It’s an age old question: how do you become the best version of yourself?
It doesn’t matter whether you’re young or old, successful or unsuccessful, there is always room for you to increase your natural abilities, become more productive, and achieve peak performance…in whatever field you choose to focus on.
And, as every successful person knows, success begins with a strong morning routine. In this post, I want to outline the key elements of a positive morning ritual that will help you to set your day for success.
If you follow this for a few days, I guarantee you’ll start to see a noticeable difference in how you feel. Persist for a few weeks or a few months, and you’ll be well on your way to rapid transformation in your life.
3 Tips for Building A Successful Morning Routine
Before we dive into the specifics of the routine, I want to lay out a few ground rules you should follow. I strongly encourage you to adapt this routine to meet your specific needs, and, as such, you’ll need a few tips on how to do just that.
- Focus On Systems. First, make sure that your morning routine focuses on the systems, the processes, that you want to implement in your daily life. Never use the routine as a yardstick about whether or not you’re hitting your goals. The routine is like a lever you use to achieve success: when you push down one side, the other lifts up naturally. Don’t look for results at the wrong end!
- Make It Easy, Obvious, and Attractive. The next point is to make sure you have a routine that is easy, obvious, and attractive. These are key rules for successful habit formation. While the activities you do during your routine may challenge you, you want the process of doing them to be simple and straightforward. The easier they are to get started, the more likely you’ll be able to develop them into a habit.
- Aim For Small, Repeatable Wins. Next is to remember that the best progress is progress that lasts. It’s much better to build up gradually over time and maintain the gains, than to rush into a flurry of action that is unsustainable in the long run. Know your limits, and choose small goals to start.
- Plan for Your Strengths and Weaknesses. Like #3, it’s important to know what is and is not realistic for you. Everyone has both strengths they can leverage and weaknesses to overcome. Figure out how you can couple the two together, or use one of your tendencies as either a trigger or a reward to start another.
- Never Skip a Day. Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, is that whatever morning ritual you choose, make sure you stick with it. Especially in the early stages (when you’re still building up the habit) commit to never missing a day, no matter what. Even when you’re “not feeling it” one day, at the very least go through the motions. The important thing is to stick with the routine, and over time you can tweak the results from it.
“Your destination is the product of your direction. You can’t change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight.” – Jim Rohn.
The Ultimate 1 Hour Routine To Become More Productive and Achieve Peak Performance
When you’re designing your individual routine, the first question to answer is what time you’re going to begin each morning. I recommend starting as early as is comfortable for you. There’s nothing better than the feeling of getting a jump on the day, having already achieved some small goals before breakfast!
Whatever time you choose to begin, the most important is that you pick a time you can stick to, and that you start the routine immediately after waking up.
Part I: Stretches and Easy Exercise
The first part of your morning should always involve some sort of physical movement or stretching. Whether you tend to wake up groggy or energized, taking a few minutes to bring movement into the body is one of the best things you can do to encourage both physical health and mental stimulation to start the day.
It’s important not to overdo it, however, as you need to remember that your body is still waking up. So, don’t think of this as a full exercise session, but rather a series of light motions to reconnect with your body.
Personally, I find that a short morning yoga routine is perfect for this, but any type of easy exercise will also fit the bill.
Time: 20 minutes.
Part II: Meditation
Next up is meditation. Meditation consistently ranks as one of the best practices for spiritual and personal growth.
Meditating first time in the morning is a great habit because your mind is relatively clear, and it gives you the opportunity to create positive energy right from the start. This will set you up for the day ahead, and allow you to become calmer and more resilient, helping you face any challenge that may arise.
It’s important to note that at this stage of your meditation, you shouldn’t try to think any specific thoughts (such as intentions or visualizations), and try not to let your mind wander to your to-do list for the day ahead. Allow this time to be focused on quieting the mind, and observing (without judgment) any thoughts that arise.
Time: 20 minutes.
Learn more about getting started with meditation, or try our free introductory course.
Part III: Reflection and Visualization
After you meditate, it’s time to transition into focusing on your goals and personal progress. Either, incorporate this part into an extended meditation, or grab your coffee and take out a journal for reflection and visualization.
As you visualize your aims, ideas will begin to flow to you, and you want to leverage this time of intuitive connection to write down any inspirations that come to you.
Learn more about using visualization techniques and daily journaling practices.
Time: 15 minutes.
Part IV: Setting Intentions
Lastly, take the final few minutes of your hour to set your intention for the day ahead. This intention is different than the goal-visualization you introduced in Part III. Intentions should focus on how you want to feel as you move through the day. You can outline a few key tasks you want to accomplish, but it’s far more important to remain centered in the feeling of your goal,
Time: 5 minutes.
