My simple 3-purpose morning routine that has boosted my productivity.
How many morning routines have you tried to follow?
It seems every expert has a morning routine of some kind or another that incorporates a lot of different things.
They do things like breathing exercises, getting sunlight, waking up early, journaling, exercising, taking cold plunges, meditating, reading, etc. You get the idea; it is a lot.
I tried many of them. For me, I found that I spent so much time on them, I often got sidetracked and ended up not having enough time to write. Meditating, exercising, and journaling add up to a lot of time.
Furthermore, if I didn’t sleep well and felt tired in the morning, I found that things like journaling and meditating caused me to feel even more tired.
I do get them, though.
Morning routines are important and can help get the day off to a strong start.
All the different tasks that the gurus follow have great benefits, but I found I would rather do many of them later in the day.
I found that I can focus and write more clearly in the morning, so I would rather sit down and start writing rather than exercise or meditate. I have also found that doing things that do not require strong mental focus is easier in the evening or later hours as I am tired from work.
Dr. Huberman talks about task bracketing which is splitting up the day into 3 phases with phase one in the morning being dedicated to tasks that require more focus and willpower. For me, writing requires focus, so I find that morning is the best time to write.
You can read more on task bracketing in this article.
As I knew a morning routine would help to get my day started strongly, I came up with something simple that would be easier to follow.
I created a morning routine that would be simple for me to follow.
I wanted to achieve just three things in the morning
First, was to get out of bed quickly. I didn’t want to get stuck looking at my phone because I often ended up wasting the whole morning when I did.
I did this by making a rule that I have to get up when the alarm goes off or when I wake up naturally. I know that sticking to rules I have created will make me mentally stronger, and it helps to reduce pushback from my monkey brain because it is something I “must” do; it’s a rule.
I also put my phone away from my bed. In the past, I would start looking at it by habit if it was near me, so having it out of reach forces me to get out of bed and reminds me of my rule.
Second, was to help me get into the right mindset for the day. I would do this by taking a shower and then ending it with either a cold shower or taking a quick dip in a bath of cold water.
As I wrote in my previous article, I have found that cold plunges make me alert and focused when done in the morning.
When I get in, I find that the sudden release of chemicals makes me clear headed and alert, so I choose this time to repeat to myself my character statement. This is a statement I created of who I want to be and accomplish in the future but said in the present tense as if it has already come true. This puts me in a positive mindset.
After that, I go over the key things I want to work on that morning, and I envision how I will start my tasks and envision myself finishing them.
Since I feel clear-headed, it is much easier for me to organize an outline of what I want to write. This makes it easier for me to start writing quickly when I sit down at my laptop.
Please note that you do not have to take a cold shower or bath for many minutes. One or two minutes is enough. I have found that by focusing on my character statement and what I want to get accomplished during the day, that I have forgotten about the cold. I usually end up staying in for around 5 minutes.
You also do not have to take them at a really cold temperature, but it should be uncomfortable enough that you get the benefits. I learned about this and the timing from a Dr. Huberman podcast of which I shared the details in my last article.
Third, was to either sit down in front of my laptop at home or the coffee shop and start writing.
Getting started on what is important to me used to be difficult. I would procrastinate due to a lot of things. As I said, thinking of the outline of the article while in the cold water helped me to get quickly started when I did sit down to work.
On days where I am still feeling a little tired, getting out of my home environment is helpful because there are many less things that can distract me from writing.
Some Simple Advice
If you want to improve your day, create a morning routine.
After getting a lot of writing done, I always feel much better about the whole day. Before, if I wasted the whole morning, I would be irritated with myself deep inside which I carried around most of the day.
A good morning routine will help you feel better about yourself.
If you have had trouble with morning routines, my strongest advice would be to make them as simple as possible.
The most important thing is that they should help you to get your mindset right and to get you started strongly with your day. Start simple and only add things later once you have gotten into the habit of sticking to your simple routine. Do things that match you.
Starting off strongly will not only help you be more productive, but it will also help put you in a positive mindset.
And that is a great way to start any day!
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