8 morning rituals to start off your day focused & energized:
Introduction
Your morning routine and how you start your day has a great impact on how the rest of your day turns out.
If your morning routine is positive and success driven, your chances of success during the day increase.
On the other hand, if you start your day on sour footing, you are likely to have a bad day.
To ensure you start off your day focused and energized, you have to create success-driven morning ritual.
This book will show you how to do that.
Above all that, the guide will help you see why how you start your day mattes and why starting it off on the right footing is of such importance in every area of your success.
Does how you start your day really matter
Most of us know that creating an effective morning routine filled with positive rituals prepares us for success.
Yet very few of us are practicing this.
Before we proceed, let us begin by noting that the term ‘morning’ is subjective since the time some people get out of bed to start the day may be the time another person is getting home to rest after work.
The assumption of this guide will be that you are like most people who work a day job and therefore your ‘morning’ falls somewhere within the AM portion of the clock.
With that noted, a morning ritual consists of various activities or rituals you prepare, engage in the morning to prepare for the day ahead of you.
Rituals such as going to the bathroom, exercising, reading the paper, checking your mail are examples of things we do in the morning as part of our ritual.
Rituals are things you habitually do in the morning.
The rituals that make up your morning are very important to your success.
The importance of a morning ritual.
Will Durant, one of the greatest philosophers and the author of ‘The story of civilization”, once said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act but a habit.”
His words are the first reason why how you start your morning is so important.
Habits defines our lives and success.
If you fill your morning with habits aka rituals that align with the success you desire and life you want, you will obviously create great success habits that support your goals.
Moreover, the habits or rituals you integrate into your morning have the ability to set the tone for the day.
For instance, if you start your day by watching TV for 3 hours, instead of working on the important tasks/goals on your To-do-list, chances are that you will have a very unreproductive day.
On the other hand, if your morning is full of positive rituals and habits, because are what we repeatedly do and excellence is a habit, you are likely to experience tons of positivity and happiness throughout the day.
As you probably know, when you are not wasting your energy and time worrying, you are likely to remain energized as you pursue your important goals.
Knowingly or unknowingly, you have a morning ritual.
- If you are not intimately aware of your morning rituals, chances are that your morning is not helping you experience a highly focused and energized day.
- You need to question whether the rituals you perform in the morning energize or de-energize you.
- Does your morning rituals increase or decrease your focus and energy?
- Does your morning rituals increase or decrease your energy?
- What this question reveals will determine the directed changes you need to make to improve your energy & focus and therefore, your success in all areas of your life.
- Some components of a success-oriented morning routine are especially important and their benefits far-reaching.
For example: waking up early and at pre-determined time each day.
When you develop the habit of waking up early you increase your level of self-discipline (one of the most important success factors).
The discipline that breeds from willingly leaving your bed early each morning is a foundation for success in all areas of your life.
By making waking up early an integral part of your daily routine will tremendously improve all other areas of your life – health, focus, productivity, exercise etc.
Time is the other benefit of creating an effective morning routine.
The extra time you gain by waking up early can be used for such worthwhile endeavours as meditating, exercising, creating a side business, reading and whatever else.
The 1-2 hours you create in the morning can be committed to completing the “difficult” goals you have been putting off and that when completed, have the potential to change all areas of your life.
Creating a success-driven morning routine has many benefits including the reduction of stress.
If you are not rushing through your morning your stress levels automatically reduce.
Without having to rush through the door because you are late, you can take your precious time getting ready for the day, which while seemingly important, greatly influences your vibrational energy throughout the day.
Habit formation is the heart of creating an effective morning routine that you stick to.
Habit Formation, the Secret to Developing an Effective morning routine that sticks.
Because we are what we repeatedly do, we must make specific rituals, habitual.
We must make specific rituals each day without fail until they become second nature.
Compare with the brushing of teeth each morning.
A habit is an action you do automatically in response to a trigger or cue in your environment.
To create a morning routine that breeds tons of energy and focus you have to practice the various rituals until they become automatic.
To create an effective morning ritual you stick to, you need to form habits.
Habit formation strategies for your morning routine.
Success is not an overnight thing.
It takes commitment and consistent action.
