After years and years of studying and managing some of the best of all-time, you start to see many commonalities among them.
What is it that they do?
What separates them from the pack?
What’s the difference between good and great?
Those are the questions I try to answer for you every single week. One of the answers lies in their morning routines. You often can’t control the specific things that happen throughout the day, but you can control how it begins. By implementing these 5 habits below into my own life, I can tell you that they work! I feel so much more energized and productive. The morning hours become formative to how your day will unfold. Combining many of the greats together, here is an extremely simple morning routine that will transform your level of success right from the start.
1 of 5 Habits – Wake up early
Benjamin Franklin once said: “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” Top performers often tend to wake up by latest 6 in the morning. This of course only makes sense if we also go to bed early, and secure at least 7-8 hours sleep.
Research has confirmed numerous times that sleeping and waking up early, results in being more proactive, healthier, successful and even happier. If you are a late riser, start with waking up 15 minutes earlier, and shift to earlier times on a weekly basis.
I now wake up around 6 in the morning, and usually don’t use an alarm. I urge you to try this as you will be amazed how effective and productive these morning hours can be.
2 of 5 Habits – Drink lots of water
Our body and even our brains are made up of mostly water. This is one of the reasons why it is crucial to drink water when waking up. I propose at least two cups of water, first thing. As trivial as this new habit may seem, it takes some persistence to make it become an automatic habit, but the benefits will be astonishing.
To boosting metabolism, removing a headache, or just feeling at the top of your game, hydration is the first place to start.
3 of 5 Habits – A short exercise
Having a short morning routine, to wake up and stretch the body, is the best way to ensure we feel energized and alive. This routine can be as short as 10 minutes. Lately, I’ve been using YouTube clips and search short morning yoga workouts. Of course there are also many applications that offer very suitable short workouts. It is amazing how much better you can feel once you wake up all the different parts of your body.
As Tony Robbins says, “Motion creates emotion.” Do this step and you’ll improve your mood right away.“
4 of 5 Habits – Meditation
Like every habit, it takes some discipline to learn and stay still for a certain period of time. However, you will be delighted to know that only 5 minutes of daily meditation can literally change our brains.
I started with 5 minutes and gradually increased this time to around 20 minutes every morning. It is amazing how much more relaxed, calm, focused and even content I feel after meditating. And when I forget meditating, I notice how small things can irritate me, and how generally I feel more restless.
Try it. There’s often a lot of resistance at first, but start with 5 minutes per day and stick to it for 21 days.
5 of 5 Habits – Plan your day
This one is absolutely critical. If you don’t plan, you’re not in control of your time. I must admit, that I often plan my day the evening before each day. Regardless of when you do it, it is very helpful to have a map of what your day looks like, and what the 1-3 most important highlights of the day should be.
As I have already sketched my day, I will spend some time visualizing the day. Then I will start with the first item on my list, usually a task that Brian Tracy has dubbed “eat the frog”. This is usually an important yet challenging task that I would normally like to indefinitely postpone. Equally important though is planning some fun time. Go to the beach, read a book, spend quality time with your spouse – all of this has to be planned in or you may find an excuse to not do it at all.
It’s that simple: 5 habits of the ultra-successful to start your day off right. These simple things have had a drastic impact on my life, and I know they will on yours, as well.
But I have to ask you: What works for you? What are some other habits that you do that have helped make you successful?
I look forward to hear from you how these 5 simple routines works for you, how it helps you develop your everyday success.
Talk soon,
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