Starting Your Day
Seems simple enough… get up and get going right?
Your answer is important because what you do in the morning has a significant impact on the rest of the day. Off to a bad start? Probably not going to get better. Things happen for a reason that’s why an effective ritual is key to getting off on the right foot.
“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret to your success is in your daily routine.” John Maxwell
The benefits of a morning ritual include:
- Prepared for the day
- Increased productivity
- More energy
- Reduced stress
- Improved focus
Thoughtful planning results in better payoffs in levels of success and happiness.
Your morning ritual is a series of habits done each (mostly workdays) day in a set manner. Steps taken daily and in order become a habit which then can become a routine that’s almost automatic. The effective morning ritual is to the result of designing patterns of behavior which prepares us to be healthy, happy and performing our best work.
James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, said this about the difference between goals and systems (our morning ritual is one system), “I began to realize that my results had very little to do with the goals I set and nearly everything to do with the systems I followed.” It’s one thing to have a goal for the day and it’s another thing to have a system to help you accomplish that goal.
Steps to take that help build that perfect ritual.
- Evaluate – you probably have a ritual in place even if you don’t think about it much… sort of autopilot until we get our first coffee. Take a serious look at your current reality and ask “is this optimizing my time for the most productive day?” Maybe take time to write down what your really do most mornings. Just what are my habits?
- Eliminate – There is a difference between a disciplined life and a busy life. Look at the list you made. What can you eliminate and do later or not at all?
- Establish – Review the revised list and choose what is important. Now, what is a reasonable time for you to awaken? You probably know the answer, you might be able to change to an earlier time if you go to bed a little earlier. You know when your energy is highest as you need to pay attention to your internal clock and work with it. Consider your season in life. Single people have more flexibility than those with children. Your best ritual is the one that works for you. The components for an effective ritual considers the activities of an individual and balance the needs of mind and body with targets like personal growth, business goals, lifestyle, fitness, and relationships. It could look like this:
- Wake up (consistently at same time)
- Drink fluids (tea, coffee, water)
- Exercise
- Meditation/mindfulness
- Personal hygiene
- Breakfast
- Starting with the most important task
Next Steps:
Choose your first habit – what is the one thing that if you committed to doing it every morning, it would have the most positive impact on your life?
Schedule – Chose a time tomorrow and wake up and do it.
This article is excerpted from Asianefficiency.com