To ensure you stick to the morning rituals, keep the following habit formation in mind
- Dream big but work “small”
- It’s OK to visualize yourself as someone who wakes up at 4:30AM, meditates, hits the gym, showers and takes breakfast.
- Remember as you dream big that success comes from consistence.
- Keep the big picture in mind but work on a small level.
- Envision yourself as someone who has the best success but implement the changes gradually.
- Keep working ‘small’ until you eventually create the morning routine you want.
- Stack rituals to create behaviour chains.
- Routine is a “sequence of actions regularly followed.”
- Performing chosen morning chains in a specific order and thus creating behaviour chains is the easiest way to create a morning routine you can stick to until it becomes habitual.
- By stacking we mean using one behaviour as the cue for another.
- Washing your face can be a trigger to wearing gym clothes while coming out of the bathroom after morning shower can be the cue for morning meditation.
- The idea here is to use if-then planning: If I do X- or if X happens – then I shall do Y.
- Effective behaviour stacking is the secret to creating an effective morning routine that sticks.
- Tying new rituals to existing ones makes it easier to practice the new ones.
- Pair-down decisions – Here habit stacking and creating a To-do list the night before will prove very helpful.
Love the process not the results – instead of fantasizing the results fantasize and visualize the process that takes you to that.
Visualizing what it takes to achieve a goal or make a habit out of a routine is one of the easiest and most effective motivation and consistency strategy.
Eliminate friction – placing your alarm clock further away from the bed so that switching it off requires you to get out of bed.
Examine your morning ritual to determine points of friction, and then do what you can to eliminate them.
Morning Rituals for increased energy, focus and success
Morning rituals of successful, focused, productive and energetic people have clear overlaps, things most successful people do habitually each morning.
Always remember that excellence breeds out of habit.
- Waking up early
Waking up early is a fundamental principle of successful people. As Benjamin Franklin quoted: “The early bird has a bird in its mouth”
Or as the famous English saying goes “The early bird catches the biggest worm”
The 1-2 hours you save each day are the most productive.
In a world where most people are lazy, waking up early places you in 1% of the world.
How to wake up early (habitually)
Most of us snooze our alarms because we sleep late and are therefore tired when we wake up.
Sleep time: 7 – 9 hours.
- Plan to sleep at the right time so as to get adequate sleep.
- Your evening routine determines your quality of sleep.
- Avoid heavy meals and TV just before your bedtime.
Instead engage in relaxing activities such as bath, reading, journaling and meditation.
Be gradual as you move to your ideal time of waking up. Increments of 15-20 minutes will do.
To avoid snoozing your alarm keep it far away from the bed so that you have no choice but to get out of bed.
Dedicate the freed morning time for doing something worthwhile. Do not scroll your social media feed. Instead start your day off in the right way: exercise, read, meditate, plan your day.
- Gratitude
Gratitude is another morning habit that will change your life in many ways.
In personal development, a common well-known law is the law of attraction. “Like attracts like.”
Simply put: the things you focus on attract similar things into your life.
When you concentrate on what is lacking in your life, you tend to attract more lack and circumstances that reinforce lack in your life.
The universe tends to appreciate the appreciative.
Two things happen when you start your morning being grateful
- You align your mind with positivity and are thus likely to attract positive events and circumstances.
- You rewire your mind and re-awaken it to the many great things in your life; Result: Become more positive and optimistic in your life.
How to cultivate gratitude
Maintain a gratitude journal. Each morning take 3-5 minutes reflecting on what you are grateful for. Result: Awareness of how truly blessed you are.
- Physical exercise
You have heard it said that health is wealth.
Engaging in exercise every morning ensures you start your day on a healthy footing.
Exercising in the morning is one of the most effective ways to improve your energy and focus.
Exercise triggers release of feel good hormones.
Production of these hormones help ease stress and reduce anxiety and depression.
People who exercise are vocal about how doing so helps them through difficult problems and to find solutions.
Moreover, working out in the morning is an effective way to increase your energy and focus because it fires up your metabolism.
Morning workout builds discipline and improves your mental and physical energy.
Morning exercise is the surest way to wake up energized as well as focused in your mind.
How to make morning exercise routine
The easiest way to make morning routine is to wake up early – so that you have enough time for it and stack it against an existing behaviour.
There is need to start slow and build gradually.
