The first few minutes after you wake up can make or break your day. They’re that powerful. So it’s important to be very intentional in how you spend those initial moments after your eyes open. Get it right, and you can build tonnes of momentum to power through all those difficult things you have planned. Get it wrong, and you might find yourself mired in distractions and low motivation.
On this post, I want to share my own early morning routine, and how it has helped me. But first, let’s start with a core principle:
Core principle #1: The faster you go, the harder it is to stop.
This is obvious, right? It’s going to take a lot more effort and time to stop a car that’s going 100 miles an hour as opposed to one going 20 miles an hour. So how does this relate to early morning routines? Here is core principle #2:
Core principle #2: The more momentum you build in the morning, the faster and further you will go during the day.
Imagine yourself as a car, and the rest of the day as a series of speed bumps and mud patches that are going to slow you down. What you want to do is build up so much initial momentum that you can surge through these obstacles, and still be left with a bit of momentum at the end.
OK, so on to my early morning routine.
My early morning routine starts the night before. Right before I go to bed, I always make sure:
- there is a glass of water ready for me on my table in the morning. I’ll get to why in a second.
- my alarm clock (which is my phone) is on the other side of the room.
I usually sleep at 11 PM so I can wake up at 7 AM and have a full night of sleep. I find that going to sleep at 11 PM and sleeping eight hours works best for me. This may be different for you, but experts suggest getting at least 7 hours of sleep every night. (If you want to find out why, I definitely recommend Matthew Walker’s book Why We Sleep.)
At 6:50 AM, my alarm rings. Now remember that my alarm is on the other side of the room. So I have to get up to turn it off. Then I promptly drink that glass of water that I prepared the night before. These two steps are designed to prevent me from hitting snooze and going back into bed. One of the main reasons why we feel groggy in the morning is because we are dehydrated (we literally haven’t drank anything in 7–8 hours). So that glass of water quickly rehydrates me and diminishes my sleepiness.
Next, without looking at my phone*, I immediately shave, brush my teeth, and wash my face. This takes until approximately 7:20 AM. Then I promptly change into street clothes. This is very important to change my mindset from one of “sleep” to one of “get on with the day”. (I don’t change back to pyjamas or indoor clothes until all my work is done for the day and I am about to sleep.)
Once I am dressed, I immediately drop down and pump out 35 push-ups. This improves my circulation and forces my blood to rush around my body. By now it’s about 7:30 AM, and any thought of climbing back into bed has disappeared.
And then for the next 30 to 45 minutes, until 8:15 AM, I am on my chair, on my feet, and on my knees doing my morning prayers. I am a Christian, so I make sure spending time with God is the first activity of my day (also see my post on getting a prayer diary). Even if you are not a Christian, you still want to start your day getting into the right mindset—maybe try meditation or just having some quiet time to order your priorities.
After I finish my prayers, I head to the kitchen for a small breakfast, usually eggs and bread. I do not take my phone with me.* At most, I take my Kindle so I can do some reading, but I often take nothing and just eat my breakfast intentionally and quietly.
Finally, at 8:30 AM, I start my work for the day.
Notice that throughout my early morning I am working to reduce distractions and improve energy levels. This gives me maximum momentum to get through the rest of the day. I don’t have to process messages from friends. I don’t have to deal with social media posts. I don’t have to think about the news. I get energised, anchored (in God), and fed. That’s it.
So that’s my early morning routine, geared for maximum momentum! Share your own routine or your thoughts in the comments!
*So when do I actually check my phone? I usually wait until I’ve done a significant chunk of work. This means about 11 AM at the earliest, or sometimes even after lunch.