The Morning Routine

Ring, Ring…there goes the alarm…again.  I know that I have hit the snooze button already, but another snooze would be great.  Another nine minutes…

How many of us do this?  The truth, for me, is that half the time, I should just get up, as my mind is already off to the races, thinking about the day ahead or attempting to remember that vivid dream that I had during the night.  There are some mornings, however, where I am just tired.  It does not help that it is dark out when I need to wake up.  Truth is, in these cases for me, without the alarm, I would keep on sleeping.

One of the thought leaders that I have followed during the past couple of years once talked about joining the 5:00 Club.  This was 5:00 in the morning.  He proposed that while the rest of the world (at least in one’s time zone) is still asleep, the idea is to use the morning time as an opportunity to be productive.  That time of the morning is a quiet time of the day when there is nothing vying for your time.  Also, you tend to have a fresh, relaxed brain.  Prior to this, I always believed that I do not need to have a lot of sleep and can survive on 5 to 6 hours; this idea of a 5:00 Club made all the sense in the world to me (my alarm is set for 5:00).

Once I am up, however, I do love my routine.  I spend some of the morning time doing 10-15 minutes of exercise.  I also cook myself breakfast – yes, I know that this takes time, but it ensures that I have a healthy meal to start the day.  While I eat, I use the time to watch something online to inspire my day.  And, I have time to sit and write.  This is my creative outlet and I usually have more fertile thoughts early in the day.  I do keep an eye on the clock, so that I have time to finish getting ready and am out the door on my daily commute to work.  Sitting in the bus is also valuable time, to socialize with friends, spend time to read, or meditate (OK, sometimes I do doze off).  I sit at least 20 minutes on the bus and have 15 minutes on the subway, so I make good use of this time.

“But, Wayne, think of all that sleep time that you are missing.”

Let us recap to see the benefits of my morning routine:

(1)    I eat a healthy breakfast each morning, something that we learned as children is important. 

(2)    On some mornings, I have some form of exercise, something that is physically good for the body. 

(3)    I write daily, something that earlier in my life I wanted to do and now a productive part of my day. 

(4)    Watch something inspiring, as something to learn or to use during the day.

(5)    I am wide awake, ready to face the day when I leave for work and already have a sense of accomplishment.

What do you do as part of your morning routine that helps start your day?