My Life Changing Morning Routine
5.20am my alarm goes off. It’s the same time every morning, even on a weekend. I get up, and head downstairs to start my day. I proceed to go through a selection of important tasks. Tasks that will allow me to win my morning
I’m a huge believer of winning the morning. Win your morning, win your day.
There’s a significant commonality between a morning routine and those who are successful in life. In a recent interview with David Goggins, the “toughest man on earth” he emphasises the importance of eliminating all distractions. Lose the phone and anything which could give you “bad news”.
By doing this you have the control. You can dictate your emotions, your feelings and prioritise the important things. The very things that move you forward.
I adopted my then routine back in January 2019, and it was for the simple reason to create more time. I was working a ton of hours on my business and spending little time with my family.
I read a book by Robin Sharm, The 5am Club and was instantly hooked. It was a compelling, and a weirdly entertaining read. Surly there had to be something behind this?
On further research I found that all the highfliers owed their morning. Tony Robbins, Brendon Burchard. Two highly powerful influencers for high performing professionals insist this is where it all starts. And you can’t argue with the successes of Elon Musk, Steve Jobs and Oprah Winfrey. Legendary high achievers who owe much of their success by starting the day strong.
I was sold. It was happening.
And this is where it began. Since then I’ve adapted my routine to suit my circumstances. But I do have specific formalities that I follow. I’m not saying my routine will work for you, but you can adopt the same principles.
My aim is to prep my mind and my body, before the world delivers its abundance of challenges and stresses. Once I’m out their it’s anyone guess to what can happen. All I can do is prepare.
It all starts with hydration.
Every morning for the past 5–6 years I drink 500ml of water. This is one of my non-negotiables. I love coffee, but my rule is to drink water before anything else. The power of hydration is far superior to your delayed hit of caffeine. Hydration fires up your mind and gets you instantly focused.
Prep myself before I wreck myself.
I’m coming up 39, I’m not getting any younger. These days suppleness is pretty important to me. Each morning I put myself through a 5–6-minute morning mobility & activation routine. This opens up my joints and fires up my muscles. It’s the start of prepping my body. I keep it short and effective. I’m not a fan of drawn out boring mobility sessions.
My mobility routine also has me a little out of breath. It excites my heart just enough to feel fired up, which leads perfectly into my next task.
Journal
This has been a game changer, honestly it has. Journaling allows me to assess my thoughts and plan my day. I’ve experimented with a few different ways;
Free journaling: This is where I simply write what’s on my mind. Anything that pops up, goes down. With free journaling I feel I can dig deep and simply uncover what’s inside. The things I’ve found have been particularly interesting.
Structured journaling: I’ve used a few different methods. Bestself.co journal was one I started with early last year and Brendon Burchard High Performance Planner, I used most recently. Both have been valuable tools, but I find I like a mix between free and structured.
My own method:
I have a free space to write what I like and then transition into structured prompts. From free writing I lead into;
Gratitude: One of the most profound things you can do. It wasn’t until I started being grateful for what I already had, that I actually realised, what I already had. For instant happiness, gratitude is key.
Goals/areas of focus:I write down my ambitions every morning. Personally, I don’t think people do this enough. For me it a simple reminder of what it is I’m working toward and WHY. Reviewing these everyday allows me to get excited about the possibility of success.
Habits: I write down three habits that I want to make an automatic action. For me right now it’s,
1. Write everyday
2. Help someone everyday
3. Show up everyday
Top three tasks: Only three. No more, no less. Don’t be overwhelmed by a list. I write down my three biggest priorities for the day. And if these are done, I can rest easy knowing I won my day.
Schedule: I schedule my day. I include everything from my morning routine to sorting the kids out. For scheduling writing/content blocks to engaging with my clients.
By writing it all down I can see exactly what needs to be done. I still use my phone calendar for appointments but writing it down seems to help me settle into my day.
Meditate.
I surprised myself with this. But I actually love it. I’ve tried unguided meditation in the past and struggled. But recently I’ve been doing guided meditation and it’s been life changing. I’m certainly no Zen like meditator but I have found, it’s helped manage my thoughts and emotions. It allows me to be present in the now.
Read.
Since the age of 26 when I realised education was my downfall, I’ve become an avid reader. After fluffing my 5 GCSE’s I wrongly believed education wasn’t for me. After then doing a University degree I realised I’m pretty much capable of anything I put my mind to.
Each morning I spend 20 minutes reading. That is unless my kids decide to get up early. Then it’s 5 minutes if I’m lucky. My preference of morning reads is, generally, personal development. Anything which involves the brain I’m pretty much all over. Anything that has a positive effect on you is what I’d suggest.
Flicking through emails and social I’d avoid until later in the day. This is only going to impregnate negative impressions on your mind.
Train.
Just recently I’ve converted my garage into a gym. It’s the best thing I’ve done. It takes all of 10 seconds to get to my garage from my house. It’s awesome.
Here’s my rules to training.
1. Do something to strengthen the body
2. Do something to develop the body
3. Do something to challenge the heart
It can be as creative as you like. Although personally I prefer simple. My training programs can be quite basic. Thing is, too much variety suffocates progress. My intention is purely results. If I want to have fun, I’ll play with my kids.
Has this brought me success?
It depends how you define success. But I will say this. My morning routine has allowed me time for me. It’s allowed me freedom to be selfish. I prep my mind and my body ready for what the day has to offer. By going into my day focused and with intent, I improve my chances of success.
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