Your Morning Routine Sucks And It’s Holding You Back
How you start your day really, really matters. A rushed and stressful beginning makes way for an emotional, overwhelming, exhausting 12 hours. On the flip side, a lazy, snooze-10-times, stay-in-bed-and-scroll introduction promotes a consistently unproductive conclusion. Either way, you’re ruining your own ability to be great.
Form Good Habits
It takes 66 days to turn behavior into habit. More habits means less brain power. Less brain power spent on a productive routine, means more brain power for your work and your wellness. Creating a habit is an easy, 3-step process. Trigger, Behavior, Reward. 1: Set a reminder to do the thing. 2: Do the thing. 3: Reward yourself weekly for doing the thing.
Stay Ahead of Yourself
Back-pedaling is the easiest way to lose efficiency. Before you leave work, or before you go to bed, make a to-do list for the following day. Eisenhower used to make tiers. Tier 1: Urgent & Important. These must be checked off immediately. Tier 2: Important, but not urgent: these will have to be completed, but can wait. Tier 3: Urgent, but not important: pass these responsibilities to one of your staff members. Tier 4: Neither urgent nor important: eliminate these from your brain space altogether.
Leave this list on your desk, or schedule it to be emailed to yourself first thing in the morning.
Task Lists aside, get ready for work the night before. Lay out your clothes. Pack your briefcase. Pack lunch. Pack your gym bag, if necessary. Charge your electronics. Do whatever you can to ensure smooth sailing during the early hours.
Only Losers Snooze
Stop with the snooze button. Seriously. You’re just giving yourself shitty, useless “sleep” by 8-minute intervals. If you’re going to press snooze for an hour, just set your alarm for one hour later. Stop training yourself that your alarm doesn’t mean anything. Stop babying yourself. When your alarm goes off, get up. You’ll be more alert, you’ll be able to solve more problems, and you’ll eliminate the chance of over-sleeping.
Your Presence is a Present
Think about what you’re doing. When you wake up, try a quick meditation. Think of it like a gym for your mind. Focus on your breathing, focus on your presence. You’re alive. You’re productive. You’re a soon-to-be legend.
When you eat breakfast, sit down. Don’t shove a bagel in your mouth while streaming the news while scrolling Twitter. Stay cognizant of each bite. Be thoughtful and aware. This will help your body register that it’s being fed, and you’ll be less likely to overeat during the day.
Speaking of Breakfast
Stop skipping it. Your first meal stabilizes your blood sugar levels. Just by eating toast or a fruit cup, you’ll minimize the chance of overeating later on. Plus, food gives you energy. This isn’t rocket science.
Water, water, water
You’ve just gone 6–8 hours without consuming water. Your first priority is to wake up your organs with a cold, internal shower. Add some fresh lemon juice in that initial glass to spice things up with some potassium, vitamin C and antioxidants. The caffeinated bean juice can wait. Coffee dehydrates, and starting your day off with dehydration is a good way to stay on the dehydration train all day long. The amount of water you should be drinking throughout the day is ounce-for-pound how much you weigh. (Weigh in at 155 pounds, drink 155 ounces.) You’ll have more natural energy, your metabolism will improve, and toxins in your body will constantly be flushed out. Fewer sick days is more money in your pocket.
Momma Always Said
Make your damn bed. It’s the tiniest task. It takes 3 minutes, max. You’ll get an immediate sense of accomplishment first thing in the morning, which will create a theme for the day. Stop being a slob while expecting to excel.
Exercise Early
Release those chemicals. GABA is a neurotransmitter that soothes your brain and provides impulse-control. Endorphins keep your mood in tact. Adrenaline boosts your energy. Hitting the weights early promotes all of these perks throughout the day, and eliminates the chance that you decide to skip your workout later on.
Stop the Scroll
Save social media for lunchtime. Morning scrolling promotes lateness and a lack of productivity. Focus your energy on creativity and problem-solving, rather than catching up on the content that was posted during your slumber. Stop prioritizing people’s selfies.
Routines of The Greats:
Steve Jobs didn’t die in vain. The guy barely showered. Seeing each hygiene session as a waste of time, Jobs had to find out the hard way (a few social and health issues arose) that showering isn’t actually optional. But I guess if you’ve accomplished as much as Steve Jobs did, it doesn’t really matter that you smell.
Jobs also woke up at 6 am every single morning. He looked in the mirror and asked, “if today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” Too many no’s in a row meant something needed to be altered.
Steve also reviewed short and long term goals each day in order to stay on track, and worked from home in solidarity for 3 hours before heading to the office.
Mark Zuckerberg dresses the same each day because it is “one less decision to make.” Steve Jobs had an unwavering signature look as well. Lot in common, those two.
Barack Obama is strict about hitting the gym every morning at 6:45, catching up on current events by reading the New York Times and watching ESPN. Breakfast with his family is required. While in office, Obama began each day two hours before the first event on his schedule, optimizing his ability to carry out his routine. He prefers green tea, water and orange juice over coffee. (Meanwhile, Donald Trump presses snooze 17 times and then eats an expired donut from his stash under the bed while searching his own name for hours on Twitter.)
Bill Gates hops on the treadmill for an hour, all the while watching courses from the Teaching Company.
Jeff Bezos avoids early-morning meetings, and values a healthy breakfast with his family above all.
Tim Ferris is very routine-oriented. First, he makes his bed. Then he meditates for 10–20 minutes. Some light exercise is followed by a cup of strong tea. Finally, he writes in a journal for 5–10 minutes.
Oprah Winfrey also meditates for 20 minutes. Next, she gets her heart-rate up on the treadmill for at least 15 minutes. Oprah then “tunes herself in” by going for a thoughtful walk, listening to music or cooking herself a nice meal.
You have all of the tools. Now stop getting in your own way. Self-motivation is a learned behavior. So, learn it. No more excuses.
SOURCES:
https://www.inc.com/bryan-adams/6-celebrity-morning-rituals-to-help-you-kick-ass.html
https://influencedigest.com/productivity/morning-routine-steve-jobs/
