THE POWER OF A MORNING ROUTINE
There are a lot of stories out there about insanely ‘productive’ morning routines, Mark Wahlberg we’re looking at you and why they’re so great. But it’s all a bit of fluff and a bit far away from our everyday lives. So we’re breaking down the ACTUAL power of a morning routine and the reasons why you should create one to enable you to fully understand and harness the power of a Good Morning. By giving you six key actionable benefits, you will be able to understand your WHY in building a morning routine, which will set you up for success.
TO LEARN CONSISTENCY
Having a routine that you stick to every day grows your ability to be consistent. It might be hard to start off with, but by doing the same thing daily, you will be building your ability to be consistent in what you do. Your morning routine is also your only constant. No matter how good or bad the day before was, your morning routine is a constant restart – it’s time for YOU that will help you reset. Growing consistency is the biggest driver in productivity and success. Consistency is actually the foundation for anything you want to achieve. Forget natural talent, consistently working on something is how you become a star!
TO CREATE FOCUS
By introducing a morning routine you will immediately create focus in your life. A routine stops you from getting distracted by the immediate, and instead focuses your mind and body on what you need to get done. It enables you to get up and work on what you need rather than whatever comes into your mind, or into your environment. This ability to focus on key tasks will not only bring focus to your morning but also prepare you for the rest of your day to also focus on tasks that need to be done.
TO BE MORE EFFICIENT
A morning routine maximises your time and puts you in an efficient mode from the minute you wake up. It’s not about military actions; it’s about removing friction and seamlessly becoming more efficient. With a morning routine, no time is lost on decision making, no time is lost on back and forth or forgetting. Another bi-product of this is reducing stress levels. When you have a routine and it is fully embedded you actually lower your stress levels and are calmer and happier. Efficiency means you eventually perform tasks without even thinking, knowing how long each one takes, making it second nature and stress-free. This calm start to the day continues throughout your whole day.
TO INCREASE MOTIVATION
Not only does my morning routine excite me (if sprinkled some treats and rewards in) it makes me very motivated for the day ahead. On mornings when I skip my routine I feel sluggish and if I’ve literally got off on the wrong foot. The feeling of finishing my routine and knowing how much I’ve achieved is hugely motivating. When I spend my morning on things that I know are valuable and productive, I am more productive during the day. The practice of completing tasks in the morning also makes it more likely that I complete my tasks through the day.
TO PREPARE FOR THE DAY
Similarly with lowering stress, a morning routine actually prepares you for your day ahead. Instead of starting the day chaotic and rushed, introducing a morning routine will enable you to not only start the day right, but arrive at the start of your day completely prepared. This is helpful in every aspect of life, whether its work, working towards a goal, starting something new or simply going about your weekend, being prepared for the day ahead makes it far easier and way more enjoyable.
TO CREATE A SOLID FOUNDATION
The reason we made Good Mornings is that we truly believe that anyone can achieve anything they want as long as they have the right foundations. A morning routine creates this solid foundation to build on and get you to your best. A morning routine is the best way to manage habits. It not only makes it easier to avoid bad habits but also makes it easier to layer on new habits as current ones become part of your morning. This is where the rest of our practices come in. A morning routine is the foundation to which you layer on new practices, process and habits to enable you to grow daily.
Before starting a morning routine you need to understand how it will impact your life and why you are introducing it. Write down one or two reasons from this that make you really excited to start a morning routine, and use them as your basis for your WHY you are doing this.