Do you find yourself waking up groggy and dreading your day? Are you hitting that snooze button multiple times and rushing to get to work on time? Is there never enough time to get ready? This post is for you. Get your morning routine in check in order to set your day up for success. This has been ingrained in my being since I was a child and I plan on continuing on with this tradition indefinitely. I wake up, brush my teeth, let the dog out of her crate, make tea for me and my wife, and drink a full glass of water with my army of vitamins. I refresh my podcasts and scroll through to see if there’s anything that excites me, if so, I throw it on, if not, I always keep a couple Audible books on the ready.
Prime the Mind
I think if it as priming my mind to own the day. A little inspiration mixed in with some caffeine to get me going for the day. I drink my tea, I listen to my podcast and I scroll Twitter to see what’s going on.
I’m up with my wife at 5:45 and I give myself at least an hour and a half until I open my office in my guest room and start my workday. I treasure my morning time so much that I pop out of bed ready to go. I get a good feeling by making my wife tea and helping her get on her way, and then I get my motivation. Own your morning, own your day.
Growing up Early
When I was growing up we had a blast in the mornings. We were four rowdy kids that were up at the crack of dawn. My poor parents were also up at the crack of dawn with us, but made it fun for us all. We would have a sit down breakfast every morning. My dad would start with the LA Times and end with the New York Times. There would be a heaping stack of pancakes, eggs, syrup, butter, and a steaming pot of coffee for the parents. For a while we would get milk and flavored yogurt delivered in the mornings from the milk man. No joke, a cherry flavored yogurt and milk in a glass bottle for the family. This was the 90’s but it sure sounds like the 60’s, right?
My dad would get all jazzed up in the mornings and one of my favorite morning memories happened during the Gulf War. My dad was reading his newspaper and got on a rant about Saudi Arabia. Us four kids thought that was a funny name, so he tried to explain what the war was all about. We were having none of it and started to drum on our flavored yogurts and chant “Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia.” We all ended up in a hysterical laughter, us four kids banging away on our yogurts and my mom and dad cracking up laughing at us.
Crush the day
After writing that out I realize that it’s no surprise I’m up early ready to crush the day. This was something passed down by our parents. It’s something that feels normal to me, but it takes time to make this happen. You have to set aside the time to enjoy your mornings. My dad was partner at a law firm in LA during the hay day of law firms in LA. He was a busy guy who had a very work-focused life, but he put that aside to enjoy his mornings with his crazy kids. If he can do it, I’m sure you can find some time and create a morning that sets up your day for success.
I didn’t do this for years. I got to college and this whole concept went out the window for about 10 years. It took time to get back to being a morning person. It’s not always easy to get out of bed in the morning, but it’s a lot easier if you are about to do something you love. I find my days to be so much more fulfilled when I can ease into my day. I have the time to think about what’s going on in the world and what’s going on in my life. What my workday will look like, and what I can do to make it better.
I urge you to take control of your mornings and see where your day can go. If this gets you riled up and you want to read about much more successful morning routines, check out this awesome book Daily Rituals.
The Better Life 