The best morning routine of successful people

Having a good morning routine could be the key to your success. It could be the reason that you get work done ensuring that over the longer run, you have made the most effective use of your time.

Most successful people tend to have a morning routine. There is no one set routine that needs to be followed as different things work for different people, but we will highlight a few things you could do to ensure you have a more productive day. It is then up to you to try and test what works and what doesn’t work for you.

Plan your day the night before

We all get stuck in that rut. We know we have a lot of work to do but some how end up wasting the day deciding what we should do first.

Planning what needs to be done the night before will ensure that you begin to tackle the tasks first thing in the morning. We are usually at our lowest productivity at the end of the day, so this time is best used to reflect on how we did during the day and what needs to be done tomorrow.

Create a to-do list with a few tasks, ideally 2-3 tasks. You can reduce or increase the number of tasks depending on their complexity and the amount of time they’ll take to complete. You do not want to overwhelm yourself by adding too many tasks such that you can’t complete them. This will put extra stress on you and may reduce your productivity.

It feels good to complete a task so check them off your to-do list as you complete them.

Start off your day with a calming/reflecting exercise

When we wake up, we usually have the urge to jump straight into work to get things done. However, to ensure that you have a long productive day and a healthy lifestyle, it will be beneficial to take a few moments first thing in the morning to reflect.

You can do this through a few ways.

1) Undertake 10 minutes of meditation. It can be difficult to meditate when you want to get straight into work, so we would advise that you use guided meditation if you are easily distracted. You can download meditation apps to help with this.

2) Undertake yoga. Depending on how much time you can spare, you can do yoga from 10 – 60 minutes. Yoga will enable you to calm down, de-stress and also stretch your body and keep your health in check.

3) Spend a few moments in bed reflecting on your life. You could take a few moments to reflect on what’s working, where you could improve and how you could improve it. You could take a few moments to be grateful for what you have already accomplished and what you have that’s unique to you. This will create a feel-good feeling that will enable you to get to work on a positive note. You could also spend a few moments visualising where you want to see yourself in a few months, in a few years. This will create subconscious thoughts in your brain which will ensure that everything you do is taking you towards your goals even when you’re not thinking about them.

Start your day with a work-out routine

One of the best ways to wake up in the morning and feel good is to get a work-out. Whether you choose to go for run, work-out in the gym or cycle, these activities will get that adrenaline flowing and make you feel great. They will help you get started with your day on a positive note.

Taking care of your body is something that you should be doing and getting that done at the beginning of the day will make you feel as though you have already started accomplishing your tasks for the day. This will enable you to complete the rest of your tasks more easily.

Ask yourself this question.

One of the questions we ask ourselves and which works pretty well for us is, “If this was the last day of your life, how much work would you want to get done?”

This ensures that we spend less time procrastinating and just get on with work. It is a very drastic question to ask, and most people would say they wouldn’t spend their last day working, but it does help us get a lot of tasks done. 😀

Start with the most complex/boring task

When you wake up in the morning, you have the energy to take on anything in the world. Your brain is working at its best and it is a good time to take on that task that is quite complex or very boring but essential.

Putting complex/boring tasks towards the end of the day usually means you won’t get them done and will feel low about not getting them done causing more stress. You are also better able to tackle complex tasks more effectively and faster first thing in the morning, so get these done first!

The best morning routine of successful people

A lot of people who are successful tend to incorporate these habits into their morning routines. For example, Howard Schulz, CEO of Starbucks bikes first thing in the morning.

Following one or more of the tips above may improve your morning routine and ensure you get lots of work done leading you to success.

Feel free to let us know how you start your day and what other tips you could add to this morning routine!