Episode 85: How To Be Awesome At Your Morning Routine
This episode is JAM PACKED with hacks that will change your days.
Here’s the bottom line:
Either you run your day or it will run you.
Today’s podcast is all about your morning routine. But it’s really so much more than that. It’s about having happy, productive days without feeling overwhelmed.
We are all juggling so much and I think we are all here for ways to get more done in less time so you have more free time and don’t feel buried under your to do list.
In preparing for this podcast, I’ve been researching the morning routine of high performers for months. And I really think I’ve found lots of breakthroughs here. There’s so much we can learn from each other and from other people who have mastered something we are trying to become awesome at.
Here are some of the best lessons I’ve learned that I think will help you craft your ideal morning routine.
First step - Wake up on time. Set your alarm and don’t hit snooze. It's like you're telling yourself - you are in charge.
Then, I think you take one hour totally for yourself. I love this in the form of at at-home workout. Do what you feel like for your mind and your body. This is where I center. Sometimes I listen to podcasts or audio books or watch an online course. Or sometimes, I workout in silence and just think. I’ll think about the day or the week or try to solve a problem or just have quite time to be grateful.
I really think you have to make a morning routine of it so it just happens. There’s no decision to be made each morning. Even if you don't feel like it- do the best you can that day.
Do it before your phone starts going and people start needing you!
Then, take a freezing shower. There are so many great health benefits but also just to be tough for the day.
Then, do your 3 most important tasks of the day. For a few reasons. Studies have shown that you are your sharpest for the first 3 hours of the day. So let's not use that mindlessly scrolling social media or replying to emails.
These 3 things should somehow have the highest impact on your year. They can be small things or big things - sometimes things we procrastinate on actually don't take us very long. Maybe you need to find someone's email that you want to do business with and send them an email- if you just write it down and do the first step- it's often so much easier than you think.
I've procrastinated for so long on some things then when I actually do it, it's like 20 minutes. I'm like holy hell that's been on my list for 3 months and I look at it everyday and do something else.
Then save your other things for later in the day - making doctors appointments and following up on things … you don't need to be your absolute sharpest for those.
Ok so back to social media and emails. You 💯 cannot check these things first thing in the morning. You have to protect yourself and your time. Here’s the thing with social media, it makes you compare yourself to others. Even if you have a really healthy relationship with social media, that’s just the nature of it.
And if you check your emails first thing, then you let your emails control how your morning and your day goes. And you likely will never get to the 3 most important things that will help move you towards your goals. And it makes you operate on the defensive, not the offense. Don't let other people determine what you do, you decide what you want to get done.
Here are a few other nighttime routine tips to think about:
✨ The key to a good morning routine is a good night routine
✨ Get enough sleep
✨ Call a quitting time so you have time to unplug and refresh for the next day
✨ To wind down each night- stretch if that feels good and take a warm shower then make your list for the day.
✨ Don't end up scrolling your phone for hours in bed and going to bed too late
✨ Know what workout you are going to do in the am and layout your clothes.
Some of my favorite tips!
❤️ Try to keep a similar routine on the weekends to keep up the momentum. Adjust it so you have fun, but keep the same general routine.
❤️ Keep your phone in other room or in airplane mode.
❤️ Have your running list going, if you need to, brain dump so you go to sleep with a clear mind and not a racing mind. But don't keep your list in your room. For me, I keep my work pile out of the room, or move it out before bed so I have like a full disconnect from it. It really helps.
Why this morning time is so important
In these clear morning hours, you’ll have the best ideas.
And they become a main point of focus for the rest of your day.
Part of becoming the greatest you, is learning how to let the most powerful you guide you. Let the most powerful part of your mind set the course for your day.
You just have to allow yourself time to have great ideas - give yourself time and space to just think. To figure out solutions. Pay attention to what the genius inside of you is telling you.
When most of us think about the things we have to do - we are overwhelmed - we scroll social media then we go into robot mode. I fear auto pilot in life. We pay the bills, get the groceries.. do all all the things and let our to do list rule our day. It never feels manageable.
So we have to shift to focus on progress rather than to do lists. I love to do lists - but they don't rule my day- progress rules my day instead.
So how do you decide what are your 3 things for the day?
I ask myself - what 3 things I could do that would really make progress towards my goals?
This becomes my focus rather than the overwhelming endless to do list.
These 3 things should be things that are for you. Things that would help you make progress. That’s what should be on your list.
Our game plan
And you aren’t sleeping with your phone!
Not sleeping with your phone will enhance your focus SO much I’m telling you. You will sleep better and have more ideas. You will feel more in control of your day. You’re proactive not reactive. Your genius brain needs this alone time in the morning. You have to find 30 minutes to an hour first thing in the morning before you give your day to everything else. I just think this is so essential making progress and making an impact.
I read one time that the most successful business people don't take meetings before noon. Because they just know they are the most sharp in the first few hours of the day and they would rather get their own priorities done rather than let meetings take the most productive hours of the day.
This is where you can focus the best and you’re thinking about your big picture goals before your day gets high-jacked. I also feel so much happier during my day when I know I’ve been productive early on. I don't feel behind and rushed all day and fighting for time to get to my to do list.
And I’m telling you- you have to have a quitting time. This is a totally new one for me. You have to make yourself stop so your days don't roll into the next.
So you’re making your day shorter and make yourself quit working at a set time.
It’s crazy how much these changes will impact your days
It’s just so crazy that you can get more out of your life when you do less. It’s just by planning your day right. Give yourself deadlines and don’t let your to do list or your email control your day. Let your 3 biggest priorities control your day.
This has been such a powerful thing in my life. I never stopped working.
By setting clear goals, I’m focused on what I need to get done and I do it first.
If you need more boundaries between work and personal, this will help so much. It will give you more time to be present with your family. Let your brain get rest.
And honestly- I still don’t do this some days- just because I spend so much time with my kids - I simply don't always have enough time to do what I want to do.
But when I do set a deadline and actually stick to it, I really feel in control and accomplish more each day with less stress.
Ok so to recap, don't sleep with your phone, take time for yourself in the morning, allow your genius mind to work and not just go on autopilot.
Each of these small steps build on each other. So you can add in one of these tips and keep building on it.
You have a daily routine now that's backed by science that will help you set-up long term success.
Push yourself to get back on track with your routine. That’s why I love a cold shower - it’s like I already did something hard. I already proved to myself that I’m tough and I’m going to do what I tell myself I’m going to do.
I’m telling you by having an awesome morning routine, you’ll accomplish more of your goals and for sure have more awesome days.
Cheers to awesome productive days!
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