Crafting the Perfect Morning Routine

Today, I want to talk about such an important topic and one which is easy to overlook simply because we’ve all heard about it so often. That said, I believe establishing a healthy morning routine is one of the most important things you can do during your day as it really establishes the benchmark, the framework, and the foundation for the way the rest of your day will go.

The reason that I think most people overlook (or can’t even stick to a morning routine) is because there’s so much advice about it already and we begin to believe that we have to pigeonhole ourselves into one way of doing it. Here’s what I’m here to tell you: I’m going to share my morning routine. Now, that doesn’t make it the morning routine. It simply means that it works for me. The most powerful thing if you can do with regards to your morning routine is to find something that works for you.

This is a process of experimentation. So, again, I’m going to share with you what works for me. If you like it, adopt it. If you don’t like it, don’t adopt it. If you like parts of it, adopt part of it. You get the idea.

WAKE UP

I get up at 5:30 AM. I don’t care you get up at 5:00 AM, 4:30 AM, 3:00 AM, or 6:00 AM. It’s all going to be different depending on what time you go to work. Just make sure you give yourself plenty of time in the morning to get the things done. I see so many guys rush to the day and think that they have to get up and get right to their day. They don’t give themselves adequate time to do the things that are important, significant, meaningful, and impactful in their life

So, for me, that means getting up at 5:30 in the morning.

HYDRATION

I’ve got my water bottle ready to go so that when I get up I can start hydrating. That hydration component of a morning routine is so important. If you think about it, you’ve spent hopefully 7-9 hours without any water so, the very first thing I do in the morning is hydrate and get the water intake up.

YOGA

I just started doing Yoga so, I’ll stretch out or do a Yoga program right after my hydration. I’ll tell you that my performance in the gym it has definitely increased as I’ve implemented a stretching regimen. Whether it’s Yoga or just stretching, it’s critical that you get the body moving right away. I do that for about 20-30 minutes before my wife gets home from the gym.

EXERCISE

One she gets home I get out the door and into the Crossfit gym at 6:00 AM. I personally participate in Crossfit 4-5 days per week and I also do Starting Strength 2 days per week. You’re probably familiar with both. I don’t care what works for you. I don’t care what program you do. There are going to be guys who hear this and think that Starting Strength is not the way to do it and Crossfit is not the way to do it.

They’ll tell me “People get injured” and “It’s dangerous.” Look, I’ve been doing Crossfit for four years. Frankly the only thing up until this point that has actually worked for me consistently. Again, it doesn’t matter to me what you do because the best exercise is going to be the one that works for you.

Having some sort of special program is wonderful. Having the data and science for proper exercise is important but if you’re not willing to do it, or you can’t do it, or you don’t want to do it, it’s not going to serve you. So, find an exercise regiment that works for you.

SCRIPTURE STUDY

Now, when I get done with my workout, I head home. By the time I get home, my kids are usually awake because my wife has them up and ready. We all meet downstairs for scripture study. We typically read from the Bible. A lot of people ask me what study guides or programs I use for scripture study. I don’t use any programs or anything like that. We simply read the Bible as a family.

MORNING PRAYER

Once we’re done with our scripture study, we have our morning prayer. There’s 5 of us in the family that are old enough to prayer so I pray on Mondays, my wife prays on Tuesdays, my oldest prays on Wednesdays, my next on Thursdays, and my third on Fridays.

FAMILY MEETING

One of the most important components of our morning routine is a family meeting. Every morning we have a family discussion after exercise, Bible study, and morning prayer. This is an opportunity for us to get on the same page what are we doing that day, what things we are trying to accomplish, what practices we have, what schedules we have, and what dance recitals we need to worry about. This way, there is no guesswork with what we are all trying to accomplish and what each of our schedules look like individually.

FAMILY BREAKFAST

After all that is said and done, we get together around the table and have breakfast as a family. I believe that having meals together as a family is one of the most important bonding opportunities for a family. It allows us to know what they’re enjoying, what they’re doing, how school is going, if they’re running across any bullies, and talk about any problems our children may be having. We talk, we converse, we laugh, we have a good time, and set the foundation for us as a family and prioritize family in the wake of a very chaotic world in which we live.

MORNING FIVE

Once breakfast is done, we split up. My kids get ready by completing what we call their Morning 5: eat breakfast (which they’ve already completed), do their chores, get their clothes on, brush their teeth, and do something educational. All this has to be done by the time they leave for school.

DAILY PLANNING

Once the kids are out the door and I’m ready, the very first thing that I do when I get into the office is daily planning. Now, it would be very easy for me to get in the office and get right to emails or do any of the projects that I may have to do but taking 20-30 minutes for planning it so important. I plan out the day, I strategize, and I figure out where my priorities are before I start working. That planning is so so critical to me.

From there it’s a matter of executing and working my plan. My kids are at school. My wife is doing her stuff. But now we all have the proper framework and foundation for an effective day. I’ve spent a lot of time refining this routine and I’ve also got an evening routine (I’ll talk about that later).

Again, it’s waking up at 5:30 AM, hydrating very first thing, Yoga or some sort of stretching regimen, Crossfit or Starting Strength for an hour, scripture study, family prayer, family meeting, breakfast together, Morning Five and daily planning.

So there it guys, my perfect morning routine. I’ve been working at it over the course of years. I’ve refined it, honed it, tweaked it, and adjusted it. Experiment and find what works for you. It will take some time but the investment it time and energy in crafting the perfect morning routine will pay dividends the rest of your life.