AM Bookends — Win the Morning Win the Day!

It’s hard to have a bad day if you have a good morning!

So, if we can win the morning, we will win the day.  Q: How do you win the morning?

A: create micro ‘wins’ in the Big 3 areas of your life (Energy, Work, Love). i.e:

• Wake up early — Give yourself time to create when you know 100% that you will not be distracted.
• Drink water — Hydrate for the day (lemon and salt in your 64 oz. water is something to exeriment with)
• Move your body — Stretch, 10 burpees, get your blood flowing (better than a cup of coffee, try it!)
• Meditate, breath, focus – Start with 5 minutes or just take 5 deep breaths. Clear your mind, set your intention for the day.
• Read and journal —Re-affirm your identity. Your values. The habits you will envoke today to be the best version of yourself. Plan your Day. List what you’re grateful for.
• Start Creative Work — Nothing from new emails. Do something creative for yourself or work on a project from a previous day (that you don’t need internet for!)

The most successful among us are creative before they are reactive.  They don’t hear their alarm go off and instantly start checking their text messages and email notifications.  They certaintly don’t immediately start scrolling their Instagram feed or dull themselves with any other form of digital entertainment; this is a recipe for stress and anxiety! Top performers prioritize their mornings as their sacred time.  Other than perhaps their PM time block, this is the only time of the day that they have complete control of their time and won’t have to react to the unpredictability of their daily responsibilities.

So what do they do? First off they wake up early to maximize their distraction-free time. Then they use that distraction-free time to create ‘wins’ in the Big 3 areas of their life (Energy, Work, Love).

They have routine that they stick to religiously.  They aren’t waking up making decisions.  You could ask top performers where they will be 5 years from today at 5AM and I would bet they could tell you to a minute what they will be doing at that time   They have programmed their habits to run on auto-piolet!

So, what is your routine? Start writing your current morning If/THEN habits: Even if they aren’t good habits write them down so you can actively choose who you want to be.

IF: I wake up :: Then I: _______________________________________

IF: ________ THEN: ________________________________________________________________________

IF:________ THEN:________________________________________________________________________

IF: ________ THEN: ________________________________________________________________________

IF:________ THEN:________________________________________________________________________

Now, cross off the habits that you want to delete.  Next let’s redo the exercise adding the habits that we want to install  Remember the identity that you have journaled upon.  What are the morning habits of that ideal-version of you?

IF: I wake up :: Then I: _______________________________________

IF: ________ THEN: ________________________________________________________________________

IF:________ THEN:________________________________________________________________________

IF: ________ THEN: ________________________________________________________________________

IF:________ THEN:_________________________________________________________________________

 

Resources: 

• +1:
  • https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/morning-routines/
  • https://www.optimize.me/plus-one/masterpiece-day-checklist/

• PN:
  • https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/the-miracle-morning-hal-elrod/
  • https://www.optimize.me/philosophers-notes/my-morning-routine-benjamin-spall-michael-xander/
• 101:
  • https://www.optimize.me/journaling/
  • https://www.optimize.me/masterpiece-days/