Morning Routines
Some say “win the morning, win the day”
Do you have a morning routine? I’m somewhat curious about the different routines people use, or not, do get their day started. And if it’s by default or intentional to get a certain result.
This is a thing lately. Lots of books on the subject. One that keeps coming up is The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod. I’ve seen it regarded as “one of the most life changing books ever written”. I’ve also recently noticed that it’s becoming sort of a Chicken Soup for the Soul series. Miracle Morning for X (insert your occupation for X).
Personally I haven’t read it. It sounds intriguing but my routine is working for me quite well and I don’t see room for improvement given my current parameters. When they change, however, I’m looking forward to reading that book, or any others that seem appropriate.
My routine is pretty simple, so I’ll share.
I’m up by 4am. I started this shortly after discovering this talk by performance artist and storyteller Rives called “The 4a.m. Mystery” . If you haven’t seen it, check it out here!
I stretch.
I drink a liter of water.
I do some “bathroom stuff”.
I dress casually.
Fill a glass bottle with another liter of water and leave the house.
I start a 10–15 mile walk. Everything I do from here on is during my walk. Walking keeps my brain & blood flowing.
I pray.
I start t0 randomly think about my day, mostly because my brain is on fire and it needs to sort through a few things before I can focus.
I get coffee. A medium size, black.
I check my messages / notifications. Email, text, social media. I may or may not respond depending how urgent or detailed it needs to be, or if I have the information available to me from my phone. Otherwise I mark it for priority when I get to the office.
I read. Usually a book. I like to read a book a day, or at the least per week depending on the depth and how much I’m unfamiliar with. I check the local happenings and what’s going on in my industry. Reading may include an audiobook, a blog(s), articles, etc.
I take notes. It seems obvious that I would be taking notes on what I’m reading, though I also take notes on my surroundings and experiences, things I observe such as people in their routines.
I listen to podcasts. I’ve recently become addicted to podcasts! Podcasts relevant to my business. I am an information addict so I have to be careful. I try to only listen to podcasts that are relevant to whatever is a priority in my mind at the moment. Occasionally I feel I need a break, in which case I’ll then listen to whatever is entertaining.
I exercise. I am not a fan of ‘working out’ but I am a fan of exercise. In fact, I’m quite sure I would cease and die if I did not do some activity every day. I feel my body seizing, tightening up, blood not flowing. I’m sure I would just stop, probably rather violently (sorry for that picture). So I mainly do bodyweight exercises — running/jogging/walking, squats, pullups, pushups, crunches, dips…whatever I feel like I need depending on what is around me to assist (pullup bar, etc).
I eat.
I shower & dress for the office. More bathroom stuff.
I head to the office or attack any pending urgencies before heading out. My kids are usually up by now so there’s no more peace in the house to work in. If they’re up for it I usually spend as much time with them as I can, but they are mostly all teens now with no time for dad.
I think I’ve gone a little bit past morning here so it’s all in there. I think the general ‘morning routine’ is meant as the time between waking up and heading out to work. For most I imagine this is anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour. For me it’s several hours, so I put it all in there. These things keep me at the top of my ability so they are important to me, and in turn my ability to serve those I work for (my family, friends & clients).
What’s your routine? If you don’t know, you might want to consider taking a look at it. It could be eye opening. Whatever it is I hope it’s working for you. If not, check out some of these resources:
Hal Elrod’s The Miracle Morning!
