But what exactly are they doing?
What’s their routine?
Having an effective morning routine has been one of the most rewarding things I picked up over the years.
When best-selling author Tim Ferriss interviews people like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tony Robbins and Peter Thiel, he ALWAYS asks what their morning routines are.
Because it’s their secret weapon.
Just look at how interest in the topic has trended in the last few years:
There are certain psychological and physical benefits to knowing that you’re able to power through a couple of things before the day starts for other people.
Forget about the fact that you’re outdoing other people by waking up early and following a process for a second. You’re only competing with yourself.
In the morning, nobody can bother you. Your phones don’t go off. No IMs. No distractions.
Nothing.
Mornings are STFU time.
You time.
So here’s how to get started with a morning routine that you’ll actually stick to.
If you suck at locking in habits…
If you’re like me, you probably suck at sticking with new habits. That’s because it’s hard to adhere to something you’re not used to. The solution to all of this is to start small first.
For example, if you’re trying to get in shape, it doesn’t make sense to aim for a marathon. It makes more sense to start with running 5 minutes a day.
To take this a step further, Stanford professor BJ Fogg recommends starting with Tiny Habits first. Tiny Habits basically mean setting a very simple to achieve goal so your brain starts to adapt to a new habit. If I wanted to start a tiny habit using the example above, I would simply tell myself to take 1 step on the elliptical or treadmill.
Here’s his TED talk:
On average, it takes more than 2 months before a new behavior becomes automatic — 66 days to be exact. — James Clear
A few years back, I personally saw my flossing habits decline. We all know that flossing is good but the mind resists when being told to do something it’s no longer used to doing.
I told myself I needed to start flossing again daily and I failed.
Perhaps the thought of having to add an extra step to my morning routine was too daunting. Or maybe I’m afraid of floss. Who knows.
All I know is I failed.
After hearing about Tiny Habits, I decided to give it a shot. My one flossing goal each day was to just floss one tooth.
After starting with the habit, I started to tell myself that if I start with one tooth, I might as well do all of them.
It’s all about the motion of getting started first.
Click here to join a free session on Tiny Habbits <=
Assuming you start implementing Tiny Habits, the next thing to worry about is keeping all your habits organized.
How to stay on top of your habits
Since I’m naturally a disorganized person, I needed training wheels to remind myself of all the daily habits I aim to achieve. Something that shows me data over time so I know if I’m truly improving or not.
The best way to do that? Mobile apps.
I recommend trying out Habit List or Coach.me to keep track of all your habits.
I personally use Habit List because it’s simpler. Just personal preference.
It shows me what % of the time I’m hitting my daily/weekly goals:
It shows me how behind I am:
And it also gives me a monthly view.
It just plain keeps me on track.
Figure out what works for YOU
We’re all different people. Some people require 10 hours of sleep.
Some can sleep 4.
Author James Altucher forces himself to sleep at least 8 hours a night.
What type of cadence makes the most sense for you? What types of habits would make you a productive machine?
You won’t know until you test.
For me, it looks like this (feel free to swipe):
5:30–6:00am — wake up
6:00–6:30am — 5 minute journal
6:00–6:30am — meditate for 10–15 minutes
6:00–6:30am — Read headlines on Nuzzle/WSJ/Twitter Lists and read digest from The Economist Expresso (bite sized versions of the Economist).
6:00–6:30am — spell out my goals in my head and what I need to do to get there
6:00–6:30am — recite my ‘essence’ — something given to me by a coach.
6:30~7:00–8:00am — train at the gym
8:00–9:00am — breakfast + scan e-mails
9:00–10:00am — first ‘sprint’ of the day. Have been trying to dedicate this to writing
10:00–6:00pm — calls/meetings/additional sprints
6:00–7:00pm — dinner
7:00–9:30pm — relax/read
9:30 ~10:00pm — 5 minute journal + sleep
Examples of successful morning routines
Arnold Schwarznegger
Tim Ferriss
More here.
Conclusion
If some of the most successful people in the world have time for a morning routine, you should too. Don’t let your ego tell you that you’re any different. The only thing that’s different might be the way in which you set your routine up.
Find out what works for you and then optimize it. Then stick to it for a month or so.
After a month, ask yourself if it was worth it.
For more reading on morning routines, check out Daily Rituals: How Artists Work.
What are some other morning routine tactics you can share?