The easier it is to start, the more likely you are to do it and to stick to the habit.
Aim to exercise for 10-30 minutes with controlled breathing.
Controlled breathing – deep, diaphragmatic breaths through the nose and out through the mouth all the while being aware of the sensations the breath produces as it moves in and out of the body.
- A mindful, relaxing bath/shower
After exercise session, the shower comes in handy.
The aim of the shower is to help you calm, energize and reconnect you to the body.
Make sure your morning routine allows you time to enjoy a luxurious bath.
Immerse yourself in the experience so that it calms and energizes you.
Note how the water feels on your body, how the lather of the soap slickens your body, how your hands and feet feel as you wash them, and all the other aspects of the bath.
The more involved you become, the more relaxed & energized it would make you feel. For improved focus, mental and physical energy, try a cold shower or bath in the morning. Science backs its effectiveness.
- Meditation/Prayer
Prayer & meditation are an integral part of the routine of successful people.
Meditation is about connecting with present moment so as to appreciate it and be aware of your actions in the present.
Only your present self can pursue your important goals leading to their successful completion.
Meditation & prayers have the ability to make you enthusiastic and positive about your life.
They have the ability to fill you with optimism and hope for a better life.
Meditation and prayer also reduces stress, gives you a sense of purpose and inner peace.
Connecting deeply with your reason for engaging in those activities will help you create time for them and remain committed to their practice.
The habit formation strategies discussed in Ch 3 will help you stick to these rituals until they become a habitual part of your training morning.
- Vision Reflection & Goal Planning
As you gradually build your morning routine, also ensure you are dedicating a portion of your morning to reflecting on your career vision as well as your goals for the day, the week, and the month.
Do not be obsessive in dreaming big and visualizing the big picture.
Otherwise you will be demotivated.
Dream big but work small.
From big picture and vision, move on to what you want to achieve this day, week and month.
As the process clarifies, you will feel in love with the process.
To increase your energy, focus and chances of success, you must fill your day, or at least, a large portion of it with activities that align with your vision.
Spend part of your evening and morning thinking about your vision and then writing your goals for the day.
Spend at least 3-15 minutes in the morning thinking about 3 important goals or tasks that when completed, will have the most impact on your overall productivity, focus, energy and success in general.
Tackle your goals in order of priority to ensure the most important or impactful are done first.
Daily morning rituals will refresh, organize and motivate you for maximum effectiveness and productivity.
They will increase your joy & fulfilment not only in the achievement of your goals but also in the process.
Your 60 minutes.
Morning routines for increased focus, energy and success
This section helps you stack the rituals in mentioned above into an effective 60 minutes, morning routine that helps you start your day right.
- Wake up early: 6.00Am
Sleep for at least 7 hours
Place your alarm further away from the bed if you regularly snooze so that you have to get out of bed.
- Gratitude: 5 minutes
Immediately after getting out of bed, take 3-5 minutes reflecting upon things that fill your heart with gratitude.
Remember: Sticking to morning exercise requires that you start slow and gradually build up
Pace yourself and make sure you are engaging in a form of exercise you enjoy.
Remember to engage in controlled breathing.
- Exercise 15-20 minutes
After bathroom and watching your face, wear your gym cloths and engage in your preferred form of exercise for at least 15 minutes.
Remember that sticking to morning exercise requires starting slow and building up.
Pace yourself and make sure you are engaging in a form of exercise you enjoy.
Remember to engage in controlled breathing.
- Shower and bath: 10-15 minutes
After exercise, hit the bath or shower and remember to savour the sensations.
As noted earlier, you can consider a cold shower because of its many scientific benefits.
- Pray & meditate: 15-20 minutes
After showering and dressing, pray and meditate for however much you want.
- Vision, Reflection and goal planning 15-20 min
After meditating and praying, visualize your end goals, and then spend at least 10 minutes planning and prioritizing your day and goals and spend at least 10 minutes planning and prioritizing your day remembering to plan for high priority tasks first.
Conclusion
I hope you now know that your morning rituals and routine determine how the rest of the day pans out.
Your morning rituals help you remain energetic and focused throughout the day. To get a copy of the published Kindle book please click: http://bit.do/e4gpW . Also to get other great online resources please go to the resource page of this site.
