When I see, how people waste their mornings, it is a bit painful.
The energy, you possess in the morning, is the best. Your head is rested, reset, ready for new challenges. Performance potential, it only goes down, when the day passes by. First 2-3 hours are the most productive. We assume, you had a good night rest, no fooling around at night.
Be clever, make your mornings count, don't throw the freshest energy away. Start with the most important task of your day. Playtime comes later.
Optimized morning ritual
- wake up at first alarm
- WC
- water with lemon
- prepare coffee/tea
- plank
- most important task of your day
From first alarm to the most important task in ~10 min. The following 2-3 hours are the best, what a day can offer.
Get up at the first alarm beep, no snooze, no feeling sorry for yourself. Go to the toilet, pipi machen. Squeeze 1/4 lemon into 2 dl water, empty the glass. Your body needs liquid + sour wakes you up. Meanwhile the coffee/tea water is boiling, plank. It feels good, plus if the Gods are watching, you might get extra credit. Take the cup, go to your workstation, start with the MIT (Most Important Task). What do you aim for, what is the main goal?
Most Important Task (MIT)
My tasks for today: grocery shopping, tidy up the kitchen, deliver food, sleep/eat/shit/workout, brush my teeth 3x. But the most important task is, to proceed with this article. Hence, I start my morning by writing.
A couple of seasons ago, I felt stupid. What I wanted the most, was to read books. Hence, I started every day by reading.
In 2016, I desired adventure. I wanted to reach the most northern point of Europe (Nordkapp) by bicycle. The most important task was to cycle. How did I start my day? By checking the phone, news feed? No. After packing my gear, I went straight on the bike, started cycling.
Animula wants to produce electronic music (Animula — Rebirth). Among all the wishes, the music one is the biggest, priority nr. 1. He starts every morning by creating, cutting, editing audio frequencies. He doesn't go for a coffee with his friends, doesn't play with a dog, doesn't sleep late, but starts by going straight to the point.
Your biggest dream? If you are serious about it, start every morning by working on that. The next step towards your dream should be your MIT (Most Important Task).
Break/vary the morning ritual
Having the same rhythm day by day, might become counter-productive, tiring, boring. Once a while, break/vary the morning ritual.
1x per week, 1x per month, or custom:
- morning run/hike/workout
- quickie
- techno after party
- visit your grandmother
- random, unplanned trip
- do things, you have been postponing for too long
How not to start your morning
- alarm clock snooze
- TV/phone/PC
- cuddling with your dog/partner
- talking
- coffee + cigarette/joint
- driving, traffic jams
- (breakfast, workout)
alarm clock snooze
5 min snooze on alarm clock, probably on repeat? Bad habit. That is not a quality sleep. Waste of time, useless procrastination. Check Frlan's article on good sleeping patterns.
No motivation to get up in the morning long term? Might be time for a change. New goals, projects, fulfilling dreams, you had as a kid?
TV/phone/PC
Social media, daily news, email, telenovelas, funny clips, TV shows... Never, I repeat, never start your day with such crap.
You lose time, you lose focus. Content creators, they are smart, they are fucking with your brain. You get sucked into the topic. The picture stays in your mind, even after you stop watching it. How to focus on your job then?
When you are 85 and above, you are allowed to start your day watching garbage.
cuddling with your dog/partner
Sleeping late, cuddling, playing; who/whatever is on the other side of the bed, not good. At one point, it only brings regret, for blowing your morning. Save it for later.
Advantage of sleeping alone: no cuddling temptation in the morning.
talking
Nonsense talking = you waste your energy, you disturb people. Don't talk until 12 am, if not necessary. Concentrate on yourself, your thoughts, your task.
coffee + cigarette/joint
Coffee + cigarette? Useless, unhealthy, unproductive morning habit.
Coffee + joint? It is like starting your day reverse. If you want to fuck up your day straight from the beginning, light it up.
driving, traffic jams
Many people drive long distances to get to work every morning. You spend your most fresh hours for what? Being stuck in traffic? 4 hours per day sums 20 hours per week. To blow up to 100 hours per month in a car?
Switch jobs, move, work from home, do something.
The best, to have a workstation next to your bed. Or max 15 min away by bike/walk.
(breakfast, workout)
A human body can easily go without food first couple of hours. It can run on resources from a previous day. Breakfast is important. Don't skip it, just delay it. For emergency, have fruit/vegetable snack at your hand.
Morning workout? Not a bad habit to start with, but is that really your most important task? Think about your main goal, main project. If you want to become a new Arnold, then go for it.
Adult life is not easy. Countless responsibilities, bills, cooperation with annoying people, meanwhile your time is slowly but firmly running out.
Organize your life, take the morning hours. Use the freshest energy for yourself, your own projects, wishes, dreams. If you cannot afford 2-3 hours in the morning, take one, half an hour, something. Afterwards, proceed with the duties of life.