Are you looking to improve your life? Better yet, transform your life?
The simplest way to transform your life is by crafting a morning routine. Throughout history, highly successful people have shared a common obsession with productivity, efficiency, time management, habits, and daily systems. And they all have badass morning routines!
Super cliche example, but read about Mr. Benjamin Franklin here. He literally is the father of productivity.
What determines a successful day for most of us?
If I asked most people, “Hey! What does a successful day mean to you?”
Most would say something like this:
- “I got everything done on my to-do list. I was productive.
- “I wrapped up a long project at work.”
- “I spent quality time with my family and then some.”
- “I was able to regulate my mood even under stressful moments.”
- “I was able to put out fires at work, overcame challenges, and solved problems.”
- “I forgave a friend, or I finally let go of a negative moment in my life.”
- “I did what I said I would do.” (I lived with integrity.)
We all care about how we spend our time, how effective we are, and how we manage our lives.
If you subscribe to the notion that our physical reality is an extension of us. What we see is a reflection of our own minds and emotions. I highly encourage you to get to work on your morning routine.
The only thing you can truly control and set free.
Working on this little part of my morning has been a game-changer for me. It totally changed my outlook on life and how I plan my day forever. It also serves as an anchor point in my day.
Your morning routine is the time you need to prepare to win in the hours that follow. When you begin to take the practical steps, you will create a memory bank of proof that in the past, when I behaved in this way, a positive outcome will indeed arrive.
When we look deeper into morning routines, one thing we can’t get around is our habits.
Our habits are the foundation, the backbone of our behavior.
What is a Habit?
Let’s geek out a little bit.
The Oxford Dictionary defines a habit as “A settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.”
In The Power of Habit (audible), author Charles Duhigg introduces the habit loop theory. He proposes that there are three major components in a single habit loop:
- The Cue
- The Routine
- The Reward
And all three elements are deeply intertwined in our neuro-wiring. To change a habit, we must first identify the CUE. The cue can be so deeply ingrained in our neuro-pathways that it is often difficult to recognize. After that, we need to change the routine. After we change the routine, we need to connect the new routine to our psyche’s old reward sensation.
He also takes it a step further and discusses the effects of habit change at an organizational and societal level. Some orgasmic stuff here. 😅
If you haven’t read this book, then oh my god, you need to!
He also writes about KEYSTONE HABITS. A keystone habit is a habit that will eventually create a massive chain effect and spread like wildfire throughout your life. Cool stuff, right?!
For example, exercising is considered a keystone habit. When a person takes on a new habit of exercising, they begin to change other habits like quitting cigarettes and eating healthier. A keystone habit of exercise may even bleed into other areas of life, such as finance, career, and relationships.
You only need to begin with ONE habit that you think will make the most significant impact in your life and go from there.
6 Steps: Transform Your Morning Routine
1. Keep a Morning Journal of How You Spend Your Time in the Morning
Begin with documenting everything. This might be uncomfortable if you are not used to writing things down. You will notice the absurd amount of thoughts the mind is processing. It’s crazy! And things sound different in my head versus paper. So don’t be superwoman; write it down.
2. Write Down Your Vision of the Perfect Morning
I promise you this: good old-fashioned pen and paper is the cheapest way to find clarity. First, take some time to imagine what a perfect morning would look like to you. Not your mom’s version of an ideal morning routine, but YOURS! How do you feel? What are you doing? How does this perfect morning routine affect the rest of your day? What is your keystone habit, and how would this habit impact your entire life?
3. Ask Yourself WHY You Want a Fresh Morning Routine
The most critical step in making any meaningful change in life is finding out your WHY. No matter what your goal is, you need a visceral connection to your purpose. When you hit an enormous roadblock in attaining your outcome, this WHY of yours will give you the emotional strength to keep it moving. The truth is no one cares. I mean, no one. But of course, you care. BUT WHY? Your WHY needs to carry importance. If you don’t value it, you will not prioritize it.
4. Create a Plan of Action
Next, write down a plan of action. I would recommend focusing on one habit at a time. Write down what habit you will extract. What remarkable new habit will you replace the old habit with? Give yourself a timeline. This month, I will work on not hitting the snooze button every morning. Next month, I will work on drinking lemon water and so on.
5. Take Inspired Action on Your New Morning Routine
This is easier said than done. This is where most people get stuck, taking inspired action. It gets procrastinated, put on the back burner, and forgotten. Sometimes, we put valiant effort towards our goals but give up. When this happens, you have to catch it and nip it in the bud. Connect with your WHY. It will save you.
6. Track Your Progress and Setbacks
Make sure you are tracking your progress and setbacks. I like to look at what held me back. What can I learn from this setback? Was I too aggressive with my goal? Did I lack focus this week? What aided in my progress? Once I pinpointed what worked, I latched onto that and tried to repeat and duplicate it over and over until it became automatic. You will also get to know yourself better this way.
Examples of Productive Morning Habits:
- Wake up at the same time daily
- Stop snoozing
- Make your bed every morning
- Drink a glass of lemon water
- Meditate
- Workout
- Light stretching
- Journaling
- Keep a gratitude journal
- Read aloud your purpose statement
- Review your daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals
- Write down goals every day
- Read your industry trade news
- Go for a brisk walk
- Listen to audiobooks or podcasts
- Add apple cider vinegar to your morning water
- Watch something inspiring
- Block out time to read
Take Away
In the end, you want to add activities and habits that are advantageous to the bigger picture of your life. It’s fun. You get to experiment. You pick and choose ingredients and create a recipe for your days, weeks, months, and years.
Now, create the beautiful morning routine of your dreams and spread it like wildfire. It doesn’t only happen in the movies. You are allowed to get romantic with your real life, too.
