I pulled more than a few all-night study sessions during college in an attempt to avoid utterly failing. The final paper in argumentative writing was particularly brutal. After delaying more than I should have, I spent the entire night before the due date writing and re-writing until it was time to head to class.
Thinking back, I’m sure I felt tired that day. However, I’m sure I went through my day mostly normal.
Now that I’m slightly older, staying awake all night or even going to bed too late wrecks me physically and even a little emotionally.
So if you are like me and want to improve your quality of life and productivity, the way you start your day is an important place to start. Especially since getting started earlier is a great way to find more time in our busy lives.
Like so many subjects in the self-improvement domain, opinions about the ideal morning routine are common and can be, frankly overwhelming. With that in mind, I have combed through the vast wasteland of morning routines videos, and articles. Enduring macho gym bros and unrealistic cold shower zen nomads to find the true and scientifically backed routines to make the most of your morning.
Through the process, the details vary on jump-starting your morning but almost all contain the same basic components. And that is the main goal here, breaking down the noise into the basic components. Components that you can adjust and modify according to your personal needs and situation.
Mel Robbins provides the most important principle to guide you as you plan your morning, “Find what works for you!”. Since ideal, is not universally applicable, you need to adjust the following framework to whatever works best for you. If you only have 10 minutes before your kids get up, then succeed with that. Of course, if you have more time, you can expand to match your priorities and available time. Find your ideal routine. Because ultimately, the best routine in the world won’t matter if you don’t follow it.
An ideal morning starts the night before
This one makes a lot of sense when you think about it. How are you supposed to hit the ground running on 3 hours of sleep? You won’t unless you are built like I was in my 20’s. Especially if you do it continually. Some things you can do the night before to set you up for success in the morning and give you higher-quality sleep:
- Establish a consistent bedtime: I won’t dig into the science of this (Click here for that) but it boils down to an established routine that makes it easier for our body to maintain the needed sleep cycles.
- Stop drinking caffeine early in the day: I cried when I found this one. Turns out caffeine’s half-life is 4 hours. So 8 hours after drinking caffeine, you still have the little fuel running through your system. I have a soda with lunch and then stop drinking caffeine. I love soda so this is a tough one but I noticed a big difference in my daily energy levels.
- Charge your phone outside of your bedroom: Another tough one for a lot of people. The night scrollers, you know who you are. The light from your phone messes with your sleep rhythm keeps you from falling asleep and negatively impacts your sleep quality also. There is another huge benefit we will touch on in a moment.
- Blackout curtains to further restrict light in your bedroom: Similar to the phone, morning light can disturb your sleep.
Reflection time
This is a big one. Also, nearly every morning routine video or article includes some form of it. Nischa, a YouTube expert on Finance and Self-Development, calls it the pre-game routine. Similar to a basketball athlete who always has the same routine before shooting free throws with this habit, we can create a routine that jumps and starts our morning.
Nischa uses tea preparation and self-reflection for her pre-game routine. The other area that is called out frequently is journaling. Taking thoughts and goals out of your mind and onto paper is a powerful method to set up your day for huge success. Mel Robbins calls out 10 minutes of visualization and even has a fantastic book and journal to help.
Other suggestions for this time are visualization exercises, setting goals, and to-be and to-feel lists.
Journaling is a popular activity for reflection and as you can imagine, there are different kinds of journaling available.
- To-do list #1 (personal goals)
- To-do list #2 (my work responsibilities)
- To-feel list
- To-be list
- Gratitude Journal
- 5 Second Journal
Physical activity
After getting a good night’s rest and some reflection or journaling. Time to get moving a bit. This can be as simple as some squats or push-ups. I do 5BX every day. Again, the key here is to find what works for you. If running or weight lifting at the gym is what your mind and spirit need and you have the time, go for it. If not, do a few movements to get your heart rate up and your mind activated.
Shower and get ready (the crazy’s recommend cold ones)
Find what works for you and create a habit.
Let me know what works for you.
References
Mel Robbins
The ONLY Way to Wake Up In The Morning