A few months ago I was reading about the various morning routines that successful people had. And I decided I would commit to a new and improved morning routine for 1 month and see how it worked out. This meant waking up earlier, cutting out certain distractions and taking on new activities. Here is how it went…
I started waking up at 7am
This was a real pain to begin with. I know it sounds easy, but when you're used to working late into the night, getting up at 7 is a shock to the system. The good news is that it only takes a week or so, before it starts getting much more easy.
Meditation
One part of the morning routine of many successful people was meditation. I had tried out meditation in the past, but only really did it on and off and usually in the afternoon or evening. For my one month experiment I decided to add it into my morning routine and made sure I did it before I checked any email or did any work. I used the Calm.com app and meditated for around 10-20 minutes a day. After a little bit of practice it became really easy and started to notice how I was so much more focused on the present and what I needed to achieve right away. This was a change for me because usually I just drift off and start day dreaming.
Exercise
Over the past year, I've noticed myself getting really lazy. I knew I needed to exercise but I always kept putting it off and it would never happen. With my new routine, I was exercising on a daily basis. I gave myself choice of two activities which I found really worked well for me. I would either complete the 7 minute workout (google it, there is a ton of information on it) or go for a walk. The walk option was there if I didn't feel like something really strenuous. But it did require me to get out the house (and into the freezing cold). The walks however made a nice break between workouts and made exercising less monotonous.
Writing
I wanted to write approx 500 words each morning. I kept a kind of journal where I could write down what I did the previous day, what I wanted to do today and express how I was feeling. I found this writing part of my routine to be amazing! By sitting down and focusing on what I had achieved (or failed to achieved) really gave me a sense of purpose each morning.
Eliminating Distractions
This for me was the most important part of the routine. I banned myself from checking Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, my email etc etc. before I had completed my first task of the day. It's amazing how easy it was for me to get distracted and easily spend half the day in an endless youtube loop. That no longer happens anymore and amazingly, even when I have completed my first task, there isn't that same compulsion to check in on social media before. It's like I just needed a reset to be able realise how unimportant it all was for my life.
So what happened?
Well last month I broke a record for income. That didn't happen solely because of the routine, but I do feel that it really helped me smash through the glass ceiling and push on to higher goals. I've decided to keep my new morning routine. What do you do in the morning?
